So I got a Phillips CDi...

[Jagosaurus]

I always wanted to play The Apprentice & Burn Cycle... admittedly... also the Thunder in Paradise game

[TEKTORO]

It’s 5 almost 6am noise tooearly for me to talk about CD-I haha! You can buy the whole CD drive and replace it, there’s a few compatible drives, however the belt is easy to fix and cleaning, lubing parts as well. On that particular unit the battery to the time keeper needs to be removed as it causes the unit to not operate properly and removing it is pretty interesting to say the least. The digital video card is a must and the cheapest way to obtain it is in the slim CDi console since it should come with it (When I Last looked) Games wise Hotel Mario, Tetris, Apprentice, Zeldas, Burn Cycle to name a few are must plays (you can play burns too) I’m gonna stop back and post some more details and update any info, I’m roughly sharing what I know from a few years ago when I had one. The experience overall won’t have you thirsting to come back for more as many of the controls are laggy for the system but playing the zeldas in person and some of the other hidden gems is a real treat. There’s also the educational software which is unique and done very well on the system my favorite was the Space Shuttle software.

[noiseredux]

thanks for the input, Tek! And good to see you! Unfortunately, with the baby in the house, I have no idea when I'll have time to mess around with trying to do any sort of repairs, so for now this is a GIGANTIC conversation piece and not an actual usable console for me, haha.

[Anapan]

Congrats! I've been interested in the CDi since it came out, but only ever saw pictures or muddy video. Recently, I finally got an emulator (MESS part of MAME) running OK. The games I was interested in were as good as I had hoped, but the emulation was a little flaky with occasional crashes. The ports of Pac-Man and Tetris are actually very well done.
About the controller, I'd be willing to fix it for cost of shipping back to you, tho it might be prohibitively expensive to BC, Canada. I have a full rework setup, and would simply shrink-tube the affected section after repairing, or, depending on the number of wires and diameter, I might be able to replace the cord completely with a different one to make it look like new.

[noiseredux]

@Anapan, I very much appreciate the offer! Once I can find time to see if I can get the actual disc drive reading discs, I'll be happy to take you up on your offer. I'd have to assume that even the cost of shipping the controller would be cheaper than finding a replacement.

[noiseredux]

Think I'm having buyer's remorse... not because I don't want a CDi, but because I really don't have time for a project like trying to get this thing to work. I may end up just selling it for parts/repair for now. :\

[Jagosaurus]

Think I'm having buyer's remorse... not because I don't want a CDi, but because I really don't have time for a project like trying to get this thing to work. I may end up just selling it for parts/repair for now. :\

I thought this guy covered your situation well. I've been eyeing the pimped out & restored models for years.

https://youtu.be/A_6jngyO8TY

[Anapan]

Just watched the clips of replacing that embedded timer battery - Almost looks like dental work. Actually it looks like fun. Your model is very easy to RGB mod - you can just pull the RGB off the pins of a Sony chip.
Edit:
I don't know when I'll be going back to work, but I'd really like to try fixing up your CDI. I'd be willing to do it for free just to have a chance to do the fixes and RGB mod it. I'd even help pay shipping. The reason? Just like all the stuff I've modded, once I finish and get it as good as possible, I immediately lose interest and it collects dust. I only want to make it boot a game.
I just read about an adapter that lets you use a Genesis controller on it. https://lauraiss.wordpress.com/
I think I can make this. Even that console-style controller isn't very good according to Framerater's new video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uekQUCFXHGE