CD-i: Difference between revisions

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The CD-i was never meant to be a video game console, it was designed to be a "Interactive Multimedia" CD player, targeted mainly at people with disposable income. When the system started to show signs of being a major flop for Philips, they pivoted the direction of the CD-i into the uncharted territories of video games.

The CD-i is best known nowadays for being home to a port of [https://www.mobygames.com/game/45865/tetris/ Tetris] with a new-age Jim Andron soundtrack, and [https://www.mobygames.com/game/21133/zeldas-adventure/ four] [https://www.mobygames.com/game/21134/zelda-the-wand-of-gamelon/ particularly] [https://www.mobygames.com/game/21409/link-the-faces-of-evil/ notorious] [https://www.mobygames.com/game/21411/hotel-mario/ games] loosely based on Nintendo copyrights, which were mainly made possible by Philips's prior attempts to develop a CD add-on for the [[Super Nintendo emulators|SNES]]. Their takes on Nintendo intellectual property have earned so much infamy over the years that you would be hard-pressed to find anyone who doesn't immediately think of them whenever you mention the CD-i. However, there were a few cult classic games for the system as well.

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|+Please only include recommended emulators in this table. Do not bump or spam GitHub threads, issues, or feature request pages.

!CD-i Emulator

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| rowspan="2" |Controls

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| colspan="3" |For emulation of 2D systems, the resolution can only be upscaled, making the pixels more apparent.

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| rowspan="4" |Performance

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| rowspan="6" |Post-processing

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| rowspan="11" |Quality of life

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| rowspan="6" |[https://tasvideos.org/Emulatorresources/Features TAS features]

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| rowspan="9" |Misc.

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| colspan="3" |Exclusive to [https://github.com/RetroCrisis/Retro-Crisis-Audio-Filters libretro cores] at the moment.

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| colspan="3" |Exclusive to [https://www.emuvr.net/wiki/Installation_Guide#Downloads libretro cores] at the moment.

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| colspan="3" |You can use [https://docs.libretro.com/guides/ai-service/ RetroArch's AI Service] or the standalone offline [https://github.com/bquenin/interpreter bquenin's Interpreter].

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|+Please only include recommended emulators in this table. Do not bump or spam GitHub threads, issues, or feature request pages.

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CD-i has many hardware variants, and some third-party manufacturers even produced their own [[Home media players|media players]] based on the CD-i format and technology.[https://www.cdiemu.org/?body=site/dvcarts.htm]

The underlying architecture of CD-i players changed drastically over the platform's lifespan to reduce costs and consolidate chips. Knowing the board type is critical for emulation, as it dictates which chips (like the VDSC or CDIC) are present.

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Philips released several "series" of players, each with slightly different internal BIOS and board revisions. The numbers following the slash (e.g., /00, /17) generally indicate regional variations or minor hardware revisions.

* '''100 Series (180):''' The original "professional" and early consumer units (180/20/37). These often have a distinct, older BIOS look and feel.

** Models include: 200/00/17/20/37/40/57, 205/00, 210/00/17/20/25/37/40/57/60/77, 220/00/17/20/37/40/57/60/77/80/97.

** ''Notes:'' The CD-i 200 is the USA version of the CD-i 210. The CD-i 210/00 is internally a CD-i 220/20 in a different case with some features missing.

** '''21TCDI30/00:''' A television set containing a built-in CD-i 210/40.

Because CD-i was intended as a universal standard (like [[Home media players|VHS or Audio CD]]), several other companies produced hardware:

** '''GDI 750 / GDI 1000''' (00/17): Rebranded Philips CD-i 450 units.

** '''GPI-1200M/00:''' A portable unit (also rebranded by Philips as the 370).

** '''LG GDI-700/00'''.

* '''Magnavox:''' Primarily rebranded Philips units for the North American market (e.g., Magnavox CD-i 200).

* '''Samsung:''' Released the '''Samsung DV-5500''', which is highly sought after by collectors for its unique build quality.

* '''Kyocera:''' Produced the '''Kyocera Pro 1000'''.

* '''DMB Korea:''' Released the '''DMB-1000/00'''.

* '''BIOS Matching:''' Most CD-i emulators require a specific BIOS file that matches the hardware model. For general gaming, a Philips 220 or 450 BIOS is recommended. The board type (Mono-I vs Mono-IV, etc.) dictates which emulation profiles will boot successfully.

* '''DVC Emulation:''' To play games marked as "Digital Video Required," the emulator must have a DVC ROM (like the AH00, AH01, AH02, or AH03) mapped to the system. Without this, the system will prompt the user to "Insert Digital Video Cartridge" or simply crash to the shell.

* '''NVRAM:''' The CD-i uses Timekeeper RAM (NVRAM) to store save games. In real hardware, these batteries eventually die; emulators handle this by creating a separate `.nv` or `.srm` file.

{{Philips}}