Firewire Audio/MIDI Spec Proposed by Yamaha

Yamaha announces mLAN, a multi-channel audio and music data format that utilizes "firewire." The complex configuration of cables necessary when connecting audio equipment today will soon be replaced by simpler, faster system. Yamaha's mLAN promises low-cost high-speed transmission of vast amounts of digital audio and music data from diverse sources.

Firewire, a.k.a. IEEE 1394, was developed from a specification originated by Apple Computer, Inc., and was adopted by the US Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers in 1995. IEEE 1394 is a low-cost high-speed digital interface that connects household equipment such as video cameras, audio equipment, and electronic musical instruments to one another, and connects computer equipment to household equipment. IEEE 1394 allows the transmission of data between computers at speeds of up to 400Mbps and the sequential connection of picture and audio data between household equipment. This frees users from the tangle of wires that today's discrete connections require. One current application of IEEE 1394 is the DV terminal on digital video camcorders, which makes the transfer of digital picture and audio data between digital camcorders possible.

An mLAN studio has very few cables

Apple Computer's Eric Anderson, a FireWire software architect and Apple's representative on the 1394 TA Sterring committee, also expressed enthusiasm over both the specification and mLAN: "Apple Computer sees musical applications such as entertainment, production, and performance, as ideal uses of FireWire technology. Apple plans to support MIDI and digital audio on 1394 using the specification and mLAN protocol proposed by Yamaha. These protocols enable a wide range of new applications for users of computer and audio products."