Specifications

CD-i FAQ 2000 Edition Revised February 21, 2001

Latest version and more CD-i info: http://www.icdia.org

mixed usage of upper and lowercase letters and it provides options to indicate OS-9's Unix-style

execution or read permission parameters.

Because of this different filesystem, the files on a CD-i disc can not be accessed in a regular way

on a PC equiped with a CD-ROM drive. This was not a problem, since a CD-i program could after

all not be used on a PC due to its different operating system, CPU and audio and video codecs.

However, in some circumstances it would be practical just to check out the contents of a disc,

particulary in CD-i development environments. Thankfully, a solution is now available in the form

of the CD-i Filesystem Driver for Windows 95/98, written by Vahur Sinijarv from Estonia. This

driver is available for free download from the PC downloads for CD-i development page at

www.icdia.org.

Once installed, a CD-i disc can be accessed in a similar way as a CD-ROM disc, using for

example the Windows Explorer. You can view the discs name, browse trough directories and

view the file names.

There are currently some limitations in the Filesystem Driver, please refer to the article I wrote

about it at www.icdia.org. Vahur is still continuing to improve the driver, expect a new version

to be released soon. Check this site back regulary, since it is the official distribution site for the

CD-i Filesystem Driver.

9.5 What is an IFF file?

Usually, all media information on a CD-i disc is stored in one large Real Time File. When this is

the case, you cannot use this file on a PC. But sometimes, individual audio and video files are

stored on the disc in CD-i's IFF (Interchangable File Format) format. This is the format that is

used in CD-i authoring packages and studios. You can usually recognize these files from the

following extensions: .d .cl3 .cl4 .cl7 .cl8 .rl3 .rl7 for video (where d stands for DYUV, cl for CLUT

and rl for Run Lenght Encoding), and .aas .asm .abm .abs .acm .acs for audio (where the second

letter indicates the level of ADPCM used, and the latter one indicates m for mono and s for

stereo).

9.6 How can I watch pictures of a CD-i disc on my PC?

When pictures on a CD-i disc are stored in IFF format on the disc instead of in realtime files (see:

9.5 What is an IFF file?, you can view images using Robin Burrow's CDiView, or convert the

images to standard PC formats using the OptImage Image Conversion Utilities (both available at

the PC downloads for CD-i development page at www.icdia.org).

Please note that the CD-i Filesystem Driver for Windows (refer to: 9.4 Can I view the contents of

a CD-i disc on my PC?) needs to be installed on the PC to allow it to access a CD-i disc!

9.7 How can I listen to audio of a CD-i disc on my PC?

When ADPCM audio clips are stored in IFF format on the disc instead of in realtime files (see: 9.5

What is an IFF file?, you can convert these into standard PC formats using the OptImage Audio

Conversion Utilities (both available at the PC downloads for CD-i development page at

www.icdia.org). There is no playback utility available to date that allows you to play them back

immediately without converting.

If audio is stored on the disc in MPEG format (usually accompanying MPEG video, but this is not

mandatory), you can play it back or convert it into other formats using a wide variety of tools

available on the PC platform. You could for example use Microsoft Media Player 6.0 or higher to

play the MPEG audio.