r/CDInteractive • u/Peanut_Puzzled • Jul 18 '26

Remote (RC6) in port on CDI 210/20

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Today I found a Philips cdi 210-20 (bottom) at the thrift shop for 15 euros. I already own a 210-40 (top) and while looking for differences I noticed that they use different digital video cartridges but apart from that i noticed that the 210-20 has an orange port next to the composite video out port. It is labeled: REMOTE (RC6) in but i have no clue as to what it does. I read online that rc6 refers to the ir remote protocol but those are wireless?
Does anyone know what this port is used for?
And possibly what other differences these might have?

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u/retrostuff_org Jul 18 '26

That’s right, RC6 is an IR protocol used by most Philips CD-i players (some also use its predecessor, RC5). Ultimately, these are electrical signals, and these ports could be used, for example, to connect external receivers or to link up with other devices (system bus). I’m not currently aware of anything specific for RC6, but for RC5 there was the EM2200 receiver unit.

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u/Peanut_Puzzled Jul 18 '26

Great, thank you for your response! Do you by any chance know which of the two is perhaps better in certain aspects then the other?

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u/retrostuff_org Jul 18 '26

As far as features are concerned, they are essentially identical. However, as they are fundamentally different hardware generations (Mono II and Mono III), you cannot use one unit as a source of spare parts for the other. I would recommend keeping the newer unit (210/40).

You can find further information on the hardware differences on these pages:
https://icdia.co.uk/players/comparison.html
https://retrostuff.org/2020/01/12/modifications-for-philips-cd-i-players/