A_Locomotive Posted June 8, 2011 Share Posted June 8, 2011 Just got back from picking up a brand new Magnavox CD-i I found on craigslist. Brand new in box just as it left the factory. Got it from a guy who got it in a lot of things he bought at a stores close out auction so this has spent many many years sitting in some stores back room. I know little about the CD-i aside from the Zelda games for which it is mercilessly mocked. So I'm going to start reading up on it to decide what I want to do with it. If I could get the 3 horrible Zelda games cheaply I'd keep it no question but aside from those I don't really know any other games I'd want to play so I'm going to spend a little time debating whether I want to keep it or let it move on to someone else who will enjoy it more then I. But till then here are some photos of the unboxing I did to make sure its all hunky doory. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Austin Posted June 8, 2011 Share Posted June 8, 2011 Very nice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldSchoolRetroGamer Posted June 8, 2011 Share Posted June 8, 2011 Does it have the DV cartridge installed? Lift the door beside the CD drive to check, it is required for many titles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Austin Posted June 8, 2011 Share Posted June 8, 2011 Does it have the DV cartridge installed? Lift the door beside the CD drive to check, it is required for many titles. I believe the 450 models didn't come with them installed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A_Locomotive Posted June 8, 2011 Author Share Posted June 8, 2011 Does it have the DV cartridge installed? Lift the door beside the CD drive to check, it is required for many titles. I believe the 450 models didn't come with them installed. Nope your right it doesn't didn't think to check when I had it out but on the back of the box it was listed as an optional accessory. What exactly does it do? From reading up on it I haven't yet seen any mention of what it does exactly. How expensive are they also? In the event I decide to keep it what sort of damage can I expect in tracking one down? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Austin Posted June 8, 2011 Share Posted June 8, 2011 Nope your right it doesn't didn't think to check when I had it out but on the back of the box it was listed as an optional accessory. What exactly does it do? From reading up on it I haven't yet seen any mention of what it does exactly. How expensive are they also? In the event I decide to keep it what sort of damage can I expect in tracking one down? It's basically a MPEG cart that also adds extra memory. Several games require it, but I believe the majority of them are FMV-oriented games (7th Guest, Dragon's Lair, Space Ace, etc). I'm not sure how many other more traditional games use it (platformers, shooters, etc) asides from the Apprentice. I believe they should run anywhere from $25 to $50. Someone here had a few a while back, but I think they sold pretty quickly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Algus Posted June 8, 2011 Share Posted June 8, 2011 Zelda's Adventure is pretty expensive (to the tune of $150 USD last time I checked) but the other two Zelda games aren't to unreasonable, if you don't mind paying new game prices for 15 year old games. Hotel Mario might interest you as well. The CD-i is mostly a curiosity. It has a few interesting titles, like the randomized Dragon's Lair, but it isn't a game machine and even the "good" games would just be ok on another system. If you've got a lot of friends you play games with, it can be good to break out for a laugh now and then. There are a couple other CD-i topics floating around near the top of the board now that had game recommendations in them. Might be worth a look. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YAGRS Posted June 8, 2011 Share Posted June 8, 2011 I was going to check my games to see which required the DV cart and which did not, but it doesn't appear to be clearly marked on the cases. Here is a list of CD-i games along with whether or not they use the DV cart (last column of the table). I actually like the CD-i. It's certainly not a great system, but there are some games I truly enjoy, including one of my favorite versions of Ms. Pac-Man (on the Arcade Classics CD). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A_Locomotive Posted June 9, 2011 Author Share Posted June 9, 2011 So looking around online I've found multiple places indicating that its possible to play burned games on the CD-i as it apparently has no copy protection. Can anyone confirm that for me and if so does anyone know where I can find some info on how to do it? I'm having no real luck and have no experience doing so with other consoles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YAGRS Posted June 9, 2011 Share Posted June 9, 2011 So looking around online I've found multiple places indicating that its possible to play burned games on the CD-i as it apparently has no copy protection. Can anyone confirm that for me and if so does anyone know where I can find some info on how to do it? I'm having no real luck and have no experience doing so with other consoles. I have not been able to get burned games to work. I was under the impression from other things that I've read that it isn't possible, but apparently that was incorrect. This thread on CDinteractive.co.uk gives the experience some have had attempting to burn CD-i games. You might want to poke around that site a little more for additional info. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hatta Posted June 9, 2011 Share Posted June 9, 2011 (edited) I think it depends to some extent on which model you have, as well as what media you use and what speed you burn at. Using Taiyo Yuden CDRs burnt at 4X on my CDI-220, I have not burned a single coaster. I just burn the .cue file straight from the command line with cdrdao, or the .iso with cdrecord. I recommend Taiyo Yuden CDR media for all purposes. Edited June 9, 2011 by Hatta 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldSchoolRetroGamer Posted June 9, 2011 Share Posted June 9, 2011 So looking around online I've found multiple places indicating that its possible to play burned games on the CD-i as it apparently has no copy protection. Can anyone confirm that for me and if so does anyone know where I can find some info on how to do it? I'm having no real luck and have no experience doing so with other consoles. I have not been able to get burned games to work. I was under the impression from other things that I've read that it isn't possible, but apparently that was incorrect. This thread on CDinteractive.co.uk gives the experience some have had attempting to burn CD-i games. You might want to poke around that site a little more for additional info. I have the same model as the OP and I play nothing but burned games. It works just as it does on 3D0 / SegaCD / CD32 and other older systems before they started using copy protection. Not sure what problem you are having, I burn with ImgBurn (free and light) at slow speed using good CD-r media. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A_Locomotive Posted June 9, 2011 Author Share Posted June 9, 2011 So looking around online I've found multiple places indicating that its possible to play burned games on the CD-i as it apparently has no copy protection. Can anyone confirm that for me and if so does anyone know where I can find some info on how to do it? I'm having no real luck and have no experience doing so with other consoles. I have not been able to get burned games to work. I was under the impression from other things that I've read that it isn't possible, but apparently that was incorrect. This thread on CDinteractive.co.uk gives the experience some have had attempting to burn CD-i games. You might want to poke around that site a little more for additional info. I actually joined that site the other day hoping to ask some questions but the forums seem dead. I will have a look around it though, maybe I'll find some info on burning for my model. What model do you have? I think it depends to some extent on which model you have, as well as what media you use and what speed you burn at. Using Taiyo Yuden CDRs burnt at 4X on my CDI-220, I have not burned a single coaster. I just burn the .cue file straight from the command line with cdrdao, or the .iso with cdrecord. I recommend Taiyo Yuden CDR media for all purposes. I don't have those kinds of CDr nor have I ever seen them for sale but I think I may give this a try. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A_Locomotive Posted June 9, 2011 Author Share Posted June 9, 2011 So looking around online I've found multiple places indicating that its possible to play burned games on the CD-i as it apparently has no copy protection. Can anyone confirm that for me and if so does anyone know where I can find some info on how to do it? I'm having no real luck and have no experience doing so with other consoles. I have not been able to get burned games to work. I was under the impression from other things that I've read that it isn't possible, but apparently that was incorrect. This thread on CDinteractive.co.uk gives the experience some have had attempting to burn CD-i games. You might want to poke around that site a little more for additional info. I have the same model as the OP and I play nothing but burned games. It works just as it does on 3D0 / SegaCD / CD32 and other older systems before they started using copy protection. Not sure what problem you are having, I burn with ImgBurn (free and light) at slow speed using good CD-r media. AWESOME! This news that its possible is an awesoem birthday present. lol Can you run me through the process of burning a game and also maybe point me in the direction of a good source of roms or what ever you'd call the files I'd be looking for? I came across one for The Wand of Gamleon the other day in it was a .cue and a .bin file, what do I do with these? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hatta Posted June 9, 2011 Share Posted June 9, 2011 I don't have those kinds of CDr nor have I ever seen them for sale but I think I may give this a try. TY invented the CDR, but doesn't sell them as TY branded. You used to be able to find them under all sorts of labels, but I think it's just JVC these days. Rima has the best prices on TY media in the US. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A_Locomotive Posted June 9, 2011 Author Share Posted June 9, 2011 (edited) I don't have those kinds of CDr nor have I ever seen them for sale but I think I may give this a try. TY invented the CDR, but doesn't sell them as TY branded. You used to be able to find them under all sorts of labels, but I think it's just JVC these days. Rima has the best prices on TY media in the US. Any chance they are branded as Memorex? Those are the only CDrs I have currently. Woops missed the part about it pretty much just being JVC now. Edited June 9, 2011 by A_Locomotive Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldSchoolRetroGamer Posted June 9, 2011 Share Posted June 9, 2011 (edited) AWESOME! This news that its possible is an awesoem birthday present. lol Can you run me through the process of burning a game and also maybe point me in the direction of a good source of roms or what ever you'd call the files I'd be looking for? I came across one for The Wand of Gamleon the other day in it was a .cue and a .bin file, what do I do with these? Heh to be clear they are not "Roms" those are files made from cartridges or in the case of MAME arcade chips (I don't know the specific terms), in the case of any CD based system you can refer to them as "Disk images" . the process could not be easier, download and install ImgBurn (Google it) then simply select the .cue file just click it and it should load into ImgBurn automatically, if not select the .cue with the ImgBurn interface (I am sure you can figure that out) then just click the icon that represents WRITE. As for a "source" well that is the tricky part and possibly not allowed here? I get everything from UNDERGROUNDGAMER a torrent site but you'd need an invite, I get all my stuff from Torrent sites, if your not familiar then that is a whole other thing I just do not have the time to get into sorry. Edited June 9, 2011 by OldSchoolRetroGamer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YAGRS Posted June 9, 2011 Share Posted June 9, 2011 Hmm . . . this is very strange. I have only tried to burn games a couple of times, but I had no luck on either attempt. I have a CD-i 220. The CD-Rs I was using were probably Verbatim, as that is the brand I usually buy, and I likely used Imgburn (I'm not entirely sure, as it's been a while since I tried, and I disposed of the non-working CDs long ago). I have made backups of all my Sega CD, Turbo CD, and 3DO games, and save for the occasional bad burn, those have worked without issue. It would be great to make backups to play. I have at least one CD-i game that somehow got damaged beyond repair (I can see daylight through the disc). I would like to be able to pack them all up and store them and not have to worry about accidentally destroying my only copy. Guess I'll give this another go when I get more CD-Rs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hatta Posted June 9, 2011 Share Posted June 9, 2011 What speed are you burning at? Early CD players are less tolerant of discs burned at high speeds. I don't burn anything faster than 4x. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YAGRS Posted June 9, 2011 Share Posted June 9, 2011 I always burn at the lowest speed. My guess is that it is the media or the burner I used. I'll experiment more in the future. I guess I gave up too easily Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Austin Posted June 9, 2011 Share Posted June 9, 2011 I actually joined that site the other day hoping to ask some questions but the forums seem dead. I will have a look around it though, maybe I'll find some info on burning for my model. What model do you have? Unfortunately those forums are not too terribly active. The CD-i community is a pretty small one from what I can tell (kind of like the 3DO community). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A_Locomotive Posted June 17, 2011 Author Share Posted June 17, 2011 (edited) Finally got around to setting it up and just tried out my CD-i for the first time. Sat down and gave the included tennis game a try and lmao wow! The "graphics" are so ass they deserve quotations. Its hard to believe something this bad looking could come from a disk game. The photos used in the intro are some of the worst quality images I have ever seen in my life! Its as if they were taken by the prototype of the prototype of the digital camera. The game is totally controlled with the dpad you don't press anything to hit its done automatically. Also just tried playing a burned copy of Faces of Evil with no luck, the CD-Rs I have don't support 4x burn speed, only 16x and up. :/ When I popped it in the CD-i spun it up and then just stopped, never changing from a blank screen. Can anyone tell me some brands that can burn that slow that I could possibly find in stores? I went looking and all the ones I looked at bragged about how fast they could go with no mention of how slow. Edited June 17, 2011 by A_Locomotive Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Austin Posted June 17, 2011 Share Posted June 17, 2011 Are you sure it's your discs and not your burner? I have two DVD-r/CD-r drives in my computer and each have different burn rate options. Also, what brand discs are you using just out of curiosity (sorry if it's already been stated above)? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A_Locomotive Posted June 17, 2011 Author Share Posted June 17, 2011 (edited) Are you sure it's your discs and not your burner? I have two DVD-r/CD-r drives in my computer and each have different burn rate options. Also, what brand discs are you using just out of curiosity (sorry if it's already been stated above)? Hmm you know that didn't occur to me it might be the burner since a slower option pops under supported write speed when I pop in a DVDr vx CDr. When I pop in a CDr the following pops up. When I pop in a DVDr 4x is an option so I assumed it was the discs. And I'm using Memorex lightscribe discs. Tomorrow I'll did out my burners box and see if there is any mention of the write speed anywhere. TSSTcorp CDDVDW SH-S203N SB02 (ATA) Current Profile: CD-R Disc Information: Status: Empty State of Last Session: Empty Erasable: No Free Sectors: 359,844 Free Space: 736,960,512 bytes Free Time: 79:59:69 (MM:SS:FF) Next Writable Address: 0 Supported Write Speeds: 16x, 24x, 32x, 40x, 48x Edited June 17, 2011 by A_Locomotive Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Austin Posted June 17, 2011 Share Posted June 17, 2011 Try using something else. I've had success with 3DO, Sega CD and Neo-Geo CD games with Memorex and Sony discs, all burned at 4x of course. I've even had success with the printable memorex CD-rs. I've even used some off-brand CD-rs that worked fine too (don't even remember what they were called). I've never burned a CD-i disc, but I'm assuming they would probably work for that too. Hit up the local Best Buy (or preferably a big computer store if you have one, discs are generally cheaper at places like that). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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