SEGA Dreamcast Emulation | GDI or BIN & CUE Files to CHD | File Compression Guide | How To

With so many emulation options and great games available for the Dreamcast, storage space on your system is sure to become an issue, and the choice of file type can make a huge difference.
We'll walk through the process of compressing your GDI or BIN & CUE format Dreamcast games to CHD using the CHDMAN software.
Software Link:
CHDMAN: archive.org/de...
Original outro music by Shirobon.
HCF Twitter: @HCFGaming
Shirobon: www.shirobon.bandcamp.com

[@c.r.5201]

Awesome reference! Its unbelievable that I saved 10+ gb of space with CHDMAN alone.

[@Heaaaps]

Really great reference m8 I've saved this. I've some dreamcast vids planned layer in the year so really useful

[@HalfCircleForward]

Thank you, sir! Glad you found the video helpful, I’ll be keeping an eye out for your Dreamcast vids!

[@juansalgado6212]

link is broken

[@dooleh84]

Just what I needed, thanks.

[@bayardoaguilar1683]

Saved my entire collection, thanks mate!

[@darkyetlovely84]

You said you have cue and bin files but I don't see anything in that folder that says cue. I do see a gdi file though. Did you miss speak and you actually have a gdi file, not bin and cue? I'm seriously asking. I'm new to emulation and trying to understand all this.

[@thatgeekevan5708]

GDI to CHD version doesn't seem to be available anymore

[@joeh3445]

You can save this command as a .bat file. The file could be named Convert-to-CHD.bat and it will convert .cue, .gdi, or .iso to .chd. It will automatically move on to the next ROM if you have multiple ROMs in the folder that contains the batch file. for /r %%i in (*.cue, *.gdi, *.iso) do chdman createcd -i "%%i" -o "%%~ni.chd"

[@leanderthal-z]

What happens when you have a game that is a multi-session CDI, so when you use CDIRip to turn it into CUE/BIN you actually get SESSION1.CUE/BIN and SESSION2.CUE/BIN, so in short you get 4 files? Propeller Arena is the game in question. I was trying to turn that CDI into a CHD, couldn't do it, so I found a GDI, and turning GDI into CHD is a lot easier.

[@jdbaker1989]

i need this to be on how to MAKE GDI file specificilly because thats what my emulator reads and i need it done on mac os cause thats all i have could you make a walkthrough for that please and thank you

[@shadowninja2454]

Hey can reupload your version of Chdman. Your version that you have no longer extstence on that website anymore. The only version that existence on that website is CHD to Cue file. I really appreciate it.

[@darkyetlovely84]

Have you (and others) had luck doing this with games? I've come across alot of stuff saying that the dreamcast gdi makes corrupt roms, but then I've also seen stuff that says use the gdi/bin bc the bin/cue want work for dreamcast games. Mine were mostly the gdi/bin once and now I'm having issues with some of them after converting them.

[@faded9581]

The Flycast emulator didn't recognize the CHD format of the game. What did I do wrong?

[@HalfCircleForward]

Hey, sorry for the delayed response! What platform are you running FLycast on?

[@Vrosales316]

Same here

[@bobbyboygaming2157]

You cannot convert bin/cue directly into chd, you gotta convert them first into GDI, then the GDI into CHD. Might as well just delete and redownload the ROMs they got trashed.

[@Skinny_Yeo]

Thanks bro, you're a real one

[@MikeyDunksMusic]

Subscribed! Thank you sir

[@HalfCircleForward]

Thank you, I appreciate the support!

[@carlos2635rs]

i downloaded chd files but dont run on null dc, ''image failed to load'' pls help

[@ElisBuenas82]

Thank you SO MUCH

[@matthewstevens4772]

Nothing happens when I click extract to CHD

[@stevieram1214]

So I done everything like in your video. So once I get the .CHD file I am free to delete the bin and cue files to free up more space correct?

[@HalfCircleForward]

I kept a backup of all my bin and cue files on a separate drive, just in case something goes wrong in the future, but yes, once you have the .chd files, you don’t really need the bin and cue any more. Hope that helps!

[@stevieram1214]

@@HalfCircleForward it does help! i just need a bigger externa hard drive now lol.

[@mcfcxx9849]

How would this work with the track as .iso instead of .bin, for example Fist of the North Star

[@Channel9001]

Pretty sure Fist of the North Star is not a normal Dreamcast game, but instead of a conversion of a game made for Atomiswave arcade hardware. So I don't know if this process would work on it.

[@mcfcxx9849]

@@Channel9001 Ohhh yeah true, fair enough.

[@joeh3445]

You can save this command as a .bat file. The file could be named Convert-to-CHD.bat and it will convert .cue, .gdi, or .iso to .chd. It will automatically move on to the next ROM if you have multiple ROMs in the folder that contains the batch file. I haven't converted any gdi files, but I have used it on many cue and iso files. for /r %%i in (*.cue, *.gdi, *.iso) do chdman createcd -i "%%i" -o "%%~ni.chd"

[@Romans139]

Do you know what to do if my games are cdi and not gdi?

[@HalfCircleForward]

Typically, Dreamcast games that are in .cdi format have already been trimmed, so the file size will be smaller than a standard .gdi file. That being said, I did take a quick look to see if there was a way to convert a .cdi to a .chd, and so far, all I've been able to come up with is that the .cdi format isn't compatible with chdman. I did do a quick test, modifying the chdman .bat file to include .cdi, and the program wouldn't do anything with it. I'll keep an eye out, and if I come across a way to compress .cdi files, I'll be sure to report back!

[@Romans139]

@@HalfCircleForward Thanks, im just going to get the gdis and convert to chd. Assuming chd is going to be worth it

[@HalfCircleForward]

You’re welcome! It’s a definite space saver, that’s for sure! I’ve not run into any issues so far using .chd, so I’d recommend it! 😊

[@jakeplayzyt5220]

What about the track files? Are they needed?

[@alejandro8790]

Thanks !

[@HalfCircleForward]

You’re more than welcome! 🙂

[@voldemortvdk]

Thank you. :D

[@rose1752]

how can I do this on Android?, can I use Pydroid? Because I used Pydroid to Compress PSP ISO - PSP CSO... pls help i don't have a computer..

[@HalfCircleForward]

I did a bit of research on this and it looks like it is possible! Check out this link for instructions: www.reddit.com/r/EmulationOnAndroid/comments/riqu81/guidedefinitiveconvert_your_games_with_chdman_on/ Hope that helps!

[@LittleSaint425]

I want to convert my cue and bin file into Cdi so I can use it on GDEMU ode. I want to play on my original dreamcast.

[@dallase1]

I guess this only works on Dreamcast files and not any cue file because it did not work when tried to convert a Philips CDi cue file to chd.

[@HalfCircleForward]

Unfortunately, CHDMAN is only compatible with Dreamcast, SEGA CD, Saturn, PS1 and PS2 iso/bin & cue files. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news! 🙁

[@lcb2884]

PLEASE HELP: the program I use to convert the games closes immediately and I can't find a solution

[@HalfCircleForward]

Just checking to see if adding the bin file to the conversion folder fixed your issue?

[@lcb2884]

@@HalfCircleForward yeah it turns out I just needed to put all the files the zip contains in the converter, thanks 👍

[@HalfCircleForward]

@@lcb2884 Nice! Glad you got it all up and running! Have fun! 🙂

[@lcb2884]

@@HalfCircleForward Hey! It's me again haha, I have a gdi for dreamcast divided in 4 parts with multiple tracks named similar and I want to turn all of this into a single chd, how can I do that?

[@DarkMSG]

i have a dreamcast emulator on the nintendo wii how do install the games on the modded wii?

[@ninjahayabushi5715]

Nice video

[@HalfCircleForward]

Thanks! I appreciate the feedback! 🙂

[@DarthBreh]

does anyone have a tool to convert bin/cue to gdi? thanks.

[@Xale007]

GOD THANKS

[@soaremicheledavid6020]

I did this and dosent work! I tested on 3 games, they were GDI.

[@justaweebs]

Thanks Bro !

[@HalfCircleForward]

You’re very welcome! 😊

[@astrotravelin2166]

Is there no way to do this from a Mac?

[@theheavenlyfb4071]

looks like Internet Archive got rid of the software

[@مقاطعمترجمة-ش8ث]

Dolphen em didn't accept .gdi rom i download .

[@HalfCircleForward]

If you’re looking to ply a Dreamcast games, you’ll need the FlyCast emulator for it. Hope that helps!

[@مقاطعمترجمة-ش8ث]

@@HalfCircleForward Thanks, I found it on AUR

[@HalfCircleForward]

@@مقاطعمترجمة-ش8ث okay, glad you got it all sorted out! Have fun!

[@omgitsbats]

You HAVE to use GDI files with CHDMAN or your CHD files won't boot. KZbinrs need to stop using that garbage Recallbox tutorial.

[@bloozbyblueballs5908]

Will these run off CDRs?

[@DVFMovieProductionsHippos]

I've tried this but it isn't working for me. I'm currently rewatching the video to see if I missed something.