PC Technology Resources

Primary references for PC system and peripheral technology

• PC Technology

• Standards Organizations

• PC Storage Formats

• PC Interface / Communications Formats

See also: Digital Video Editing References  (FireWire / DV)  
See also: DVD Authoring References  (Optical formats)
See also: Web Streaming Media Resources  (Streaming formats)
See also: Wireless / Handheld / PDA Media Resources  (Wireless formats)

PC Technology

PC Webopedia
    webopedia.internet.com

Microsoft Windows Vista
    www.microsoft.com/Windowsvista

Microsoft - Windows XP
    www.microsoft.com/windowsxp

Microsoft - DirectX
    www.microsoft.com/directx

Adam Perer's DirectX eXperience
    www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Way/3390/index.html

OpenGL.org
    www.opengl.org

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Standards Organizations

National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
    www.nist.gov

International Organization for Standardization (ISO)
    www.iso.org

International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC)
    www.iec.ch

International Telecommunication Union (ITU)
    www.itu.int

European Computer Manufacturers Association (ECMA)
    www.ecma-international.org

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PC Storage Formats

International Recording Media Association (IRMA)
    www.recordingmedia.org

Media-Tech Association
    www.media-tech.net

SDHC Cards -- SD 2.0 High Capacity

• SD Card Assoc. specification 2.0 for SDHC - SD High-Capacity

• 4 to 32 GB, 9 MB/sec

• Larger capacity: FAT 12/16 to FAT 32 - 4, 8 GB

• Higher data speed: Speed Class 2, 4 6 (MB/sec)

• Not backwards compatible with legacy SD devices -- only 2 GB or less

• www.sdcard.org/sdhc/index.html

• www.sandisk.com/sdhc/SDHC.pdf

U3 - Flash drives
    www.u3.com

Optical Storage Technology Association (OSTA)
    www.osta.org

Mount Rainier - CD and DVD background formatting and defect management
    www.mt-rainier.org  

HighMAT -- digital music and photo playback on CD
    www.highmat.com (-> windowsmedia)
    www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/Consumerelectronics/highmat.aspx

RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disks) References
    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redundant_array_of_independent_disks

• RAID 0 stripes data across multiple discs for better performance

• RAID 1 mirrors the data for redundancy

• RAID 5 combines both with striping plus distributed parity information

High Definition Compatible Digital (HDCD) Audio
    www.hdcd.com

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PC Interface / Communications Formats

PC Webopedia
    webopedia.internet.com/Hardware/Ports_and_Interfaces

Intel - Processors, Hyper-Threading
    www.intel.com/products/processor
    www.intel.com/technology/hyperthread

Memory Implementers Forum (Dell, HP and Intel) -- DDR2 SDRAM
    www.memforum.org

Intel     www.intel.com/technology/memory    
Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DDR2_SDRAM

DDR2 SDRAM (Double Data Rate Two Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory)

Redoubles data rate of DDR-SDRAM
faster throughput, lower power usage, future growth in clock speeds www.memforum.org

PCI - Peripheral Component Interconnect / PCI Express (PCI-e)

           
        PCI-SIG - PCI Express - PCI-X 2.0

• PCI Express bidirectional, and faster then the older PCI and AGP interfaces

• guarantees each device dedicated bandwidth through the system controller

• slots are defined by their bandwidth, or number of data lanes - 1, 4, 8, 16 lanes

• one card can support 1 to 32 lanes at 250 MB/sec each, up to 8 GB/sec

• PCI Express x1 about twice as fast as PCI

• 4-lane slot can transfer data at up to 1 GBps 

• PCI Express x8 is around the speed of the fastest AGP
      up to 2 GBps - almost 2X 133MHz PCI-X slot at max throughput just over 1 GBps

• previous PCI Extended, PCI-X

PCI-SIG - PCI Special Interest Group    www.pcisig.com
Apple             www.apple.com/powermac/pciexpress.html    
Intel               www.intel.com/technology/pciexpress/devnet    
Wikipedia     en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PCI-Express

SATA -- Serial ATA / eSATA -- External SATA

• Designed to replace the older ATA and SCSI formats, offering higher performance with ease of connection

• ATA drives low cost, high capacity

• Internal data rates reaching up to 75 MB/sec, USB and 1394 interface rates are bottleneck

• Internal: SATA 1.5 Gb/sec (150 MB/sec) or SATA 3 Gb/sec (300 MB/sec)

• External: eSATA with more robust cables and connections (multiple insertion , shielded)
      Electrical Static Discharge (ESD) , Electro Magnetic Interference

Serial ATA International Organization (SATA-IO)    www.sata-io.org
    www.serialata.org
Wikipedia     en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serial_ATA

Infrared Data Association
    www.irda.org

USB Implementers Forum, Inc. (USB-IF)
    www.usb.org

1394 Trade Association (FireWire)
    www.1394ta.com

PC Networking Formats

Home Networking Technology 

Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA)
    www.dlna.org

Universal Plug and Play (UPnP)
    www.upnp.org

Intel Networked Media Product Requirements (Intel NMPR)
    www.intel.com/technology/dhdevnet

Wi-Fi Alliance

• wireless Local Area Network, based on IEEE 802.11 family of specifications

• actual 180 Mbps or higher

• Wi-Fi Protected Setup (previously Wi-Fi Simple Config) optional certification program 
      simple configuration

• 802.11b, Wi-Fi, 2.4 GHz spectrum with a bandwidth of 11 Mbps

• 802.11a - 5 GHz frequency range with a maximum data rate of 54 Mbps

• 802.11g - 2.4 GHz frequency but with a maximum data rate of 54 Mbps.

• 802.11n - at least 100Mbps, up to 540 Mbps.

• Multiple-Input-Multiple-Output (MIMO) technology, using multiple receivers and multiple transmitters in both the client and access point to achieve improved performance

• Wi-Fi Zone Finder - wi-fi.jiwire.com

• www.wi-fi.org

• www.wirelessethernet.org

WiMAX Forum

• IEEE 802.16e-2005 Wireless Broadband Access (BWA)

• high power RF, high-speed wireless broadband Internet access
      speed of multiple Mbps within a range of several miles

• guaranteed QoS (Quality of Service) for VoIP, IPTV, 

• ZyXEL models operate at 2.5, 3.5, and 2.3 GHz bands for different regions' regulations

• last-mile solution for service providers to extend DSL coverage

• 802.16e standard solutions

• www.wimaxforum.org

MoCA (Multimedia over Cable Alliance)

• fastest: theoretical 270 Mbps, actual 135 Mbps

• low latency rate 5 milliseconds actual usage, 20 to 30 for HomePlug AV and HPNA

• Minimal interference from other TV signals and no interference from household appliances or devices, operation on a protected signal above the 850 MHz spectrum that ensures no interference with cable TV, digital broadcast satellite or other media

• Verizon - 100 Mbps Actiontec router for FiOS TV customers

• www.mocalliance.org

HomePlug Powerline Alliance

• HomePlug AV - 2005 - maximum theoretical data rate of up to 200 Mbps

• HomePlug Turbo - 2004 - 85 Mbps HomePlug 1.0 - 2001 - 14 Mbps

• most pervasive wiring in the home 

• throughput of only 50 to 55 Mbps

• noise, interference possibly incompatible

• www.homeplug.org

Home Phoneline Networking Alliance - HomePNA - HPNA 

• existing copper phone lines for in-home networking 

• recently added the ability to network over coax as well

• International Telecommunications Union, HomePNA 3.0 (G.9954) 

• data rates of up to 240 Mbps, average data rate of 107 Mbps

• www.hpna.org

Near Field Communication (NFC) / NFC Forum

• short-range wireless connectivity technology

• intuitive, simple, and safe communication between electronic devices

• devices within four centimeters of one another

• operates at 13.56 MHz, up to 424 Kbits/second.

• inherently secure, short transmission range

• www.nfc-forum.org

Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG)

• low-power, short-range radio technology

• operates in unlicensed, 2.4 GHz ISM band. (Cordless phones, microwaves, Wi-Fi 

• Adaptive Frequency Hopping (AFH) reduces interference in sharing spectrum

• Class 2 radios - most commonly found in mobile devices - range 10 meters, 30 feet

• Class 1 radios - used primarily in industrial use cases - range 100 meters, 300 feet

• Bluetooth Specification Version 2.0 + EDR (Enhanced Data Rate) Nov 2004

• Up to 3Mbps with Version 2.0 + EDR; 1 Mbps for earlier versions

• 3/06 - WiMedia multiband orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (MB-OFDM) 
      ultra-wideband (UWB) for integration with Bluetooth

• www.bluetooth.com

RFID

RFID Technical Institute Inc. (RTI)
    www.rfidtech.com

International RFID Business Association (RFIDba)
    www.rfidbusiness.org

EPCglobal US
    www.epcglobalus.org

GS1 US Inc. -- was Uniform Code Council Inc.
    www.gs1us.org

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