LaserActive

LaserActive CLD-A100 with the Sega Genesis PAC module installed
Also known as	NEC LD-ROM² System
Manufacturer	Pioneer Corporation
Product family	LaserDisc
Type	Converged device,home video game console
Generation	Fourth
Released	JP: August 20, 1993 NA: September 13, 1993
Introductory price	¥89,800 (equivalent to ¥102,220 in 2024) US$970 (equivalent to $2,111 in 2024)
Discontinued	1996
Units sold	est. 10,000
Media	Native:LaserDisc,CD With LD-ROM² PAC:LD-ROM (LD‑ROM²),CD-ROM (CD-ROM²),Hucard With Mega-LD PAC:LD-ROM (Mega‑LD),CD-ROM (Mega-CD/Sega CD),Sega Genesis/Mega Drive cartridges
Controller input	Sega Genesis 6-Button Controller Turbografx-16 Controller

TheLaserActive (Japanese:レーザーアクティブ,Hepburn:Rēzā Akutibu) is a hybridLaserDisc player andhome video game console released byPioneer Corporation 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 standardLaserDiscs andcompact discs, 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 proprietaryLD-ROM format), as well asSega Genesis/Mega Drive cartridges andSega CD/Mega-CD discs. With the LD-ROM² PAC, it supported exclusive LD-ROM² discs, along withHuCard cartridges andCD-ROM² discs for thePC 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¥89,800 (equivalent to ¥102,220 in 2024), and in North America on September 13, 1993, forUS$970 (equivalent to $2,111 in 2024). AnNEC-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.^[1] The LaserActive was discontinued in 1996, with approximately 10,000 units sold.^[2]

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 withSega, this PAC enabled support for Mega-LD software as well as standardGenesis cartridges,Sega CD discs, andCD+G discs. It included a LaserActive-branded6-button Genesis controller (model CPD-S1) and retailed forUS$600 (equivalent to $1,306 in 2024).^[3] It was the most widely adopted module among LaserActive owners.

LD-ROM² PAC (PAC-N1 / PAC-N10)

Developed withNEC, this PAC added support for LD-ROM² titles, along withHuCard cartridges,CD-ROM² discs, and CD+G discs. The Japanese model could also playArcade CD-ROM² titles using anArcade Card Duo. Like the Sega module, it sold forUS$600 (equivalent to $1,306 in 2024) and included a brandedTurbo Pad (CPD-N1/CPD-N10). NEC also released a version in their branding called the PC Engine PAC (model PCE-LP1). Due to theTurboGrafx-16'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 approximatelyUS$350 (equivalent to $762 in 2024).^[3]

Computer Interface PAC (PAC-PC1)

This PAC was equipped with anRS-232 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 program forMS-DOS andClassic Mac OS calledLaserActive Program Editor onfloppy disk. It includes demo programs for theTenchi Muyo! LaserDisc series.

The LaserActive 3-D Goggles (model GOL-1) used anactive shutter 3D system compatible with several LD-ROM titles, including3-D Museum (1994),Vajra 2 (1994),Virtual Cameraman 2 (1994),Dr. Paolo no Totteoki Video (1994),Goku (1995), and3D Virtual Australia (1996), the last official LaserActive release.

The goggles could also display 3Dautostereogram images.^[4] A separate goggle adapter (model ADP-1) allowed one or two goggles to connect to the CLD-A100.

The LaserActive uses a unique disc format calledLD-ROM (LaserDisc Read-Only Memory). Like theLV-ROM format on which it is based, the LD-ROM is anoptical disc format that can store analog video, analog audio, andcomputer files (in afile 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.^{[citation needed]}

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, was never officially released for the LaserActive. Circa 1995, a game developer named Brian Rice (of Brian Rice Inc.) was leading the conversion ofMyst to Mega LD. Conversion was almost entirely complete, and the game was to be published bySunsoft. 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.^[5]

Another unreleased game, calledSteel Driver, is rumored to exist.

In the early 1990s, a number ofconsumer electronics manufacturers designedconverged devices aroundCD-ROM 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 onoptical discs. These systems were premised on early conceptions ofmultimedia entertainment.

Some comparable systems are theCommodore CDTV,Philips CD-i,3DO Interactive Multiplayer, andTandy Video Information System.

Computer Gaming World 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.^[7]

• LD-ROM
• Edutainment
• Multimedia PC

Wikimedia Commons has media related toPioneer LaserActive.

• Pioneer LaserActive at Computer Closet
• Pioneer LaserActiveArchived 2010-08-10 at theWayback Machine at laserdiscarchive.co.uk
• LaserActive Preservation Project

• 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

• CS1 Japanese-language sources (ja)
• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Articles containing Japanese-language text
• All articles with unsourced statements
• Articles with unsourced statements from April 2025
• Commons category link from Wikidata
• Webarchive template wayback links