IEEE1394 Device Driver Toolkit for Windows

Features Supported Platforms Demo Documentation Prices

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VHPD1394 V2.20 with Windows 7 support

The Windows IEEE 1394 Driver Stack

The IEEE 1394 High Performance Serial Bus (also known as FireWire or i.Link™) is supported in all current Windows operating systems. Windows provides a bus driver and device drivers for various IEEE1394 OHCI compliant host controllers (e.g. from Texas Instruments / TI, VIA, RICOH or NEC). The Windows 1394 driver stack exports a programming interface which is available in kernel mode only. Win32 applications running in user mode are not able to access this interface.

It is for this reason that communication between Windows applications and IEEE 1394 devices requires a kernel-mode driver which has to conform to the Windows Driver Model (WDM).

Kernel-mode WDM Device Drivers

Developing a kernel-mode WDM driver is considerable different to developing Windows applications. It requires specialist knowledge in kernel-mode programming and a deep understanding of operating system internals. The development and debugging process can be very time-consuming, especially if the driver has to support different Windows systems (e.g. Windows 2000 and XP). These driver development efforts can avoided using the generic IEEE 1394 device driver VHPD1394.

VHPD1394 - The Generic IEEE 1394 Device Driver for Windows

The generic high performance IEEE 1394 device driver VHPD1394 provides Win32 applications with direct access to IEEE 1394 devices. It can be used with any kind of IEEE 1394 device, enabling application developers to control devices without having to develop a kernel-mode WDM driver. The VHPD1394 driver provides an extensive programming interface based on standard Windows API functions. It supports the complete IEEE 1394 functionality and is optimized for maximum efficiency.

Programming Interface
The Win32 native VHPD1394 programming interface is ideal for use in programming languages such as C, C++ and Delphi. The VHPD1394 toolkit includes a C++ class library, providing an easy-to-use interface. There are numerous source code examples showing how to integrate the VHPD1394 driver into an application.

Customization
The VHPD1394 software components can be integrated into a final product. Various product-specific adaptations (e.g. file names, paths, copyright messages) are supported. The result is a fully customized driver package that can be shipped as part of an end product. Customization prevents conflicts with other products that are using the VHPD1394 driver as well.

VHPD1394 V2.20 Feature Summary

Supports Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows XP x64 Edition, Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 x64 Edition, Windows Vista, Windows Vista x64 Edition, Windows 7, Windows 7 x64 Edition
All Windows IEEE 1394 functions are available at the Win32 API level
No Windows DDK development is required
The programming interface supports C, C++ and Delphi
Fully supports asynchronous and isochronous data transfer mode with PC acting as data source or data sink
Implementation is optimized for transport of broadband data streams with low latency
Programming interface is optimized for flexibility and efficiency (high throughput at low CPU load)
Win32 overlapped I/O and multithreaded programming is fully supported
The driver is able to control multiple IEEE 1394 devices simultaneously and to serve multiple applications simultaneously.
Design and implementation complies with the Windows Driver Model (WDM). The driver is certifiable by Microsoft Windows Hardware Quality Labs (WHQL) for all current 32 bit and 64 bit operating systems.
Customization is fully supported; a vendor-specific driver package can easily be created.
The driver can be used in systems utilizing an IEEE 1394b OHCI host adapter. In combination with Thesycon’s IEEE 1394 Bus Driver for Windows the full set of current 1394 standards can be supported.
Supports 64-bit Windows
Supports virtual 1394 devices to provide a network-level programming interface that is independent of available physical devices.

Supported Platforms x86 x64

Windows 2000 yes

Windows XP yes

Windows XP embedded yes

Windows Server 2003 yes

Windows Vista yes

Windows 7

Free Downloads

VHPD1394 Demo

The VHPD1394 Demo is time-limited but has full functionality. The demo package includes the VHPD1394 device driver, complete documentation and the source code of all programming examples.

VHPD1394 Demo download page