The Goldstar GPI1200-M is a rare portable CD-i player by LG. The prolonged and somewhat uneasy genesis
of DVD has tended to overshadow the steady development of CDi (CD
interactive) as a convenient, low-cost disc-based medium for moving
video and sound in the late Nineties. Although CDi was going difficulty competing with DVD as
a carrier for feature-length movies, it found a useful niche as a
training and presentation tool, which was precisely the application
Philips targeted with their CDi-370 laptop player. In 1995 Goldstar have
weighed in with the GPi-1200 portable CDi player. It has all of the
facilities of it’s grown-up cousins, including full-motion video
playback, CD quality audio plus a set of interactive controls.
The key to its portability is a fold-up 5.5-inch LCD
colour screen and re-chargeable battery pack. It can be used anywhere,
though it also has video (composite and S-Video) and audio outputs, for
connection to both PAL and NTSC televisions or monitors. The player can
handle a variety of other formats besides CD-i, including CD-DA,
CD+Graphics, Photo CD, CD-i Digital Video and Video CD, moreover it
supports standard CD-i pointing devices, keyboards and it can be
connected to a PC via a serial interface port. The controls are grouped
together on top of the disc cover; in addition to the normal transport
keys there’s a simple cursor control and two function buttons.
In spite of the limited resolution and viewing angle
of the LCD screen the picture is surprisingly good, it’s particularly
effective with coloured graphics, and the screen is large enough to be
seen by two or three people at once. Moving video is fairly smooth,
rapid movement or complex shapes throws up a few digital artefacts and
these tend to be exaggerated by the LCD, but on a normal TV screen
picture quality is comparable with a mains-powered deck. The built-in
stereo speakers are rather tinny, and not terribly loud, but they’re
fine for speech. To hear it properly the sound needs to be piped through
a TV or hi-fi system.
Although it’s possible to watch a Video CD movie on
the small screen it’s not very satisfactory. CD-i games fare a little
better, though the on-board cursor control is not very responsive. The
product is geared towards CD-i training and marketing material, and
there it succeeds brilliantly, mainly by virtue of its portability and
flexibility. Features: supported formats include CD-i, CD-DA, Photo CD,
CD-i Digital Video, CD+ Graphics, Video CD, 5.6-inch TFT colour LCD
screen, PAL/NTSC video, 2MB system RAM, nickel metal hydride battery
(approx. 1.5 hour running time), built-in stereo speakers, supplied with
power supply/ charger, AV cables. Sockets: composite video and stereo
audio output (phono), S-Video out (mini DIN), ports 1 & 2 (8-pin
mini DIN), headphone (minijack), DC power in & AV in (mini DIN).
Dimensions: 190 x 172 x 70mm.
[Thanks, Jacob Davis, Ben, McThomasson]