# USB-C -> FireWire adapter?



## Nick Batzdorf (Apr 17, 2016)

So it appears that USB-C is now the connector du jour, carrying Thunderbolt and everything else.

Does anyone happen to know whether you can get FireWire adapters for it, specifically ones that work for, say, Metric Halo 2882 interfaces?

It appears you can find DVI-D adapters; what isn't clear is whether this is still too new, and also whether you can use a hub if you need FW and DVI-D.

(I'm ready to replace my Mac laptop, and it appears that this is the wrong time, both because of this and because they're overdue for new models.)

TIA


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## higgs (Apr 17, 2016)

I just checked on my usual computery-parts go to joints, OWC and StarTech - neither one has anything in the way of a simple-ish setup for that. The closest I could find would be a Thunderbolt 3 (which looks to be the same connector as USB-C) to Thunderbolt 2 adapter cable and then using the OWC Thunderbolt 2 dock, or similar docks from Belkin or StarTech. Then you'd still need a thunderbolt to DVI connector or some other thing...

Thunderbolt 3 is out now but I can't find mention if it will be in the next round of MBP updates which the rumor mill claim to be about two months overdue based on previous release date timeframes: http://buyersguide.macrumors.com/#Retina_MacBook_Pro

In any event, if you're buying new, then it might be worth waiting for the forthcoming update, though it's also uncertain if this would be a mid-cycle update or a full update.


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## Nick Batzdorf (Apr 17, 2016)

Thanks particle man. Yes, I read the MacRumors thing too, which is why I say this is the wrong time to buy a new laptop. If the current MacBook Pro held 32GB I'd be okay with it, but 16B isn't enough. Alternatively, their lower-end laptops, which I'd use just for traveling, are too expensive.

So it's neither fish nor fowl until the next updates.


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## higgs (Apr 17, 2016)

I'm still running on a late 2012 i7 MBP Retina with whatever maxed out RAM it accommodates (I think 16gb) and its holding up much better than I thought it would. But I'm with you on the RAM in terms of my next mobile rig upgrade. But who knows what they'll do - so yep neither fish nor foul here as well.


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## Nick Batzdorf (Apr 17, 2016)

I'm running a 2007 MBP maxed out at 4GB.  It's slowing way down, it needs bunch of new things, and it's not worth spending the money it would take to get it working right again - if that's even possible. At the end I'd have a heavy laptop with a 2-hour battery life, that's way out of date anyway.

If I go for the next MBP, it'll be a quad i7 that takes the place of a lot of what my 2008 8-core Mac Pro is doing now.


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## higgs (Apr 17, 2016)

No wonder you're itching for the upgrade. That's awesome that your running a machine nearly a decade old though!


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## Nick Batzdorf (Apr 17, 2016)

And as I've posted many times, the 8-core is still an excellent machine (with 32GB and SSD system drives). But I'm taking a couple of long trips in a few weeks, and the MBP is just not up to it.


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## Gerhard Westphalen (Apr 17, 2016)

I think it depends on the sort of protocol that USB-C uses. I know that you can't get USB3-> Firewire as it's impossible to do. I believe Firewire sends a constant stream of data while the USB clumps data together or something like that. I don't know how USB-C works but I imagine it's not all that different from USB3 so I've always assumed that there won't be any sort of adapter ever made and am never getting a firewire interface for a PC.


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## Udo (Apr 17, 2016)

Nick, I've seen USB 2 > firewire adapters in the past, but they could of course only handle fw400 (never tried one myself).


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## Nick Batzdorf (Apr 18, 2016)

Okay, I found an article. The one I read before made it sound like Thunderbolt was going over USB-C, but apparently not.

For me personally, the only good news is that I never bought anything that uses Thunderbolt. I've been saying all along that Thunderbolt can kiss my ass. 

http://www.macworld.com/article/289...r-new-connection-overlord-get-used-to-it.html


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## Nick Batzdorf (Apr 18, 2016)

And now I see I was right. Thunderbolt does go over a USB-C if you use the right cable, as long as the device supports it. And as far as I know, the only computer with it is the on-the-way-out MacBook, which only has USB-C.

http://www.macnn.com/articles/16/03/01/new.protocol.broadly.widens.audio.use.adds.dsc.132811/

So that means my question is still sensible. If the USB-C connector is sending Thunderbolt, then you'd think that a Thunderbolt-FireWire adapter would be possible.


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