This guide will serve as a start when you have CD-i hardware that doesn't work anymore. It is a collection of experiences over the years by several CD-i users. It will show how to locate an error when the "play CD-i" button does not appear or the display shows an "ERR" error message. You will find solutions how to clean controllers when buttons do not work properly or how to repair a CD-i player that doesn't spin anymore. Moreover, this guide will grow over time: It is built by all our users/members. Together we create the most extensive CD-i repair guide :)
What to do when the "Play CD-i" does not appear?What to do when the LCD displays an "ERR" or "ERROR" message?
First make sure that you don't use a faulty CDR. CD-i has a slow CD reading mechanism, therefor it is sensitive to bad CD buring and low quality CDR's. Also make sure the positioning of the CD is right. It is unlikely that it goes wrong, but when a player gets older and parts tend to get a little looser, it's good to check if the parts are well on its place, check if the lid closes the right way and make sure the CD is positioned right in the tray. Also be sure the disc is clean and free of scratches.Next: check if the CD is spinning. If it is not spinning, proceed to section FIVE. You normally hear the sound of the motor/disc spinning around. If the disc is spinning but the player is still not willing to play it, check if the laser mechanism is clean. Section FIVE goes deeper into this subject.
It is unlikely that a dead timekeeper battery will cause this problem.
Repair Topics:
--1. TIMEKEEPER RELATED
A. There are 3 methods of repairing a CD-i player that doesn't store savegames and forgets the time.
1. Replace the TimeKeeper chip. Although this being the "chique" way because everything is kept original, there are also disadvantages. TimeKeeper chips are not produced any more; chances of getting one that contains a decharged battery are getting bigger every day. Not to mention the forgeries from China that don't work at all. Another disadvantage is that desoldering the old chip might be a bit of a hassle. Either way, your newly placed TimeKeeper will be empty again someday.... Tip: When possible, place a chip socket!
2. Hack into the TimeKeeper. Big disadvantage is that this is kind of a harsh job, you are litterally hacking into the chip. On the plus side, you don't need to desolder the original chip and you can easily replace the new backup battery when it runs empty. There are a lot of incomplete and/or unclear instructions on the internet, but I found one that is very good. Here it is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNwtHQ95PoE&feature=youtu.be&t=1551
3. Desolder the chip, put a socket in and put the hacked chip back. Yes, it's a hassle to desolder the old chips, especially when they are soldered from from both sides, but the result is worth it. The chips are not always soldered from both sides and sometimes only a couple of pins are stuck. In any case you will need a powerful desoldering gun to remove all the solder from the bottom. Then inspect the top side and see what pins are still stuck. Either apply fresh solder and use desoldering wick to remove all of it or hold a soldering iron on the pins to heat them up one by one while using the gun from the other side.
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3. Desolder the chip, put a socket in and put the hacked chip back. Yes, it's a hassle to desolder the old chips, especially when they are soldered from from both sides, but the result is worth it. The chips are not always soldered from both sides and sometimes only a couple of pins are stuck. In any case you will need a powerful desoldering gun to remove all the solder from the bottom. Then inspect the top side and see what pins are still stuck. Either apply fresh solder and use desoldering wick to remove all of it or hold a soldering iron on the pins to heat them up one by one while using the gun from the other side.
--2. POINTER DEVICE RELATED
A. When building a controller adapter, you need to find the mini din cable to hack up, where to get it? (like a SNES adapter of SEGA adapter)
Search for an old Apple Mac serial port extension cable, it's the same what people use for PC Engine controllers.B. Can't get my controller to register on my CD-i and I'm not sure if its the controller or the console.
Make sure it's plugged into the front port. Front port(s) are supposed to be controller inputs and one back port for data/modem. It will work in the front port for Player1. Make sure to plug it into the port before switching on the power.C. I have a roller controller, but I can’t get the curser to move with any of them in either input port.The roller controller fire buttons appear to work. How to solve this?
A common problem with the Philip's CD-I Roller Controller is that the IR Emitters will degrade in performance and the track ball with stop tracking. The buttons will work but the trackball won't move. This can be fixed by removing and replacing the 4 IR Emitters. You'll need 4 x Side looking IR Emitters - My local electronics only had these OPB815 which I took apart and removed the IR emitter. Follow this guide how to repair your Roller Controller.
--3. VIDEO/AUDIO OUTPUT RELATED
A. Is RGB Out possible?
1. RGB on a CDI450 is much harder because it has a Roboco mainboard that isn't used by any RGB capable CD-i player. The CDI470 however has a mainboard that has already the space for the RGB parts. Try it with help of the service manual, it should be easier than the DO output. I assume that you want to add Euro-SCART RGB. If you want something else, like YUV, then this is not going to work.For a start, always follow the footnotes in the service manual:
# - Only for RBG - add 1k resistor 3161 to enable RGB (it's right next to the Bt video encoder)
@ - Only for CDI210/51... do not add these components, they are for Jp region only
* - Not for player with Eurocon - do not add these components if you want to implement RGB/SCART (1013)
Follow 2,4,6,8 through the unpopulated area on your player PCB (marked "analog video") and add components for each colour and sync until you reach the SCART connector (1013) and its pins 19,15,11,7.
Ignore the components in the boxes with the dashed lines (explained above). You will need a transistor and a couple of resistors per signal. At the end, before the SCART connector, there are a couple of coils (DSS306-xxxxx) - I don't know how to obtain these though.
Also, take care of SCART pins 18,15,11,7 (GND for the signals) and 16 (needs to be 1-3V to switch TV to RGB - just follow the schematics or omit if TV can be set to RGB manually). And don't forget the audio channels...
B. Is adding digital audio out (SP/Dif or optical) to a CD-i 470 possible?
The 470 only has analog audio output. I would like to add an SP/Dif or optical output to it. Of course it want it to be a genuine digital output. The players have the same mainboard generation (MonoIV), there are even comments about CDI470 in some of the schematics. Then, look for the digital audio output (D.O. / BU10) and compare that area to your CDI470. Populate missing components, if needed, and hope that it works. Here's a picture of that area in a CDI660, DO is the black port. With the component numbers you should be able to identify the area in the service manuals.
It's probably best to wait until complete service manuals for CDI660/740 surface. Both my CDI220 and CDI660 have it built-in as well.
C. "I am currently using rca cables but want better graphics. Does the CD-i use a 4 pin S video cable that then splits into 3 rca jacks? Is this the best way to go?"
The available video outputs differ between the player models and revisions. An S-Video to RCA cable is never an option. The highest you could get is via Scart as it should be supporting RGB (separate red, green blue). Dont confuse this with component video, who uses also the same color plugs. In the picture below ou see a first generation U.S. model. S-Video is on the left and the best video option. Use it together with the sound on the right. There is no adaptation into anything better possible. Alternatives: Upscalers like Retrotink2x or Framemeister.
D. For your CD-i 450: Do I need a male composite (red, yellow, white) to male composite or scart? Oldish TV, non-hd, non-smart.
The 450 does not output RGB or anything else other than composite. So you either need the composite cables from the back of the console to hook to the tv (if it has those inputs) or those 3 cables into a scart adapter to the tv. There is a way to mod the 450 for RGB but it needs opening the console and modding it, it is not possible by defaultE. Can you burn MPEG1 movies on a disc and play them on a CD-i player?
The system needs an application file on every VCD you create. So No, the CD-i player can only read the video if the application is installed on the cd, according to the VCD standard. I used to do that in Nero as well. Interesting why version 7 doesn't allow you to do that properly anymore! Nero 6 works flawless, it must be a bug. Version 3.2 is the latest version of the Video-CD 1.1 runtime for CD-i. It is prefered to use this application instead of version 4.x when no Video-CD 2.0 functionality is required.F. I got a Philips Cdi 220 model and on start up it has bottom half of screen just green static, any info please?
To me that looks like you are seeing the full screen output from CDi (the bit down to start of purple) but it is squeezed into top 60% of screen and rest is filled by purple. So it's not that the bottom of the CDi video plane is corrupted. Display mode compatibility (e.g. Looking for more lines than are provided by CDi?)
Do you have a Digital Video Cartridge inserted? If so, please try to connect your CD-i player without the DVC. Let's try to repair your player. Have you ever tried to open your CD-i player?Check this picture, this is the 220 main board.
At the left side, you can read "Digital Video" upstairs you can find the Motorola chip, this this the graphic chip. Now check the welds. Try to see if some may have welds broken. Another very important point who can make these parasites/interferences are the capacitors. The capacitors are the vertical components with a grey head. They are measured as micro farat. To check them just with your eyes and fingers, look at the top of each of them... the "head" must be flat. If you see a liquid or some sort of colored substance on the top or even feel with your thingers that it is not flat at all, this means you need to change the ones them. The value changing of the capacitors capacity may highly influence on video and/or sound.
--4. POWER (SOURCE) RELATED
A. My CDi 220 suddenly stopped working and is just booting to a solid blue screen. Any idea what can cause this? It also sometimes doesn't even power on or freezes a few second after powering on.
When the player will not startup, check the fuse inside next to the power input. But it's probably a broken TimeKeeper. Maybe leaking capacitors as well. (See section ONE)
B. when opening the tray or in the middle of a game, I get a bunch of green lines on the screen and the system reboots. Any ideas what might need repair within?
Just hitting the eject button causes this now. You hear the drive, this occurs then it returns to the main menu. Maybe some bad caps in there? It’s an issue with using the drive. When you hit eject, this often occurs. Sometimes it does it mid-game. Please unplug the power, switch the unit on and wait a couple of minutes. Then plug it back in. Is the date/clock still running or stuck somewhere in the '90s? Did you try a different screen and a different video signal? (e.g. composite). When you open the player shell, check the capacitors. The problem may reappear... This may be due to a power issue (dead capacitors or diodes), check all wires connections to the board and from the front panel.
--5. DISC READING / SPINNING RELATED
Can you hear the disc spinning? That would rule out if there is something wrong with the disc motor. If the disc is spinning normal, also check the movement of the laser.
Repair your CD Drive by following this guide
In this video they repair the motor in a CD-i 220
Try seeing if the laser has movement.
You can do this by turning the system on with the door open. There is a small door switch you can push down with something like a toothpick. If the laser does not make any movement then its most likely a bad laser. First signs of a bad laser pickup is when the background music in a CD-i title starts dropping out. The system is designed that if it doesn't' not detect a CD it will automatically stop. You saying the cd will spin for a second indicates the system looked for a cd but did not fine one so it shut down the laser assembly. The culprit for that is the laser did not return a signal to the board.A. I've got a CD-I 220. It powers on and goes to menu but won't read any disc. I don't think the disk is spinning. I do need to push the tray back in as it only retracts 3/4 way back in. Any idea how to fix?
Very common errors, you'll find repair tutorials all over the www.1. Drawer - rubber belt too old and dried grease: fix/replace rubber belt and put new grease on
2. Read discs - depends on the drive. Either the spindle is stuck or the magnet on the spindle counterpart lost strength or the laser died: Turn spindle with force, recharge counterpart magnet and clean laser. If that doesn't help then replace the laser or whole pickup.
B. The tray-loading mechanism of my CD-i player doesn't open properly and makes noises. What's wrong?
Philips CD-i players with a tray-loading mechanism have some common failures: The rubber belt gets loose or decays and the grease dries over time. This causes the tray not to move at all or to get stuck or to make an annoying screaming noise whenever the tray is opened and closed. A screaming noise is caused by the big wheel with the rubber belt, but one drop of grease on the small part with the gears gets rid of the noise for good._____________________________________________________________
This guide is compiled by the whole CD-i community. The more problems are reported, the more extensive this guide will be. It will be updated over time.
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[Thanks, rosewood (Retrostuff.org)], RetroMan, Omegalfa, GadgetUK164, Ashton Humphrey, Robin van Duikeren, Instructables, CD-i Dude, Daniel, Erronous, Devin]