Specifications
CD-i FAQ 2000 Edition Revised February 21, 2001
Latest version and more CD-i info: http://www.icdia.org
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mdir -t=desc to check this out). First load some modules (programs) that might be usefull and
which are stored on the CD, so you can use them after the CD has been removed. Do this with
the load command, for example load dir eject. Now you can kill all other programs that are
running on the CD-i. Check which programs are running and what their process IDs are with
procs. Then kill the running apps, using for example kill 3 . Now you can remove the CD with
the eject command. Make sure not to press the eject-button on the player, since it will then
reset and the running applications (including the shell on the terminal) will be terminated.
The things you can do next depend on the commands you have loaded in memory or which are
available in ROM. Use the command mdir -t=prog to see which ones are available. You can
startup the player shell, load another CD-i disc and execute it. You still have full control of the
system on the terminal. For example it is possible at all times to check which modules a particular
CD-i application is running using procs. Some CD-i discs contain extra applications that cannot
be accessed using the regular CD-i program that is executed using disc start up. Refer to: 8.1.3
What hidden information is available on some CD-i titles?.
If you have access to a professional CD-i player, things are usually less complicated. The CDI
601, CDI 602 and CDI 605 have the command shell build in ROM and best of all, you can access
it in the Settings screen of the player shell. Just connect a terminal display and select the System
option in the Settings. A prompt will be displayed on the terminal. To use any commands beside
the very few that are internal shell commands, you still need an external source to load them. If
the player has a floppy disk drive (CDI 602 and CDI 605) you can load the commands from a
floppy disk, otherwise you need a CD with the commands such as MediaMogul. If you have a CDI
180/181/182 system you can load the command prompt from the player shell, but you need a
floppy which contains it since it is not available in ROM. It allows you the choice of terminating the
player shell or leave it running (the difference between the Chain and Fork options). The
professional players CDI 615, CDI 660 and CDI 670 have no command prompt access build in
the player shell, the procedure for a consumer player as described above applies.
For an overview of OS-9 command shell commands and their (more well-known) Unix
counterparts, please refer to the document about OS-9 and Unix commands at www.icdia.org.
8.1.2 What hidden applications are burnt into the CD-i player's system ROM?
Most CD-i players have additional programs and other modules stored in ROM that you can
check out using a terminal connection. If a Digital Video cartridge is installed, which contains its
own ROM, even more modules will be available.
One of the things I discovered using some of the early CD-i players based on the Mini-MMC
board (CDI 910, CDI 205 and CDI 220/00) is that a service maintenance tool is available in ROM.
Just start it by typing sv at the prompt (make sure the player shell and other applications have
been terminated, since this program needs the CD-i's video display). A screen will show up with a
nice cursor in the form of a open end fork! You can check system functions and audio and video
features. This program is probably used in the factory to test a player. It's realy amazing to see a
program appear on your screen that's litteraly hidden in the player!
Other things that are known to be available in the ROM of the Digital Video cartridge are tools to
play a Video-CD using a command prompt and some diagnostic tools. Please note that the
availability of modules in ROM varies between the various CD-i players and Digital Video
cartridges.
8.1.3 What hidden information is available on some CD-i titles?
Some CD-i discs contain extra applications that cannot be accessed using the regular CD-i
program that is executed using disc start up. You can check for other executables by providing a