The Green Book specification for CD-i (Compact Disc Interactive) is unique in the CD family tree. It is the only specification which defines not only the disc and the contents, but an entire hardware and software system, a variety of special compression methods for audio and visual data, and a method of interleaving audio, video, and text data.

CD-i has found a niche in informational and marketing kiosks, training, and portable interactive sales presentations, and is especially well suited for the presentation of high-capacity interactive multimedia applications to the non-computer literate.

CD-i is designed to interface with televisions and stereo systems. And where CD-i, or Green Book, went, soon followed CD-ROM/XA, which was an extension to Yellow Book specifications that was finalized in 1989 by Philips and Sony with help from Microsoft Corporation.