The is a hybrid

LaserDisc player A LaserDisc player is a device designed to play video (Analog video, analog) and audio (Analog audio, analog or Digital audio, digital) stored on LaserDisc. LaserDisc was the first optical disc format marketed to consumers; it was introduced by ...

and

home video game console A home video game console is a video game console that is designed to be connected to a display device, such as a television, and an external power source as to play video games. While initial consoles were dedicated units with only a few game ...

released by

Pioneer Corporation , is a Japanese multinational corporation based in Tokyo, that specializes in digital entertainment products. The company was founded by Nozomu Matsumoto on January 1, 1938 in Tokyo as a radio and Loudspeaker, speaker repair shop. Its current pr ...

in 1993. Marketed as a high-end, modular entertainment system, it was designed to combine movies, music, and video games into a single unit. Out of the box, the base unit could natively play standard LaserDiscs and

Compact discs The compact disc (CD) is a digital optical disc data storage format co-developed by Philips and Sony to store and play digital audio recordings. It employs the Compact Disc Digital Audio (CD-DA) standard and was capable of holding of uncompr ...

, but support for video games required optional expansion modules known as PACs. Each PAC enabled compatibility with a specific gaming platform and its media formats. With the Mega-LD PAC, the system could play exclusive Mega-LD discs (a proprietary

LD-ROM LV-ROM (''LaserVision Read-Only Memory'') and LD-ROM (''LaserDisc Read-Only Memory'') are similar but incompatible optical disc formats that combine analog LaserDisc video with digitally encoded computer data. Both were developed to support inte ...

format), as well as Sega Genesis/Mega Drive cartridges and Sega CD/Mega-CD discs. With the LD-ROM² PAC, it supported exclusive LD-ROM² discs, along with

HuCard The (Known as the TurboChip in regions where the PC Engine was marketed as the TurboGrafx-16) is a ROM cartridge in the form of a card, designed by Hudson Soft for NEC's PC Engine and PC Engine SuperGrafx video game consoles, which were or ...

cartridges and

CD-ROM² The TurboGrafx-16, known in Japan as the , is a home video game console developed by Hudson Soft and manufactured by NEC. It was released in Japan in 1987 and in North America in 1989. The first console of the fourth generation, it launched in ...

discs for the PC Engine/TurboGrafx-16. The LaserActive was the only system capable of playing LD-ROM game discs, which were not cross-compatible between PACs. Pioneer released LaserActive model CLD-A100 in Japan on August 20, 1993, for , and in North America on September 13, 1993, for . An

NEC is a Japanese multinational information technology and electronics corporation, headquartered at the NEC Supertower in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. It provides IT and network solutions, including cloud computing, artificial intelligence (AI), Inte ...

-branded version of the player, the LD-ROM² System (model PCE-LD1), launched in December 1993 at the same price and was fully compatible with Pioneer's PAC modules. The LaserActive was discontinued in 1996, with approximately 10,000 units sold.

Accessories

PAC modules

Pioneer released several expansion modules, known as "PACs," which enabled the LaserActive to play software from other platforms and expand its capabilities. In each case, the Japanese model number is listed first, followed by the North American version. ;Mega-LD PAC (PAC-S1 / PAC-S10) :Developed with

Sega is a Japanese video game company and subsidiary of Sega Sammy Holdings headquartered in Tokyo. It produces several List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises for arcade game, arcades and video game cons ...

, this PAC enabled support for Mega-LD software as well as standard

Sega Genesis The Sega Genesis, known as the outside North America, is a 16-bit Fourth generation of video game consoles, fourth generation home video game console developed and sold by Sega. It was Sega's third console and the successor to the Master Sys ...

cartridges,

Sega CD The Sega CD, known as in most regions outside North America and Brazil, is a CD-ROM accessory and format for the Sega Genesis produced by Sega as part of the fourth generation of video game consoles. Originally released in November 1991, it ca ...

discs, and CD+G discs. It included a LaserActive-branded 6-button Genesis controller (model CPD-S1) and retailed for . It was the most widely adopted module among LaserActive owners. ;LD-ROM² PAC (PAC-N1 / PAC-N10) :Developed with

, this PAC added support for LD-ROM² titles, along with

cartridges,

discs, and CD+G discs. The Japanese model could also play Arcade CD-ROM² titles using an Arcade Card Duo. Like the Sega module, it sold for and included a branded Turbo Pad (CPD-N1/CPD-N10). NEC also released a version in their branding called the PC Engine PAC (model PCE-LP1). Due to the

TurboGrafx-16 The TurboGrafx-16, known in Japan as the , is a home video game console developed by Hudson Soft and manufactured by NEC. It was released in Japan in 1987 and in North America in 1989. The first console of the fourth generation of video game con ...

's limited success in North America, the PAC-N10 is significantly rarer than its Sega counterpart. ;Karaoke PAC (PAC-K1) :This PAC enabled playback of the LD-ROM-based LaserKaraoke (LD-G) discs. It featured two microphone inputs with individual volume and tone controls. Retail price was approximately . ;Computer Interface PAC (PAC-PC1) :This PAC was equipped with an

RS-232 In telecommunications, RS-232 or Recommended Standard 232 is a standard introduced in 1960 for serial communication transmission of data. It formally defines signals connecting between a ''DTE'' (''data terminal equipment'') such as a compu ...

port, allowing the CLD-A100 to be controlled with custom computer software. It shipped with a 33-button infrared remote (more advanced than the standard 24-button remote) and a

DOS DOS (, ) is a family of disk-based operating systems for IBM PC compatible computers. The DOS family primarily consists of IBM PC DOS and a rebranded version, Microsoft's MS-DOS, both of which were introduced in 1981. Later compatible syste ...

Classic Mac OS Mac OS (originally System Software; retronym: Classic Mac OS) is the series of operating systems developed for the Mac (computer), Macintosh family of personal computers by Apple Computer, Inc. from 1984 to 2001, starting with System 1 and end ...

program called ''LaserActive Program Editor'' on

floppy disk A floppy disk or floppy diskette (casually referred to as a floppy, a diskette, or a disk) is a type of disk storage composed of a thin and flexible disk of a magnetic storage medium in a square or nearly square plastic enclosure lined with a ...

, including demo programs for the ''

Tenchi Muyo! is a Japanese anime, light novel and manga franchise. The original series began with a six-episode Original video animation, OVA called . This original series was created by Masaki Kajishima and directed by Hiroki Hayashi, and it was rel ...

'' LaserDisc series.

LaserActive 3-D Goggles

The LaserActive 3-D Goggles (model GOL-1) used an active shutter 3D system compatible with several LD-ROM titles, including ''3-D Museum'' (1994), ''Vajra 2'' (1994), ''Virtual Cameraman 2'' (1994), ''Dr. Paolo no Totteoki Video'' (1994), ''Goku'' (1995), and ''3D Virtual Australia'' (1996), the last official LaserActive release. The goggles could also display 3D autostereogram images. A separate goggle adapter (model ADP-1) allowed one or two goggles to connect to the CLD-A100.

Software

The LaserActive uses a unique disc format called

(LaserDisc Read-Only Memory). Like the

LV-ROM LV-ROM (''LaserVision Read-Only Memory'') and LD-ROM (''LaserDisc Read-Only Memory'') are similar but incompatible optical disc formats that combine analog LaserDisc video with digitally encoded computer data. Both were developed to support inte ...

format on which it is based, the LD-ROM is an

optical disc An optical disc is a flat, usuallyNon-circular optical discs exist for fashion purposes; see shaped compact disc. disc-shaped object that stores information in the form of physical variations on its surface that can be read with the aid o ...

format that can store analog video, analog audio, and

computer files A computer file is a resource for recording data on a computer storage device, primarily identified by its filename. Just as words can be written on paper, so too can data be written to a computer file. Files can be shared with and transferred b ...

(in a file system) on the same side of a disc. LD-ROMs do not use the same file system as LV-ROMs, however; also, an LD-ROM can store up to 540 megabytes of file data, compared with LV-ROM's 324. An LD-ROM can store up to 60 minutes of analog audio and video alongside the digital file system. The tables below list 31 software titles released on LD-ROM for the LaserActive; of these, 13 were released only in Japan. 23 of the 31 were made for the Mega LD PAC, and 15 were made for the LD-ROM² PAC. Only a handful of titles were released in both formats. One additional title listed below, ''

Myst ''Myst'' is a 1993 adventure video game developed by Cyan and published by Broderbund for Mac OS. In the game, the player travels via a special book to a mysterious island called Myst. The player interacts with objects and traverses the ...

'', was never officially released for the LaserActive. Circa 1995, a game developer named Brian Rice (of Brian Rice Inc.) was leading the conversion of ''Myst'' to Mega LD. Conversion was almost entirely complete, and the game was to be published by

Sunsoft , is a Japanese electronics manufacturer, video game developer and publisher. They are known for their video games under the brand name Sunsoft. History In April 1971, Sun Electronics Corporation (alternatively called Sun Denshi) was founded i ...

. But, Rice encountered a major problem. Normally, an animated dissolve or wipe effect transitioned the view when the player moved between scenes in the game. Each transition animation had six frames. Yet in some circumstances, the animation did not stop at the sixth frame, but continued to shift the player's view to other scenes in the game. Rice ascribed the runaway animation to a bug in the LaserActive hardware. Development and publication were scrapped. Another unreleased game, called ''Steel Driver'', is rumored to exist.

Contemporary devices

In the early 1990s, a number of

consumer electronics Consumer electronics, also known as home electronics, are electronic devices intended for everyday household use. Consumer electronics include those used for entertainment, Communication, communications, and recreation. Historically, these prod ...

manufacturers designed converged devices around

CD-ROM A CD-ROM (, compact disc read-only memory) is a type of read-only memory consisting of a pre-pressed optical compact disc that contains computer data storage, data computers can read, but not write or erase. Some CDs, called enhanced CDs, hold b ...

technology. At the time, CD-ROM systems were expensive. The LaserActive was one of several multipurpose, multi-format, upmarket home entertainment systems with software stored on

s. These systems were premised on early conceptions of

multimedia Multimedia is a form of communication that uses a combination of different content forms, such as Text (literary theory), writing, Sound, audio, images, animations, or video, into a single presentation. T ...

entertainment. Some comparable systems are the Commodore CDTV,

Philips CD-i The Compact Disc-Interactive (CD-I, later CD-i) is a digital optical disc data storage format as well as a hardware platform, co-developed and marketed by Dutch company Philips and Japanese company Sony. It was created as an extension of CDDA ...

, 3DO Interactive Multiplayer, and Tandy Video Information System.

Reception

Computer Gaming World ''Computer Gaming World'' (CGW) was an American Video game journalism, computer game magazine that was published between 1981 and 2006. One of the few magazines of the era to survive the video game crash of 1983, it was sold to Ziff Davis in 199 ...

'' in January 1994 stated that although LaserActive was "a better product in many ways" than 3DO, it lacked software and the NEC and Sega control packs were too expensive.

References

External links

Pioneer LaserActive
at Computer Closet

at laserdiscarchive.co.uk
LaserActive Preservation Project
{{Portal bar, Video games, Electronics, 1990s Pioneer Corporation products CD-ROM-based consoles Fourth-generation video game consoles Home video game consoles Karaoke LaserDisc LaserDisc video games Sega Genesis TurboGrafx-16 Products introduced in 1993 1990s toys Discontinued video game consoles Backward-compatible video game consoles Regionless game consoles