Looking for info about a CD-i
Hi all, I'm hoping someone can provide some information about an odd CD-i that I've had in my collection for many years. It is a model 220 but is branded with "Digital Music Express" decals. It was apparently used for background music in a retail/restaurant environment. It appears to function correctly when a cd-i disc is inserted but when a standard audio cd is inserted the disc is ejected immediately. I assume this is to prevent a DMX customer from just using their regular cd's. I also cannot get it to read or even acknowledge any burned discs including older blue-dyed discs burned at 4x (the lowest speed I can burn).
I have only a few real cd-i games and would love to try out some of the other games. Are there any tips/suggestions for burning readable discs? Or perhaps this particular unit won't read audio or burned discs? Any way to defeat this function? Is anyone familiar with this unit and is there any interest in it? I have scoured the internet and haven't found another similar unit anywhere. I'd love to hear any feedback you can offer. Thanks!
Could you please post a picture of the model?
At the rear side of the player, you will find a sticker with complete player model.
Is it the 220/97C ?
Hi, thanks for the reply. You are correct that the model number is 220/97c. I've attached a few photos as well. Any info or suggestions would be appreciated!
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Can you please post screenshots of the General Options/Copyright and Storage screens?
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@cityside75 This player has the ROM ID 60 R1.6 - known from the last generation of the CDI220 (/80, /97).
This ROM has no (audio) lock functions.
(Activated lock functions would show an icon in the upper left corner and would not even read the TOC of an audio CD).
The internal memory is empty - an indication that the battery in the SmartWatch socket is no longer working.
You can test this by setting the current date and time and activating the date/time display option. Then, disconnect the mains cable and wait a minute or two. When you plug it back in, check that the date and time are still displayed correctly in the player shell.
This and/or a dying laser could be the cause of the behaviour you are observing.
You can test the CD mechanism with the service shell. Connect pins 2+3 of the front connector and start the player.
More information: https://retrostuff.org/2019/12/23/philips-cdi470-diagnosis-and-repair/#Service-Shell
The battery is still functional. I actually just plugged it back in recently after leaving it unplugged since late last year and it still had the correct date and time. I also tested a save just before taking those pictures then deleted it.
I've been doing more testing and it reads official CD-i discs on the first or second try almost every time. Once in a while it gets a little more finicky on startup but once it starts reading it doesn't skip or fail. It also reads the DMX disc that I have with a similar success rate. I tested a bunch of different brand CD-r's that I had around and found a couple Sony and Philips brands appeared to work pretty well, most other CD-r's don't even spin in the tray.
The action with audio CD's seems too intentional to be a defect but I'm not ruling anything out. It reads audio CD's as well or better than any other type and it appears ready to start playing but just as the audio would start it immediately ejects. It doesn't exhibit this ejecting behavior with any other type of disc, even those it can't read. I used to work as a restaurant manager in a restaurant that had a DMX system and I seem to recall that system wouldn't play regular CD's either but I'm not entirely sure.
I can upload a video of the behavior if it would help.
Edit: Forgot to say thanks for the diagnostic info, I'll give that a try next time I get a chance and let you know what I find.
Second edit: Unfortunately I just don't have time to do any more research about this one. I've listed it for sale here if interested: CD-i 220 for sale