Getting Started

Linux1394 Web

A. Requirements

1. You must have the appropriate hardware. You will need at least an IEEE 1394 host adapter. Usually, this is a PCI card, but sometimes it is builtin as is the case with recent Apple Macintosh and Sony Vaio computers. You can continue without any 1394 peripheral devices, but that is not very practical. Devices can vary, but digital video (DV) cameras and hard drives are common peripheral devices.
2. You must be comfortable configuring and compiling a custom Linux kernel. Linux 1394 works best with recent 2.4 kernels. See the official Linux Kernel HOWTO if you do not have this experience, but feel confident. If you do not feel confident about building your own kernel, then we suggest that you wait until your distribution provides a kernel ready for 1394.
3. Patience. The applications for working with IEEE 1394 are not yet mature, and problems and compatibility issues exist. Do not be surprised if something does not work. Also, all of the known applications are not yet distributed in a binary format, so you must compile and install them yourself. This could take quite a bit of time and energy if you are not familiar with Linux administration and/or programming.

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