Recap guide
Recap the Philips CD-i
Many SMD electrolytics sit across the video, audio, servo and power sections. The one full list we found is for the CDI350.
Open the interactive checklist Tick off each capacitor as you replace it. It saves in your browser.
Worth a recap. Reports say it is a common and useful fix on this machine.
Which board do I have?
Boards changed during production. These notes come from the linked sources, and many are only partly documented, so check the board in front of you.
- Mini-MMC boards (CDI 205/00, 210/00, 210/20, 220/00, 220/20) (Low confidence). How to tell: icdia groups these first-generation models as Mini-MMC boards; ConsoleMods lists the 910, 210 and 220 as 1991-1996 early models. Capacitors: No cap list found for this board. Capacitor list differs from other revisions: not known. Source
- Monoboard I to IV (later CDI 210/40 up to 740, 450, 470, 490, 550) (Low confidence). How to tell: icdia says later models use Monoboard variants combining player functions into fewer ICs. Capacitors: No cap list found for these boards. Capacitor list differs from other revisions: not known. Source
- CDI350 main PCB (Medium confidence). How to tell: Portable CD-i player whose main PCB is covered in detail by retrostuff.org. Capacitors: A retrostuff.org write-up lists all 76 caps on the main PCB, mostly SMD with some through-hole and film parts, from 0.33 uF to 470 uF and 4V to 63V, and finds reversed caps C938 and C991 in a later fix. Capacitor list differs from other revisions: not known. Source
Where to start
Clues from write-ups and forum threads, not a diagnosis. Low confidence means one thread or one repair; high means several write-ups agree.
- Full CDI350 list (Medium confidence). One write-up lists all 76 caps on the CDI350 main board, grouped by section with sizes and sourced parts, and reports flickering screens, disc read failures and port issues fixed by recapping. Source
- Polarity and the extension module (Medium confidence). A follow-up notes reversed-polarity caps C938 and C991 and covers the caps in the Philips 9142 extension module. Source
Tips, tales and maybes
Found in write-ups and forum threads. These are other people's reports, not tested by us. Check part references and values against your own board.
- Watch out: Settings not saved: Timekeeper (Medium confidence). A CDI350 repair write-up says settings that would not save came from a dead Timekeeper chip, fixed by fitting a socket and a new Timekeeper or Dallas RTC. The chip is often soldered from both sides, so it needs a strong desoldering gun and patience, and the fault is separate from the cap work. Source
- Tip: PAL 210 with no audio (Low confidence). On r/CDInteractive (seen on the twt.omada.cafe mirror) a PAL CD-i 210 with video but no audio got the reply that general recapping is unlikely to help, but the two green BP MUSE audio caps should be checked. The reply also said to check the op-amp and to use a step-up converter of at least 35 W for a 220-230V unit used in the US. Source
- Watch out: Failed ferrite bead cut the video supply (Medium confidence). The CDI350 follow-up says S-Video loss came from two reversed-polarity caps (C938, C991) and a failed ferrite bead LP05 that cut the +12E line to the video stage. LP05 carries a safety marking so the author says only the original type should be used, and missing or mislabelled test points slowed the diagnosis. Source
Before you start
- Boards changed during production. Check your board number against the guides before you order parts.
Guides we used
This page and the interactive bench are built from these. They have the photos and the full detail, so please read them and support their authors.
- Philips CDI350 recap (76-cap list) (List) by Rosewood (retrostuff.org). Has a capacitor list. Complete list of all 76 caps on the main PCB grouped by section, with sizes and sourced parts. Best CD-i source found
- Philips CDI350 Repair Part 3 (Write-up) by Rosewood (retrostuff.org). Has a capacitor list. Follow-up: reversed-polarity caps C938/C991 and the Philips 9142 extension module caps
The capacitor list
We have not checked a capacitor list for this machine yet, so none is shown. Follow the guide above for your board, then add the capacitors in the interactive checklist and it builds a shopping list for you.
Skip the sourcing
While you are in there
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Steps, tools and safety
The steps, the tools in top, middle and budget picks, and the safety list are the same for every machine, so they live on one page: How to recap, step by step.
Values are shown as published in the guides above, and boards changed during production. Check the board in front of you. A recap involves hot tools and, on some machines, dangerous voltages. You do it at your own risk.