After learning Apple killed off FireWire (IEEE 1394) support in macOS 26 Tahoe, I started looking at alternatives for old FireWire equipment like hard drives, DV cameras, and A/V gear.



I own an old Canon GL1 camera, with a 'DV' port. I could plug that into an old Mac (like the dual G4 MDD above) with FireWire—or even a modern Mac running macOS < 26, with some dongles—and transfer digital video footage between the camera and an application like Final Cut Pro.

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Apple's removal of FireWire (IEEE 1394) support in macOS 26 Tahoe prompted exploration of a Linux-based alternative using a Raspberry Pi 5. By adding a Mini PCIe HAT and a StarTech FireWire adapter, the Pi can recognize FireWire controllers. However, using them requires recompiling the Linux kernel with CONFIG_FIREWIRE and CONFIG_FIREWIRE_OHCI enabled, and configuring the Pi's PCIe bus for 32-bit DMA support (since old FireWire controllers lack 64-bit access). Once set up, the dvgrab tool can capture DV footage from cameras like the Canon GL1, and can be scripted for automation projects.

Using FireWire on a Raspberry Pi

Recompile the Linux Kernel with Firewire support