There are new updates on the homebrew CD-i hardware project about an alternative power source (including USB) for your CD-i 450 (when the original power brick starts to fail). It is, whether it is already a 100% solution or not, an amazing effort, that the CD-i Community is experimenting with it. CD-i member Aashima Yoshihiro made the 5v dc power connector for his CD-i-450. We talked before about the possibility to create a USB power source for use with the CD-i 450, as it requires 5V. Aashima Yoshihiro did some experiments and shared with us his results here. CD-i member Keenan Cross now shares with us his new dongle to convert the original power output connector to a DC power source.
Keenan Cross:"I hope this is helpful to someone: Like many people it seems, I wound up with a CD-i, not knowing that the 450 model's power supply is really hard to get a hold of. I found Aashima Yoshihiro's mod for running one off a standard barrel plug, and with a lot of squinting at service manuals and various fiddling, I came up with a dongle to do it unobtrusively. It's still a work in progress - It boots to the startup screen and can tell if the cd tray is open or closed, but my CD-i has a bad disc drive so I can't tell if it really gives it all the power it needs, (such as the -5v charge that appears to run the audio output), and of course I don't know if it's safe long-term for the system. However, I'll keep folks updated."
Here's a diagram for the 450/550 power supply adapter, as it stands right now. I'll iterate on it further as I learn more, but if anyone else has the tinkering spirit, it's a start:
At Interactive Dreams we bought one of the dongles to test it ourselves.
[Thanks & credits: Keenan Cross, Aashima Yoshihiro]