Q: “Can USB 2 extend as far as FireWire?”
A: Well, yes and no. USB 2.0 has a distance limitation of about 5 meters and FireWire 400 delivers data over cables of up to 4.5 meters in length. However, there are products that can act as repeaters to help you extend USB & USB 2.0 over longer distances if you need them. Using professional-grade glass optical fiber, FireWire 800 can burst data across 100 meter cables. What’s more, you don’t even have to have a new computer or device to gain the length. As long as both devices are connected to a FireWire 800 hub, you can connect them via super-efficient glass optical cable. That means you could put a camera on the field – connected directly to a Mac in the press box. Or set up a killer digital audio studio with Macs in one room and recording interfaces in another with little or no latency loss from the extra cable length.