National Instruments NI VISION PCI-8254R - Manual (Page 10)

Chapter 1 Introduction
© National Instruments Corporation 1-3 NI PCI-8254R User Manual
LabVIEW VI creation wizard, Vision Assistant can create LabVIEW VI
diagrams that perform the prototype you created in Vision Assistant.
You can then use LabVIEW to add functionality to the generated VI.
IEEE 1394 and NI 8254R
The NI 8254R uses FireWire ® (IEEE 1394) technology. FireWire is a
cross-platform implementation of the high-speed serial data bus—defined
by the IEEE 1394-1995 and IEEE 1394a-2000 standards—that can move
large amounts of data between computers and peripheral devices. It
features simplified cabling using twisted pairs, hot swapping, and transfer
speeds of up to 400 megabits per second. You can support up to 63 devices
on the high-speed bus with IEEE 1394.
The IEEE 1394a standard offers up to 400 Mb/s bandwidth. The NI 8254R
provides two direct-connect IEEE 1394a ports, but more IEEE 1394
devices can be added using IEEE 1394 hubs. The NI 8254R can acquire
images from IEEE 1394 cameras conforming to the IIDC 1394-based
Digital Camera Specification, Version 1.30 and later.
The IEEE 1394 bus provides a fixed amount of bandwidth that is shared
between the two IEEE 1394a ports on the NI 8254R. These ports provide
direct connection for up to two DCAM-compliant IEEE 1394 cameras,
depending on the amount of bandwidth each camera requires. Higher frame
rates and larger image sizes require a higher data transfer rate and use more
bandwidth.
Functional Overview
The NI 8254R features a high-speed data path optimized for receiving and
formatting video data from IEEE 1394 cameras.
Figure 1-1 illustrates the key functional components of the NI 8254R.