It is not trivial to port a CD-ROM title to CD-i. However, through the use of careful design and production techniques, it can be done with a lot less effort than starting from scratch.

In our experience title development is about 25 to 50% platform specific and 50 to 75% platform independent. In case of authoring, the actual process of scripting and assembling the presentation is platform specific. In the case of custom C programming, the software design and implementation is largely platform specific. On the other hand, the specific title design, the source audio and video assets, and the integration system can be platform independent.

Our porting guidelines in a nutshell are:

• Keep all your source assets in their high quality, original form (for example, in the form of 24-bit RGB images and 44 KHz PCM audio).

• Make sure the encoding pathways for all your assets are automated, or at least well documented.

• Separate your code into platform-specific and general parts, if possible.

• Verify that the design specification will translate successfully to CD-i. This can be done by prototyping or proof of concept engineering.

• Then, reimplement your title using the design, which has been modified, if necessary, for CD-i, any reusable code, and the original audio and video assets.