Philips CDI 615
 | |
| Philips' drawing of the CDI 615 from the cover of its North American user manual. No photograph of a CDI 615 under a free licence was found. | |
| Specifications | |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Philips Interactive Media Systems |
| Type | Professional CD-i player |
| CPU | Philips SCC68070 on the Mono IV main board[1][2] |
| Memory | 2 MB available to CD-i applications, including the Digital Video memory; 32 KB battery-backed NVRAM[3] |
| Storage | 3.5-inch floppy disk drive (PC format)[4] |
| Display | — |
| Sound | — |
| Media | Compact Disc, tray loading; CDM 12.1 mechanism[3] |
| Ports / interface | Front: pointing device inputs 1 and 2, headphone socket; rear: RS-232 ports 1 and 2 (D-sub 9), Centronics parallel port 3, AT keyboard port 4, extension slot, RF input and output with channel selector, CVBS, Y/C, stereo audio, digital audio out, serial I/O (mini-DIN 8)[4] |
| Power | 120 V AC, 50/60 Hz, approx. 23 W (North American manual) |
| Dimensions | 435 × 105 × 280 mm |
| Weight | 4.2 kg |
| OS / Firmware | CD-RTOS[1] |
| Model no. | CDI 615/00 |
The Philips CDI 615 is a professional CD-i player with a floppy disk drive and built-in Digital Video. ICDIA describes it as a player with parallel and AT keyboard ports that could communicate with other CDI 615 players, designed for classroom use where a central operator could collect user data.[5] The hosted user manual is the North American edition, dated 1995.[4] Inside is the large Mono IV main board that Philips also used in the CDI 210/60, 220/80, 660, 670 and 740.[2]
Specifications
[edit | edit source]| Item | Figure |
|---|---|
| Player shell | Second generation |
| Infra-red pointing devices | RC6 |
| NVRAM | 32 KB |
| Digital Video | Installed |
| Main RAM | 2 MB |
| Digital audio out | Yes |
| Disc mechanism | CDM 12.1 |
| Main board | Mono IV |
| Floppy disk drive | 3.5-inch, with its own busy light and eject button |
| RS-232 ports 1 and 2 | D-sub 9 male, up to 115 200 baud |
| Parallel port 3 | 25-pin D-sub, Centronics, ECP and EPP |
| RF modulator | Channel 3 or 4 (61.25 or 67.25 MHz), antenna loop-through |
| Power | 120 V AC, 50/60 Hz, approx. 23 W |
| Size and weight | 435 × 105 × 280 mm; 4.2 kg |
[3][4] The 615's power supply, the 20PS307, is a 100–240 V unit according to retrostuff.org, so the 120 V figure is the North American rating printed in this manual.[6][4]
Hardware
[edit | edit source]The 615 shares the large Mono IV main board, the CDM 12.1 mechanism and the 32 KB NVRAM with the CDI 660 and 670.[2][3][7] ICDIA's service manual index lists the 615 among the players whose block and circuit diagrams are in the Mono IV service manuals.[8] Its power supply is the internal 20PS307, shared with the 660 and 670; no service manual for the supply has been found.[6]
What sets the 615 apart is on the front and back panels. The front carries a 3.5-inch floppy drive with its own busy light and eject button, and the back has an AT keyboard socket, a Centronics parallel port, two RS-232 ports, an extension slot and an RF modulator with a channel selector.[4] Philips' manual says the extension slot was meant for extensions built to order for each project, not for a standard add-on.[4]
Group working
[edit | edit source]Several 615s can be chained through their RS-232 ports, either in one chain from port 1 of the master player or in two chains from both its ports. A file on a floppy in the master player can then be copied to the memory of every player in the group; when a player runs short of memory the oldest files are deleted to make room. All players must show the start-up screen during the copy, and a player in standby breaks the chain from that point on.[4]
Known faults
[edit | edit source]No faults specific to the 615 have been reported. Those known on the shared Mono IV hardware are:
- Flat cells in the DS1216C NVRAM socket, which lose the settings and the clock.[7]
- A blown −5 V fuse (3255) on the main board, which gives a missing or rolling picture and disc motors that run on while the low-level test still passes.[9]
See the Philips CDI 615 Troubleshooting Guide, the Philips CDI 615 General Maintenance page and the Philips CDI 615 Capacitor Replacement Guide.
Documentation
[edit | edit source]- File:Philips CDI 615 User Manual.pdf: Philips' North American user manual for the CDI 615.[4]
- File:Philips CDI 220-80 Service Manual.pdf: the CDI 220/80 service manual, which covers the Mono IV board family.[1]
Related pages
[edit | edit source]- Philips CDI 615 General Maintenance
- Philips CDI 615 Troubleshooting Guide
- Philips CDI 615 Capacitor Replacement Guide
- Philips CDI 605
- Philips CDI 660
- Philips CDI 670
References
[edit | edit source]- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Philips Interactive Media Systems Service & Support, Service Manual CDI 220/80/85/97, 4822 725 24774, imprint P.S. 0995: survey of players and main panels (PDF p. 1); contents, including the sections on servicing surface-mounted devices (3.2) and handling static-sensitive parts (3.3) (PDF p. 2); technical specification of the 220/80 (PDF p. 3); central repair procedure, section 3.5 (PDF p. 11); exploded views, sections 4.1 and 4.2 (PDF pp. 12–13); low-level test and error codes, section 5.1 (PDF p. 14); service shell, section 5.2 (PDF pp. 15–16); key components, section 6.1 (PDF pp. 17–18); troubleshooting and repair, sections 6.2 and 6.2.1 (PDF p. 18); main panel layouts, section 7.5 (PDF p. 25); main panel measuring pads, section 7.5.7 (PDF p. 30); main panel parts list, section 8.4 (PDF pp. 36–37). The scan passes from section 6.2.1 straight to section 7.1, so sections 6.2.2 to 6.3 are missing. Hosted here as File:Philips CDI 220-80 Service Manual.pdf.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Modifications for Philips CD-i Players, retrostuff.org, 12 January 2020, revised 2024—link(accessed 2026-10-20) Sections "Mono IV (large players)", "Brooktree BT9106 & BT9107 / BT9108" and "ROM/Software modifications".
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Comparison table of all Philips professional and authoring CD-i players, The New International CD-i Association—link(accessed 2026-10-20) Rows CDI 615/00, CDI 660/00 and CDI 670/00, and the notes on I/O, DO and RAM.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.8 Philips Interactive Media Systems, CDI 615 User manual (North American edition), 3104 125 21591, © 1995: front of the player (PDF p. 8); rear of the player (PDF p. 9); interfaces and extension slot (PDF p. 13); group working (PDF pp. 19–20); "Before requesting service" (PDF p. 21); specifications (PDF p. 23). Hosted here as File:Philips CDI 615 User Manual.pdf.
- ↑ Philips professional and authoring CD-i players, The New International CD-i Association—link(accessed 2026-10-20) Entries "Philips CDI 615", "Philips CDI 660" and "Philips CDI 670".
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Philips CD-i Power Supply Units, retrostuff.org, 29 September 2024, revised 10 July 2026—link(accessed 2026-10-20) Sections "20PS307" and "20PS308", and the general warning on filter capacitors.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 NVRAM+RTC Solutions for Philips CD-i Players, retrostuff.org, 31 December 2021, revised 25 November 2025—link(accessed 2026-10-20) Section "32 KB (SmartWatch)": the DS1216C socket, its batteries and replacements.
- ↑ CD-i Service Manuals, The New International CD-i Association—link(accessed 2026-10-20) Rows CDI 210, CDI 220 and CDI 470: the Mono-IV manuals, whose diagrams are shared by the CDI 210, 220, 470, 615, 740 and the B&O players.
- ↑ Philips CD-i Mono III / IV Fuses, retrostuff.org, 29 November 2021, revised 1 October 2024—link(accessed 2026-10-20) The −5 V fuse 3255 and the resettable fuse 3277 on Mono IV boards, the symptoms of a blown −5 V fuse and where to measure.