If you want to buy a CD-i player you are obviously wondering which one is the way to go. There are many types of CD-i players. As we wrote earlier about it, we would Which one would you buy? Adrian Zanoli about this: "The 220/60 with an early version of the DVC, also the more compact 470 is ok, but it lacks scart-rgb and it has an inferior CD unit than the 220. But probably the best consumer CD-i is the 370, it is small, 2 controller ports, IR reciver, S-video and RCA, a PAL/NTSC switch, it uses replaceable normal button batteries to store saves, and it already has an integrated "ok" controller, DVC and a decent screen. The 370 does not output in RGB, only RCA and S-video, but the 350 also has RGB throught a third video port on his side. I think there are no consumer CD-i players that have component video output, only rca."
CD-i member Blazers also has an interesting option: "The DVS VE200. It just works, is well made, has integrated video, PAL/NTSC switch, timekeeping still works flawlessly after 22 years. I even asked that former Philips repair tech on Ebay (dorwena) that refurbishes CDi units and said nothing needed to be done. These units actually do turn up for sale throughout any given year, so they're not too difficult to obtain, unlike the similar but rarer LG units. Only one mild issue is no S-video out. Composite only, but it still looks great."
Of course there are other aspects you might want to look into. Here is an updated list of our recommendations:
- I recommend getting an older 205/210/220 unit with a CDM9 laser mechanism. Those are much better than the CDM12. You can try to improve an old CDM12 by re-greasing the rails and cogs. That will usually fix "dirty disc" errors in games but playing a VideoCD from start to finish without stopping at least once is nigh on impossible. AudioCDs will usually skip a few times but those keep playing. CDM9 usually has none of these problems. The following CD-i players have a CDM9 laser mechanism:CD-i 205/00, CD-i 210/00, CD-i 210/20, CD-i 220/00, CD-i 220/20, CD-i 220/40 and CD-i 910.
- Considering the Timekeeper RAM: Most CD-i players are equipped with the M48T08 VRAM chip, when you are about to repair the Timekeeper RAM, you can either use MK48T08-150 chips or DS1643-100 NV chips. I've met CD-i member who claim the DS1643-100 NV chips are better.
- Of course you should aim for a CDM 9 pickup, but also for a 32 KB NVRAM. Then, there is only one player left (220/40). If the CDM 9 breaks, then you will have to pay a lot (>100€) for a pickup assembly. If you don't care about NVRAM size then you could also go for portable players with CDM 9 (350 and 360). The capacitors start to leak, so all of them will need repair sooner or later. With CDM 12.1 and 12.4 you will get much newer and lighter players, but I would avoid CDM 12.4 because even the substitute VAM1204 is rather rare/expensive. CDM 12.1 substitute = VAM1201 and VAM1202, easy to obtain and not too expensive at the moment.
- The CD-i 450 does have a manual disc loading bay, so no issues with tray-belts stretching and causing the tray to get stuck half way. And when modded for RGB, they are as versatile as their older brothers, and less bulky too.
- The 450 lens is still in production and cheaply available for the same price of a timekeeper. Maybe the main problem is the need of modify the power input with something more standardized than the original ethernet cable.
Finally, some thoughts by Muh Mullet: "For every-day practicality i actually prefer the 450/550 models, (RGB modded and DVC installed ofcourse) and their Magnavox equivalents.
although they are a little bit limited in memory capacity compared to other models,
in both personal use and repairs I've only ever encountered 1 with a bad/worn out optical unit,
and the manual lid eliminates the known belt drive issues that other models have.
it is very compact, and with an I/O cable splitter it will do anything you need for gaming.
especially if you have more retro consoles hooked up the 450 is a good solid practical unit, that takes up little space. The 450 also struggles less with my collection of Asian VCD's, and CD-R discs in my opinion than the models with a CDM.9 optical drive."
[Thanks, Adrian Zanoli, Jeroen Iking, retrostuff, Blazers, Arsenixa, Muh Mullet]