The Compact Disc-Interactive (CD-I, later CD-i) is a
digital optical disc
In computing and optical disc recording technologies, an optical disc (OD) is a flat, usually circular disc that encodes binary data (bits) in the form of pits and lands on a special material, often aluminum, on one of its flat surfaces. ...
data storage format that was mostly developed and marketed by Dutch company
Philips
Koninklijke Philips N.V. (), commonly shortened to Philips, is a Dutch multinational conglomerate corporation that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, it has been mostly headquartered in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarters i ...
. It was created as an extension of
CDDA and
CD-ROM and specified in the ''
Green Book'', co-developed by Philips and
Sony
, commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professiona ...
, to combine audio, text and graphics.
The two companies initially expected to impact the education/training,
point of sale, and home entertainment industries, but CD-i eventually became best known for its
video game
Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...
s.
![Sony IVO](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0e/Sony_IVO.png)
CD-i media physically have the same dimensions as CD, but with up to of digital data storage, including up to 72 minutes of
full motion video.
CD-i players were usually standalone boxes that connect to a standard television; some less common setups included integrated CD-i television sets and expansion modules for
personal computers
A personal computer (PC) is a multi-purpose microcomputer whose size, capabilities, and price make it feasible for individual use. Personal computers are intended to be operated directly by an end user, rather than by a computer expert or tec ...
. Most players were created by Philips; the format was licensed by Philips and
Microware
Microware Systems Corporation was an American software company based in Clive, Iowa, that produced the OS-9 real-time operating system.
Microware Systems Corporation existed as a separate entity from 1977 until September 2001, when it was bought ...
for use by other manufacturers, notably Sony who released professional CD-i players under the "Intelligent
Discman
Discman was Sony's brand name for portable CD players. The first Discman, the Sony D-50 or D-5 (depending on region), was launched in 1984. The brand name changed to CD Walkman, initially for Japanese lineups launched between October 1997 and Ma ...
" brand. Unlike CD-ROM drives, CD-i players are complete computer systems centered around dedicated
Motorola 68000-based microprocessors and its own operating system called CD-RTOS, which is an acronym for ''"
Compact Disc
The compact disc (CD) is a digital optical disc data storage format that was co-developed by Philips and Sony to store and play digital audio recordings. In August 1982, the first compact disc was manufactured. It was then released in Oc ...
–
Real Time Operating System"''.
Media released on the format included video games and "
edutainment
Educational entertainment (also referred to as edutainment) is media designed to educate through entertainment. The term was used as early as 1954 by Walt Disney. Most often it includes content intended to teach but has incidental entertainmen ...
" and multimedia reference titles, such as interactive encyclopedias and museum tours – which were popular before public
Internet
The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...
access was widespread – as well as business software. Philips's CD-i system also implemented
Internet features, including subscriptions, web browsing, downloading, e-mail, and online play. Philips's aim with its players was to introduce interactive multimedia content for the general public by combining features of a
CD player
A CD player is an electronic device that plays audio compact discs, which are a digital optical disc data storage format. CD players were first sold to consumers in 1982. CDs typically contain recordings of audio material such as music or audio ...
and
game console,
but at a lower price than a personal computer with a CD-ROM drive.
Authoring kits for the format were released first in 1988, and the first player aimed for home consumers, Philips's CDI 910/205, at the end of 1991, initially priced around , and capable of playing interactive CD-i discs,
Audio CD
Compact Disc Digital Audio (CDDA or CD-DA), also known as Digital Audio Compact Disc or simply as Audio CD, is the standard format for audio compact discs. The standard is defined in the ''Red Book'', one of a series of Rainbow Books (named ...
s,
CD+G
CD+G (also known as CD-G, CD+Graphics and TV-Graphics) is an extension of the compact disc standard that can present low-resolution graphics alongside the audio data on the disc when played on a compatible device. CD+G discs are often used for ...
(CD+Graphics),
Photo CDs and
Video CD
Video CD (abbreviated as VCD, and also known as Compact Disc Digital Video) is a home video format and the first format for distributing films on standard optical discs. The format was widely adopted in Southeast Asia, Central Asia and the ...
s (VCDs), though the latter required an optional "Digital Video Card" to provide
MPEG-1
MPEG-1 is a standard for lossy compression of video and audio. It is designed to compress VHS-quality raw digital video and CD audio down to about 1.5 Mbit/s (26:1 and 6:1 compression ratios respectively) without excessive quality loss, making ...
decoding. Initially marketed to consumers as "home entertainment systems", and in later years as a "gaming platform",
CD-i did not manage to find enough success in the market, and was mostly abandoned by Philips in 1996. The format continued to be supported for licensees for a few more years after.
Specifications
Development of the "Compact Disc-Interactive" format began in 1984 (two years after the launch of
Compact Disc
The compact disc (CD) is a digital optical disc data storage format that was co-developed by Philips and Sony to store and play digital audio recordings. In August 1982, the first compact disc was manufactured. It was then released in Oc ...
) and it was first publicly announced by
Philips
Koninklijke Philips N.V. (), commonly shortened to Philips, is a Dutch multinational conglomerate corporation that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, it has been mostly headquartered in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarters i ...
and
Sony
, commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professiona ...
– two of the largest electronics companies of the time – at
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washin ...
's
CD-ROM Conference in
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
in March 1986.
Microsoft's CEO
Bill Gates
William Henry Gates III (born October 28, 1955) is an American business magnate and philanthropist. He is a co-founder of Microsoft, along with his late childhood friend Paul Allen. During his career at Microsoft, Gates held the positions ...
had no idea beforehand that the format was under development.
The ''Green Book'', formally known as the "CD-i Full Functional Specification", defined the format for interactive, multimedia compact discs designed for CD-i players. The ''Green Book'' specification also defines a whole hardware set built around the
Motorola 68000 microprocessor family, and an operating system called CD-RTOS based on
OS-9
OS-9 is a family of real-time, process-based, multitasking, multi-user operating systems, developed in the 1980s, originally by Microware Systems Corporation for the Motorola 6809 microprocessor. It was purchased by Radisys Corp in 2001, an ...
, a product of
Microware
Microware Systems Corporation was an American software company based in Clive, Iowa, that produced the OS-9 real-time operating system.
Microware Systems Corporation existed as a separate entity from 1977 until September 2001, when it was bought ...
. The standard was originally not freely available and had to be licensed from Philips.
However, the 1994 version of the standard was eventually made available free by Philips.
CD-i discs conform to the ''
Red Book'' specification of audio CDs (CD-DA). Tracks on a CD-i's program area can be CD-DA tracks or CD-i tracks, but the first track must always be a CD-i track, and all CD-i tracks must be grouped together at the beginning of the area. CD-i tracks are structured according to the
CD-ROM XA
A CD-ROM (, compact disc read-only memory) is a type of read-only memory consisting of a pre-pressed optical compact disc that contains data. Computers can read—but not write or erase—CD-ROMs. Some CDs, called enhanced CDs, hold both comput ...
specification (using either Mode 2 Form 1 or Mode 2 Form 2 modes), and have different classes depending on their contents ("data", "video", "audio", "empty" and "message"). "Message" sectors contain audio data to warn users of
CD player
A CD player is an electronic device that plays audio compact discs, which are a digital optical disc data storage format. CD players were first sold to consumers in 1982. CDs typically contain recordings of audio material such as music or audio ...
s that the track they are trying to listen to is a CD-i track and not a CD-DA track.
The CD-i specification also specifies a
file system similar to (but not compatible with)
ISO 9660
ISO 9660 (also known as ECMA-119) is a file system for optical disc media. Being sold by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) the file system is considered an international technical standard. Since the specification is ...
to be used on CD-i tracks, as well as certain specific files that are required to be present in a CD-i compatible disc.
Compared to the ''Yellow Book'' (specification for CD-ROM), the ''Green Book'' CD-i standard solves synchronisation problems by interleaving audio and video information on a single track.
The format quickly gained interest from large manufacturers, and received backing from many particularly
Matsushita. Although a joint effort, Philips eventually took over the majority of CD-i development at the expense of Sony. Philips invested many millions in developing titles and players based on the CD-i specification. Initially branded "CD-I", the name was changed in 1991 to "CD-i" with a lowercase
i.
The
CD-i Ready CD-i Ready is a compact disc format for mixing audio and data content on a CD. It was developed by Phillips in 1991, based on the CD-i format.
The CD-i Ready format uses a certain technique to get audio CD players to skim over the CD-i software an ...
format is a type of bridge format, also designed by Philips, that defines discs compatible with
CD Digital audio players and CD-i players. This format puts CD-i software and data into the
pregap
The pregap on a Red Book audio CD is the portion of the audio track that precedes " index 01" for a given track in the table of contents (TOC). The pregap ("index 00") is typically two seconds long and usually, but not always, contains silence. P ...
of Track 1.
The
CD-i Bridge
The White Book refers to a standard of compact disc that stores not only sound but also still pictures and motion video. It was released in 1993 by Sony, Philips, Matsushita, and JVC. These discs, most commonly found in Asia, are usually called ...
format, defined in Philips' White Book, is a transitional format allowing bridge discs to be played both on
CD-ROM drives and on CD-i players.
The
CD-i Digital Video format was launched in 1993 containing movies that could be played on CD-i players with a Digital Video Cartridge add-on. The format was incompatible with
Video CD
Video CD (abbreviated as VCD, and also known as Compact Disc Digital Video) is a home video format and the first format for distributing films on standard optical discs. The format was widely adopted in Southeast Asia, Central Asia and the ...
(VCD), although a CD-i unit with the DVC could play both formats. Only about 20 movies were released on the format and it was stopped in 1994 in favor of VCD.
Commercial software
![CD-i 210 as a CD Player](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a5/CD-i_210_as_a_CD_Player.jpg)
Applications were developed using
authoring software produced by OptImage. This included OptImage's Balboa Runtime Libraries and MediaMogul. The second company that produced authoring software was Script Systems; they produced ABCD-I. Much of the CD-i software were promoted and/or published by American Interactive Media (AIM), a joint venture between Philips and its subsidiary
PolyGram formed in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
in 1986, before its public debut, to publish CD-i based consumer software. Similarly in Europe, Philips Interactive Media was launched.
Philips at first marketed CD-i as a family entertainment product, and avoided mentioning
video game
Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...
s to not compete against game consoles.
Early software releases focused heavily on educational, music, and self-improvement titles, with only a few games, many of them adaptations of
board game
Board games are tabletop games that typically use . These pieces are moved or placed on a pre-marked board (playing surface) and often include elements of table, card, role-playing, and miniatures games as well.
Many board games feature a co ...
s such as ''
Connect Four
Connect Four (also known as Connect 4, Four Up, Plot Four, Find Four, Captain's Mistress, Four in a Row, Drop Four, and Gravitrips in the Soviet Union) is a two-player connection board game, in which the players choose a color and then take tur ...
''. However, the system was handily beaten in the market for multimedia devices by cheap low-end
PCs, and the games were the best-selling software. By 1993 Philips encouraged
MS-DOS
MS-DOS ( ; acronym for Microsoft Disk Operating System, also known as Microsoft DOS) is an operating system for x86-based personal computers mostly developed by Microsoft. Collectively, MS-DOS, its rebranding as IBM PC DOS, and a few ope ...
and console developers to create games, introduced a $250 peripheral with more memory and support for full-motion video, and added to new consoles a second controller port for multiplayer games.
The attempts to develop a foothold in the games market were unsuccessful, as the system was designed strictly as a multimedia player and thus was under-powered compared to other gaming platforms on the market in most respects. Earlier CD-i games included entries in popular
Nintendo franchises, although those games were not developed by Nintendo. Specifically, a ''
Mario
is a character created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. He is the title character of the ''Mario'' franchise and the mascot of Japanese video game company Nintendo. Mario has appeared in over 200 video games since his cre ...
'' game (titled ''
Hotel Mario''), and three ''
Legend of Zelda
''The Legend of Zelda'' is an action-adventure game franchise created by the Japanese game designers Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka. It is primarily developed and published by Nintendo, although some portable installments and re-rele ...
'' games that are now infamous were released: ''
Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon'', ''
Link: The Faces of Evil'' and ''
Zelda's Adventure''. Nintendo and Philips had established an agreement to co-develop a CD-ROM enhancement for the
Super Nintendo Entertainment System due to licensing disagreements with Nintendo's previous partner Sony (an agreement that produced a prototype console called the
SNES-CD
The Super NES CD-ROM System (commonly shortened as the SNES-CD), known as Super Famicom CD-ROM Adapter in Japan, is an unreleased video game peripheral for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES). The add-on built upon the functionality ...
). While Philips and Nintendo never released such a CD-ROM add-on, Philips was still contractually allowed to continue using Nintendo characters.
As announced at
CES 1992, large number of
full motion video titles such as ''
Dragon's Lair
''Dragon's Lair'' is a video game franchise created by Rick Dyer and Don Bluth. The series is famous for its Western animation-style graphics and complex decades-long history of being ported to many platforms and being remade into television a ...
'' and ''
Mad Dog McCree
''Mad Dog McCree'' is the first live-action laserdisc video game released by American Laser Games. It originally appeared as an arcade game in 1990.
The game gained considerable attention for its live-action video style, bearing similarities t ...
'' appeared on the system. One of these, ''
Burn:Cycle'', is considered one of the stronger CD-i titles and was later ported to PC. The February 1994 issue of ''
Electronic Gaming Monthly
''Electronic Gaming Monthly'' (often abbreviated to ''EGM'') is a monthly American video game magazine. It offers video game news, coverage of industry events, interviews with gaming figures, editorial content and product reviews.
History
The m ...
'' remarked that the CD-i's full motion video capabilities were its strongest point, and that nearly all of its best software required the MPEG upgrade card.
Philips also released several versions of popular TV
game show
A game show is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment (radio, television, internet, stage or other) where contestants compete for a reward. These programs can either be participatory or demonstrative and are typically directed by a host, ...
s for the CD-i, including versions of ''
Jeopardy!
''Jeopardy!'' is an American game show created by Merv Griffin. The show is a quiz competition that reverses the traditional question-and-answer format of many quiz shows. Rather than being given questions, contestants are instead given gene ...
'' (hosted by
Alex Trebek), ''
Name That Tune
''Name That Tune'' is an American television music game show. Originally created and produced by orchestra conductor Harry Salter and his wife Roberta Semple Salter, the series features contestants competing to correctly identify songs being p ...
'' (hosted by
Bob Goen
Robert Kuehl Goen (born December 1, 1954) is an American game show emcee and television personality, best known for his work on ''Entertainment Tonight'' between 1993 and 2004 and as the fourth and final host of the daytime ''Wheel of Fortune'' fr ...
), and two versions of ''
The Joker's Wild
''The Joker's Wild'' is an American television game show that aired at different times between 1972 and 2019. In the show, contestants answer questions based on categories determined randomly by a mechanism resembling a slot machine. The show's ...
'' (one for adults hosted by
Wink Martindale
Winston Conrad "Wink" Martindale (born December 4, 1933) is an American disc jockey, radio personality, game show host, and television producer. In his six-decade career, he is best known for hosting '' Gambit'' from 1972 to 1976 (and again fro ...
and one for kids hosted by
Marc Summers
Marc Summers (born Marc Berkowitz; November 11, 1951) is an American television personality, comedian, game show host, producer, and talk show host. He is best known for hosting '' Double Dare'' for Nickelodeon, and ''Unwrapped'' for Food Networ ...
). All CD-i games in North America (with the exception of ''Name That Tune'') had
Charlie O'Donnell as announcer. The Netherlands also released its version of ''
Lingo'' on the CD-i in 1994.
In 1993, American musician
Todd Rundgren
Todd Harry Rundgren (born June 22, 1948) is an American multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, multimedia artist, sound engineer and record producer who has performed a diverse range of styles as a solo artist and as a member of the band Ut ...
created the first music-only fully interactive CD, ''
No World Order'', for the CD-i. This application allows the user to completely arrange the whole album in their own personal way with over 15,000 points of customization. Dutch eurodance duo
2 Unlimited
2 Unlimited are a Belgian/Dutch dance music act, founded by Belgian producers/songwriters Jean-Paul De Coster and Phil Wilde in 1991 in Antwerp, Belgium. From 1991 to 1996, Dutch rapper Ray Slijngaard and Dutch vocalist Anita Doth fronted the ...
released a CD-i compilation album in 1994 called "Beyond Limits" which contains standard CD tracks as well as CD-i-exclusive media on the disc.
CD-i has a series of learning games ("
edutainment
Educational entertainment (also referred to as edutainment) is media designed to educate through entertainment. The term was used as early as 1954 by Walt Disney. Most often it includes content intended to teach but has incidental entertainmen ...
") targeted at children from infancy to adolescence. Those intended for a younger audience included ''
Busytown
Busytown is a fictional town depicted in several books by American children's author Richard Scarry. Busytown is inhabited by an assortment of anthropomorphic animals, including Huckle Cat, Lowly Worm, Mr. Frumble, police Sergeant Murphy, Mr. Fix ...
'', ''
The Berenstain Bears
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...
'' and various others which usually had vivid cartoon-like settings accompanied by music and logic puzzles.
By mid-1996 the U.S. market for CD-i software had dried up and Philips had given up on releasing titles there, but continued to publish CD-i games in Europe, where the system still held some popularity from a video gaming perspective. With the home market exhausted, Philips tried with some success to position the technology as a solution for kiosk applications and industrial multimedia.
Some
homebrew developers have released video games on the CD-i format in later years, such as ''Frog Feast'' (2005), ''Super Quartet'' (2018), and ''Nobelia'' (2022).
Player models
CD-i compatible models were released (as of April 1995) in the U.S.,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
,
Benelux
The Benelux Union ( nl, Benelux Unie; french: Union Benelux; lb, Benelux-Unioun), also known as simply Benelux, is a politico- economic union and formal international intergovernmental cooperation of three neighboring states in western Europe: ...
, France, Germany, the UK, Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong and former
Eastern Bloc. It was reported to be released further in Brazil, India and Australia in the "coming months", with plans to also introduce it in China, South Africa, Indonesia and the Philippines.
Philips models
In addition to consumer models, professional and development players were sold by Philips Interactive Media Systems and their
VAR
Var or VAR may refer to:
Places
* Var (department), a department of France
* Var (river), France
* Vār, Iran, village in West Azerbaijan Province, Iran
* Var, Iran (disambiguation), other places in Iran
* Vár, a village in Obreja commune, Ca ...
s. The first CD-i system was produced by Philips in collaboration with
Kyocera
is a Japanese multinational ceramics and electronics manufacturer headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. It was founded as in 1959 by Kazuo Inamori and renamed in 1982. It manufactures industrial ceramics, solar power generating systems, telecommunic ...
in 1988 – the Philips 180/181/182 modular system. Philips marketed several CD-i player models as shown below.
*The CD-i player 100 series, which consisted of the three-unit 180/181/182 professional system, first demonstrated at the CD-ROM Conference in March 1988.
*The CD-i player 200 series, which includes the 205, 210, and 220 models. Models in the 200 series were designed for general consumption, and were available at major home electronics outlets around the world. The Philips CDI 910 is the American version of the CDI 205, the most basic model in the series and the first Philips CD-i model, released in December 1991. Originally priced about , within a year's time the price dropped to .
*The CD-i player 300 series, which includes the 310, 350, 360, and 370 models. The 300 series consists of portable players designed for the professional market and not marketed to home consumers. A popular use was multimedia sales presentations such as those used by pharmaceutical companies to provide product information to physicians, as the devices could be easily transported by sales representatives.
*The CD-i player 400 series, which includes the 450, 470, 490 models. The 400 models are slimmed-down units aimed at console and educational markets. The CDI 450 player, for instance, is a budget model designed to compete with game consoles. In this version, an infrared remote controller is not standard but optional, as this model is more gaming-oriented. This series was introduced at CES
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
in June 1994 and the 450 player retailed at in the Netherlands.
*The CD-i player 500 series, which includes the 550 model, which was essentially the same as the 450 with an installed digital video cartridge. It was introduced at CES Chicago in June 1994.
*The CD-i player 600 series, which includes the 601, 602, 604, 605, 615, 660, and 670 models. The 600 series is designed for professional applications and software development. Units in this line generally include support for
floppy disk drives,
keyboards and other computer peripherals. Some models can also be connected to an emulator and have software testing and debugging features.
*The CD-I player 700 series, which consists of the 740 model, the most advanced player and featuring an
RS-232
In telecommunications, RS-232 or Recommended Standard 232 is a standard originally introduced in 1960 for serial communication transmission of data. It formally defines signals connecting between a ''DTE'' (''data terminal equipment'') such ...
port. It was only released in limited quantities.
There also exist a number of hard-to-categorize models, such as the FW380i, an integrated mini-stereo and CD-i player; the 21TCDi30, a television with a built-in CD-i device; the CD-i/PC 2.0, a CD-i module with an
ISA interface for IBM-compatible 486 PCs.
Philips-CDi-220-wController-FL.jpg, The Philips CDI 220
Philips-CDi-400-Console-Set.jpg, Magnavox CDI 550 (NTSC) with its paddle controller. The CD-i's controllers were heavily criticized.
Philips-CDi-450-Flickr-Set.jpg, Philips CDI 450
CD-i-910-Console-Set.jpg, Philips CDI 910
Other manufacturers
In addition to Philips, several manufacturers produced CD-i players some of which were still on sale years after Philips itself abandoned the format. Manufacturers included:
*
Magnavox
Magnavox (Latin for "great voice", stylized as MAGNAVOX) is an American electronics company that since 1974 has been a subsidiary of the Dutch electronics corporation Philips.
The predecessor to Magnavox was founded in 1911 by Edwin Pridham and ...
(a Philips subsidiary) made rebranded players for the American market.
*
GoldStar /
LG Electronics
LG Electronics Inc. () is a South Korean multinational electronics company headquartered in Yeouido-dong, Seoul, South Korea. LG Electronics is a part of LG Corporation, the fourth largest '' chaebol'' in South Korea, and often considered a ...
, the LG GDI-700 (c. 1997) was a professional player with a Motorola 68341 processor, faster than the Philips model. GoldStar had a portable player, including another small one without an LCD screen.
*Digital Video Systems
*
Memorex
Memorex Corp. began as a computer tape producer and expanded to become both a consumer media supplier and a major IBM plug compatible peripheral supplier. It was broken up and ceased to exist after 1996 other than as a consumer electronics bran ...
*
Grundig
Grundig (; ) is a German consumer electronics manufacturer owned by the Turkish Arçelik A.Ş., the white goods (major appliance) manufacturer of Turkish conglomerate Koç Holding. The company made domestic appliances and personal-care prod ...
*
Kyocera
is a Japanese multinational ceramics and electronics manufacturer headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. It was founded as in 1959 by Kazuo Inamori and renamed in 1982. It manufactures industrial ceramics, solar power generating systems, telecommunic ...
made the portable Pro 1000S model
*
Maspro Denkoh released a GPS car navigation system with a built-in CD-i player, released in Japan in 1992.
*Saab Electric
*
Sony
, commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professiona ...
produced two models branded Intelligent Discman, a hybrid home/portable CD-i player released in 1990-1991 for professional use only.
*
NBS
*International Interactive Media (I2m) released in 1995 a CD-i
PCI expansion card for 486 PCs,
Pentium
Pentium is a brand used for a series of x86 architecture-compatible microprocessors produced by Intel. The original Pentium processor from which the brand took its name was first released on March 22, 1993. After that, the Pentium II and P ...
PCs,
68k-based
Macintosh
The Mac (known as Macintosh until 1999) is a family of personal computers designed and marketed by Apple Inc. Macs are known for their ease of use and minimalist designs, and are popular among students, creative professionals, and software en ...
and
PowerPC-based Macintosh computers
*Vobis Highscreen
*Manna Space branded CD-i models (based on Magnavox's or GoldStar's version of Philips CDI 450) were made for a Japanese travel agency with the same name in 1995.
*
Bang & Olufsen, who produced a high-end television with a built-in CD-i device (Beocenter AV5) on the market from 1997-2001.
Before the actual commercial debut of the CD-i format, some other companies had interest in building players and some made prototypes, but were never released – this includes
Panasonic
formerly between 1935 and 2008 and the first incarnation of between 2008 and 2022, is a major Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation, headquartered in Kadoma, Osaka. It was founded by Kōnosuke Matsushita in 1918 as a lightbulb ...
(who were originally a major backer of the format),
Pioneer
Pioneer commonly refers to a settler who migrates to previously uninhabited or sparsely inhabited land.
In the United States pioneer commonly refers to an American pioneer, a person in American history who migrated west to join in settling and de ...
,
JVC,
Toshiba
, commonly known as Toshiba and stylized as TOSHIBA, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Its diversified products and services include power, industrial and social infrastructure systems, ...
,
Epson
Seiko Epson Corporation, or simply known as Epson, is a Japanese multinational electronics company and one of the world's largest manufacturers of computer printers and information- and imaging-related equipment. Headquartered in Suwa, Nagano ...
,
Ricoh
is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational imaging and electronics company (law), company. It was founded by the now-defunct commercial division of the Riken, Institute of Physical and Chemical Research (Riken) known as the ''Riken ...
,
Fujitsu,
Samsung
The Samsung Group (or simply Samsung) ( ko, 삼성 ) is a South Korean multinational manufacturing conglomerate headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea. It comprises numerous affiliated businesses, most of them united under the ...
and
Yamaha Yamaha may refer to:
* Yamaha Corporation, a Japanese company with a wide range of products and services, established in 1887. The company is the largest shareholder of Yamaha Motor Company (below).
** Yamaha Music Foundation, an organization estab ...
.
In addition,
Sanyo
, stylized as SANYO, is a Japanese electronics company and formerly a member of the ''Fortune'' Global 500 whose headquarters was located in Moriguchi, Osaka prefecture, Japan. Sanyo had over 230 subsidiaries and affiliates, and was founded by ...
showed a prototype portable CD-i player in 1992.
Hardware specifications
TeleCD-i and CD-MATICS
Recognizing the growing need among marketers for networked multimedia, Philips partnered in 1992 with Amsterdam-based CDMATICS to develop TeleCD-i (also TeleCD). In this concept, the CD-i player is connected to a network such as
PSTN
The public switched telephone network (PSTN) provides infrastructure and services for public telecommunication. The PSTN is the aggregate of the world's circuit-switched telephone networks that are operated by national, regional, or local teleph ...
or Internet, enabling data-communication and rich media presentation. Dutch grocery chain
Albert Heijn and mail-order company
Neckermann were early adopters and introduced award-winning TeleCD-i applications for their home-shopping and home-delivery services. CDMATICS also developed the special Philips TeleCD-i Assistant and a set of software tools to help the worldwide multimedia industry to develop and implement TeleCD-i. TeleCD-i is the world's first networked multimedia application at the time of its introduction. In 1996, Philips acquired source code rights from CDMATICS.
CD-Online
Internet services on the CD-i devices were facilitated by the use of an additional hardware modem and "CD-Online" disc (renamed Web-i in the US), which Philips initially released in Britain in 1995 for $150 US.
This service provided the CD-i with full internet access (with a 14.4k
modem
A modulator-demodulator or modem is a computer hardware device that converts data from a digital format into a format suitable for an analog transmission medium such as telephone or radio. A modem transmits data by Modulation#Digital modulati ...
), including online shopping, email, and support for networked multiplayer gaming on select CD-i games. The service required a CD-i player with DV cartridge, and an "Internet Starter Kit" which initially retailed for £99.99. It was advertised as bringing "full Internet access to the living room on TV screens". Andy Stout, a writer for the official CD-i magazine, explained CD-Online: The CD-Online service went live in the UK on October 25, 1995 and in March 1996 in the Netherlands (for 399
guilders
Guilder is the English translation of the Dutch and German ''gulden'', originally shortened from Middle High German ''guldin pfenninc'' "gold penny". This was the term that became current in the southern and western parts of the Holy Roman Emp ...
),
and also released in Belgium.
The system was reportedly scheduled to launch in the US as "Web-i" in August 1996. The domain cd-online.co.uk, which was used for the British CD-Online service, went offline in 2000. The Dutch domain cd-online.nl stopped updating too but remained online until 2007.
Only one game was released that supported CD-Online, the first-person shooter game ''RAM Raid''. Players from any country in the world could compete against each other as long as they had a copy of the game.
Reception and market performance
Philips had invested heavily in the CD-i format and system, and it was often compared with the
Commodore CDTV
The CDTV (from Commodore Dynamic Total Vision, later treated as a backronym for Compact Disc Television) is a home multimedia entertainment and video game console – convertible into a full-fledged personal computer by the addition of optional ...
as a single combination of computer, CD, and television. The product was touted as a single machine for home entertainment connected to a standard TV and controlled by a regular remote control – although the format was noted to have various non-entertainment business opportunities too, such as travel and tourism or the military. In 1990,
Peugeot
Peugeot (, , ) is a French brand of automobiles owned by Stellantis.
The family business that preceded the current Peugeot companies was founded in 1810, with a steel foundry that soon started making hand tools and kitchen equipment, and the ...
used CD-i for its
point of sale application promoting its then-new
605 automobile, and it was also at the time used by fellow car manufacturer
Renault
Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English; legally Renault S.A.) is a French multinational automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company produces a range of cars and vans, and in the past has manufacture ...
for staff training programmes, and in Japan by the Ministry of Trade and Industry for an exhibition there. A Philips executive, Gaston Bastiaens, quoted in 1990 "CD-I will be 'the medium' for entertainment, education and information in the 90's.". Sony introduced its three portable CD-i players in June 1990, pitching them as "picture books with sound".
The ambitious CD-i format had initially created much interest after its 1986 announcement, both in the west and in Japan, buoyed by the success of the
CD. However, after repeated delays (hardware were first intended to be ready and shipped by Christmas 1987) interest was slowly lost.
Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry and promoted the ...
for instance was enthusiastic about CD-i and formed a division for the development of video game titles on the format, but it was eventually halted with the intention of resuming when CD-i players would reach the market. The company eventually never resumed CD-i software development when it was released. The delay also gave more attention to the hyped
Digital Video Interactive
Digital Video Interactive (DVI) was the first multimedia desktop video standard for IBM-compatible personal computers. It enabled full-screen, full motion video, as well as stereo audio, still images, and graphics to be presented on a DOS-based ...
(DVI) in 1987, which demonstrated full screen,
full motion video (FMV) using a compression chip on an
IBM PC/AT
The IBM Personal Computer/AT (model 5170, abbreviated as IBM AT or PC/AT) was released in 1984 as the fourth model in the IBM Personal Computer line, following the IBM PC/XT and its IBM Portable PC variant. It was designed around the Intel 80 ...
computer.
Amid the attention around its potential rival DVI, Philips and Sony decided to find a way to add full screen FMV abilities to the CD-i standard, causing further delay.
Meanwhile, the
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washin ...
-backed CD-ROM standard was improving and solved certain video playback issues that were present on the CD-i – CD-ROM format products were already on the market by 1987.
At the end, CD-ROM standard benefited from the CD-i and DVI mishaps,
and by the time CD-i players for consumers were released in 1991, CD-ROM had already become known and established.
Ron Gilbert commented in early 1990 "The CD-I specifications look great, but where are the machines? If they'd come out four years ago, they'd have been hot, but now they're behind the times." Another reason that led to fading interest pre-launch was the fact CD-i players would not launch with FMV but instead receive it later through a purchasable add-on cartridge (it was originally expected to come built-in) – as well as the obsolete
Motorola
Motorola, Inc. () was an American multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, United States. After having lost $4.3 billion from 2007 to 2009, the company split into two independent public companies, Motorol ...
processor,
OS-9
OS-9 is a family of real-time, process-based, multitasking, multi-user operating systems, developed in the 1980s, originally by Microware Systems Corporation for the Motorola 6809 microprocessor. It was purchased by Radisys Corp in 2001, an ...
software, and a launch price considered high.
Although Philips had aggressively promoted their CD-i products in the U.S., by August 1993 ''
Computer Gaming World'' reported that "skepticism persists about its long-term prospects" compared to other platforms like
IBM PC compatible
IBM PC compatible computers are similar to the original IBM Personal Computer, IBM PC, IBM Personal Computer XT, XT, and IBM Personal Computer/AT, AT, all from computer giant IBM, that are able to use the same software and expansion cards. Such ...
s,
Apple Macintosh
The Mac (known as Macintosh until 1999) is a family of personal computers designed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple Inc. Macs are known for their ease of use and minimalist designs, and are popular among students, creative professionals, and ...
, and
Sega Genesis.
The magazine stated in January 1994 that despite Philips' new emphasis on games "CD-i is still not the answer for hardcore gamers", but the console "may yet surprise us all in the future". It recommended the CD-i with video cartridge for those needing to buy a new console as "The price is right and there is more software to support it", but
3DO Interactive Multiplayer
The 3DO Interactive Multiplayer, also referred to as simply 3DO, is a home video game console developed by The 3DO Company. Conceived by entrepreneur and Electronic Arts founder Trip Hawkins, the 3DO was not a console manufactured by the company ...
was probably better for those who could wait a few months. The ''Electronic Entertainment'' August 1994 issue noted that the CD-i, along with the
Atari Jaguar
The Atari Jaguar is a home video game console developed by Atari Corporation and released in North America in November 1993. Part of the fifth generation of video game consoles, it competed with the 16-bit Sega Genesis, the Super NES and th ...
, neither have an "effective, let alone innovative" game library to compete against the then newly released
Sega CD
The Sega CD, released as the in most regions outside North America and Brazil, is a CD-ROM accessory for the Sega Genesis produced by Sega as part of the fourth generation of video game consoles. It was released on December 12, 1991, in Japan ...
.
After being outsold in the market by cheaper multimedia PCs, in 1994 Philips attempted to emphasize CD-i as a game playing machine, but this did not help the situation. An early 1995 review of the system in ''
GamePro'' stated that "inconsistent game quality puts the CD-i at a disadvantage against other high-powered game producers."
A late 1995 review in ''
Next Generation'' criticized both Philips's approach to marketing the CD-i and the hardware itself ("The unit excels at practically nothing except
FMV, and then only with the addition of a $200 digital video cartridge"). The magazine noted that while Philips had not yet officially discontinued the CD-i, it was dead for all intents and purposes, citing as evidence the fact that though Philips had a large booth at the 1995
Electronic Entertainment Expo, there was no CD-i hardware or software on display. ''Next Generation'' scored the console one out of five stars.
Another trouble for Philips in 1995 was the formation of
HDCD
High Definition Compatible Digital (HDCD) is a proprietary audio encode-decode process that claims to provide increased dynamic range over that of standard Compact Disc Digital Audio, while retaining backward compatibility with existing compact ...
, which promised better quality video compared to
Video CD
Video CD (abbreviated as VCD, and also known as Compact Disc Digital Video) is a home video format and the first format for distributing films on standard optical discs. The format was widely adopted in Southeast Asia, Central Asia and the ...
's (VCD)
MPEG-1
MPEG-1 is a standard for lossy compression of video and audio. It is designed to compress VHS-quality raw digital video and CD audio down to about 1.5 Mbit/s (26:1 and 6:1 compression ratios respectively) without excessive quality loss, making ...
compression method – Philips had heavily promoted the CD-i's VCD playing capabilities. Philips Media consolidated its CD-i activities from its Los Angeles office in March 1996. It was reported in October 1996 that Philips was ready to "call it quits" in the American market.
Sales
In October 1994, Philips claimed an
installed base
Installed base (also install base, install duser base or just user base) is a measure of the number of units of a product or service that are actually in use, as opposed to market share, which only reflects sales over a particular period. Alth ...
of one million units for the CD-i worldwide. In 1996, ''
The Wall Street Journal
''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
'' reported that total US sales amounted to 400,000 units.
In the Netherlands, about 60,000 CD-i players were sold by the end of December 1994.
Legacy
![Philips CD-i 450 Tietokonemuseo](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/df/Philips_CD-i_450_Tietokonemuseo.JPG)
Although extensively marketed by Philips, notably via
infomercial,
consumer interest in CD-i titles remained low. By 1994, sales of CD-i systems had begun to slow, and in 1998 the product line was dropped. Plans for a second generation CD-i system were certainly present and
Argonaut Software
Argonaut Games PLC was a British video game developer founded in 1982, most notable for the development of the Super NES video game ''Star Fox'' and its supporting Super FX hardware, as well as for developing '' Croc: Legend of the Gobbos'' an ...
was even designated to design chip sets for the successor to the CD-i. However, the then president
Cor Boonstra saw no interest in the media area for Philips and so Philips sold everything, including the media subsidiary
Polygram. The Dutch half of Philips Media was sold to
Softmachine, which released ''
The Lost Ride'' on the CD-i as the last product for the CD-i. Philips then also sold its French half of the gaming subsidiary, Philips Media BV, to French publisher
Infogrames
Atari SA (formerly Infogrames Entertainment SA) is a French video game holding company headquartered in Paris. Its subsidiaries include Atari Interactive and Atari, Inc. It is the current owner of the Atari brand through Atari Interactive. ...
in 1997 along with the entire CD-i library. A CD-ROM add-on for the
Super NES
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), commonly shortened to Super NES or Super Nintendo, is a 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan and South Korea, 1991 in North America, 1992 in ...
, which was announced for development with
Nintendo in 1991, was never made. The last CD-i game was made by
Infogrames
Atari SA (formerly Infogrames Entertainment SA) is a French video game holding company headquartered in Paris. Its subsidiaries include Atari Interactive and Atari, Inc. It is the current owner of the Atari brand through Atari Interactive. ...
, who released
Solar Crusade in 1999.
After its discontinuation, the CD-i was overwhelmingly panned by critics who blasted its graphics, games, and controls.
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washin ...
CEO
Bill Gates
William Henry Gates III (born October 28, 1955) is an American business magnate and philanthropist. He is a co-founder of Microsoft, along with his late childhood friend Paul Allen. During his career at Microsoft, Gates held the positions ...
admitted that initially he "was worried" about the CD-i due to Philips' heavy support for the device and its two-pronged attack on both the games console and PC markets, but that in retrospect, "It was a device that kind of basically got caught in the middle. It was a terrible game machine, and it was a terrible PC." The CD-i's various controllers were ranked the fifth worst video game controller by
IGN
''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
editor Craig Harris. ''
PC World
''PC World'' (stylized as PCWorld) is a global computer magazine published monthly by IDG. Since 2013, it has been an online only publication.
It offers advice on various aspects of PCs and related items, the Internet, and other personal tech ...
'' ranked it as fourth on their list of "The 10 Worst Video Game Systems of All Time". Gamepro.com listed it as number four on their list of ''The 10 Worst-Selling Consoles of All Time.'' In 2008,
CNET listed the system on its list of the worst game console(s) ever. In 2007,
GameTrailers ranked the Philips CD-i as the fourth worst console of all time in its Top 10 Worst Console lineup.
In later retrospective years, the CD-i has become (infamously) best known for its video games, particularly those from the Nintendo-licensed ''
The Legend of Zelda
''The Legend of Zelda'' is an action-adventure game franchise created by the Japanese game designers Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka. It is primarily developed and published by Nintendo, although some portable installments and re-rele ...
'' series, considered by many to be of poor taste. Games that were most heavily criticized include ''
Hotel Mario'', ''
Link: The Faces of Evil'', ''
Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon'', and ''
Zelda's Adventure''. EGM's
Seanbaby
Sean Patrick Reiley (born June 15, 1976), better known as Seanbaby, is an American writer and video-game designer best known for his comedy website and frequent contributions to video game media outlets ''Electronic Gaming Monthly'' and 1UP.com, ...
rated ''The Wand of Gamelon'' as one of the
worst video games of all time. However, ''
Burn:Cycle'' was positively received by critics and has often been held up as the standout title for the CD-i.
See also
*
CD-i Ready CD-i Ready is a compact disc format for mixing audio and data content on a CD. It was developed by Phillips in 1991, based on the CD-i format.
The CD-i Ready format uses a certain technique to get audio CD players to skim over the CD-i software an ...
*
High Sierra Format
ISO 9660 (also known as Ecma International, ECMA-119) is a file system for CD-ROM, optical disc media. Being sold by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) the file system is considered an International standard, international ...
*
3DO Interactive Multiplayer
The 3DO Interactive Multiplayer, also referred to as simply 3DO, is a home video game console developed by The 3DO Company. Conceived by entrepreneur and Electronic Arts founder Trip Hawkins, the 3DO was not a console manufactured by the company ...
*
MiniDisc
*
CD-ROM
*
Video CD
Video CD (abbreviated as VCD, and also known as Compact Disc Digital Video) is a home video format and the first format for distributing films on standard optical discs. The format was widely adopted in Southeast Asia, Central Asia and the ...
*
Super NES CD-ROM
*
Digital Video Interactive
Digital Video Interactive (DVI) was the first multimedia desktop video standard for IBM-compatible personal computers. It enabled full-screen, full motion video, as well as stereo audio, still images, and graphics to be presented on a DOS-based ...
*
Commodore CDTV
The CDTV (from Commodore Dynamic Total Vision, later treated as a backronym for Compact Disc Television) is a home multimedia entertainment and video game console – convertible into a full-fledged personal computer by the addition of optional ...
*
Pioneer LaserActive
The is a converged device and fourth-generation home video game console capable of playing LaserDiscs, Compact Discs, console games, and LD-G karaoke discs. It was released by Pioneer Corporation in 1993. In addition to LaserActive games, sep ...
*
Sega CD
The Sega CD, released as the in most regions outside North America and Brazil, is a CD-ROM accessory for the Sega Genesis produced by Sega as part of the fourth generation of video game consoles. It was released on December 12, 1991, in Japan ...
*
FM Towns
*
Tandy Video Information System
*
NEC TurboDuo
References
External links
*
Official Philips CD-I FAQ
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cd-I
1990s toys
Audio storage
CD-ROM-based consoles
Compact disc
Computer-related introductions in 1990
Home video game consoles
Fourth-generation video game consoles
Joint ventures
Philips products
Sony products
Products introduced in 1990
Products and services discontinued in 1998
Regionless game consoles
Video storage
68k-based game consoles