1394 organisation courts European participation

In a bid to boost the involvement of European electronics manufacturers in the future advancement of the IEEE 1394 connectivity standard, the worldwide 1394 Trade Association is conducting a recruitment drive in Europe.

As a part of a new initiative, the Association's forthcoming quarterly meeting is to be held in Barcelona in May 2002 and will be open to non-member companies for the very first time.

The move coincides with the announcement that UK-based Oxford Semiconductor has become the first European component manufacturer to take up a position on the Association's Board of Directors. Oxford Founder and Chief Technical Officer Dr Jalil Oraee was elected to the Association's Board in January.

Oraee commented, "European manufacturers have a very real opportunity to help shape the future of IEEE 1394 implementation. The scope for applying the standard to consumer electronics, home networking, wireless, industrial and automotive electronics is immense and Europe holds the knowledge to extend 1394's reach still further."

Speaking during a two-week fact-finding tour of Europe, Executive Director of the 1394 Trade Association James Snider said, "Through the PC and A/V sectors, America and Japan have been instrumental in the development of the standard, evidenced by the success of the 'FireWire and i.LINK' brands. The strength of Europe in other sectors including audio and set top box design means that future implementation of the standard will benefit greatly from European input."

He continued, "The egalitarian nature of the Trade Association means the start-up can have as profound an impact on standard specifications as the big corporate. A number of the most successful working groups within the association have been initiated by some of our smallest member companies."

Oraee added, "From a technology perspective, IEEE 1394 will continue to provide superior connectivity solutions. I recommend that any European electronics manufacturer with an interest in future connectivity to sign up to the Trade Association's meeting in Barcelona, meet with the technical experts, key industrialists and marketers and discuss the opportunities 1394 can bring."

Companies wishing to register for the 1394 Trade Association's Barcelona meeting in May can do so via the Association's web site at www.1394ta.org. The closing date for registration is March 15.

With a membership of 170 companies, the non profit-making trade association was founded in 1994 to support the development of computer and consumer electronics systems, that could be easily interconnected via a single serial multimedia link. The IEEE 1394 standard has since spawned the ubiquitous multimedia connection solution, also known as 'FireWire' and 'i.LINK'.