Specifications

CD-i FAQ 2000 Edition Revised February 21, 2001
Latest version and more CD-i info: http://www.icdia.org
47
Windows and Macintosh (available on the PC/Windows downloads page at www.icdia.org),
MediaStockroom (which replaced the conversion utilities as a all-in-one package) and the CD-i
plugins for Adobe Photoshop.
7.8 Where can I get CD-i authoring tools?
Most of the CD-i authoring tools from Philips and OptImage are now being sold and supported by
Cambridge Multimedia Ltd. from the UK and Rise International from the US. Cambridge
Multimedia is a Philips value added reseller of CD-i players and authoring tools for Europe. Apart
from selling tools and players, Cambridge delivers various services such as disc labeling and
reproduction. Rise International is a Philips value added reseller of CD-i players and authoring
tools for the Americas. They sell all OptImage CD-i authoring packages. The Windows-based
CDMotion for CD-i and ViaCD-i are available from Multimedia Technology Center.
7.9 What is the easiest way to make a CD-i title?
One of the employees of Cambridge Multimedia, Robin Burrows, is currently working on a
Windows application, MoguLike, that allows for the creation of MediaMogul compatible scripts
without the need for MediaMogul itself. A demo version of this program can be downloaded at the
PC/Windows downloads page at www.icdia.org. Unfortunately, you still need Script2Disc, the
software that is needed to build a CD-i Disc Image from a MediaMogul script. This software is not
publicly available, so MoguLike is essentially only of use to people who already use MediaMogul.
Another easy way of producing a CD-i compatible title is using the Presentation CD driver for
Windows that can be downloaded at the PC/Windows downloads page at www.icdia.org.
Presentation CD is in essence a (Windows 3.x) printer driver that allows you to 'print' to a CD-i
disc image format. All 'pages' will be added in sequence and are combined with a CD-i
application. The created file can then be burned onto a CD using most popular CD-Recording
tools. The resulting disc is playable on a CD-i player. Please keep in mind that the driver only
supports up to 16 colors due to a limitation in the Windows 3.x printer driver system, but it is fun
for presentations on CD-i.
The best way to make a decent looking CD-i title using a Windows systems however is probably
the ShowBuilder package from Philips, that can be downloaded at the PC/Windows downloads
page at www.icdia.org. It allows you to create CD-i presetions using stills, audio and even
MPEG Digital Video directly on a PC. The scripts you provide on the disc can even be changed at
runtime on the CD-i player, allowing the user to create his own presentations using the audio,
stills and video on the disc. ShowBuilder does not provide for interactive features besides
creating a slideshow and browsing through its contents.
Of course, you can also make a Video-CD title to play on a CD-i player. Video-CD creation tools
are much more widely available than dedicated CD-i creation tools, and a true White Book Video-
CD disc can always be played on a CD-i player. Refer to: 7.11 How can I make a Video-CD? for
more information.
7.10 How can I write a CD-i Disc Image file?
In essence, a CD-i disc image can be written using any CD-Recording application that supports
writing Mode 2 CD-ROM/XA sectors (which is the sector format that was originally developped for
CD-i). However, several different Disc Image file formats exist in the CD-i development comunity,
because some of them include header information for all of the disc's sectors, while others leave
the creation of such headers up to the CD-R software. Another issue is the fact wether the
authoring tool produces a scrabled or unscrabled Disc Image format. This can result in the fact
that a particular CD-R tool can write CD-i Disc Images from one authoring package, but not from
the other.