LaserActive: Difference between revisions
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|Screen translator<br /><small>Using optical character recognition (OCR) and other techniques, this feature can provide live translation of in-game text, text-to-speech for visually impaired users, and more — either on demand or automatically.</small></small> | |Screen translator<br /><small>Using optical character recognition (OCR) and other techniques, this feature can provide live translation of in-game text, text-to-speech for visually impaired users, and more — either on demand or automatically.</small></small> | ||
|colspan="6" |You can use [https://docs.libretro.com/guides/ai-service/ RetroArch's AI Service] or the standalone offline [https://github.com/bquenin/interpreter bquenin's Interpreter]. | |colspan="6" |You can use [https://docs.libretro.com/guides/ai-service/ RetroArch's AI Service] or the standalone offline [https://github.com/bquenin/interpreter bquenin's Interpreter]. | ||
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|[[Sound and audio#Ambient_sounds_simulation|Ambient sounds simulation]]<br/><small>Simulation of audio from original hardware and environments, such as mechanical hard drive, floppy diskette, and optical drive noises (e.g., head seeks, spin-up/down, tray loading, disc spinning, and clicking), variable CRT flyback transformer whine (the classic high-pitched "coil whine" that dynamically changes pitch based on screen brightness and content), arcade cabinet effects (e.g., fan hum or button rattles), and other background ambient noises.</small> | |[[Sound and audio#Ambient_sounds_simulation|Ambient sounds simulation]]<br/><small>Simulation of audio from original hardware and environments, such as mechanical hard drive, floppy diskette, and optical drive noises (e.g., head seeks, spin-up/down, tray loading, disc spinning, and clicking), variable CRT flyback transformer whine (the classic high-pitched "coil whine" that dynamically changes pitch based on screen brightness and content), arcade cabinet effects (e.g., fan hum or button rattles), and other background ambient noises.</small> | ||
|{{Na}} | |{{Na}} | ||
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|[[Sound and audio#Audio filters and presets|Audio filters and presets]]<br/><small>Simulation of characteristic playback limitations and coloration of vintage consumer audio hardware, such as CRT television speakers, arcade cabinets, handheld consoles, early PC sound outputs, and low-fidelity integrated speakers. These filters are not intended to be perfectly accurate recreations, but rather to evoke the tonal qualities, distortion, bandwidth limits, resonance, and compression associated with 8-bit and 16-bit era devices. Examples include mono or narrow stereo output, reduced frequency response, speaker cone distortion, mild saturation, aliasing, and preset lo-fi profiles inspired by classic TVs, portable game systems, radios, and retro multimedia hardware.</small> | |||
|colspan="1" |Exclusive to [https://github.com/RetroCrisis/Retro-Crisis-Audio-Filters libretro cores] at the moment. | |||
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|[[Netplay]] | |[[Netplay]] | ||
Revision as of 12:37, 6 January 2026
| |
| LaserActive CLD-A100 with the Sega Genesis PAC module installed | |
| Manufacturer | Pioneer Corporation |
|---|---|
| Type | Converged device, home video game console |
| Generation | Fourth |
| Release date | JP: August 20, 1993 NA: September 13, 1993 |
| Discontinued | 1996 |
| Emulated | ✓ |
The Pioneer LaserActive is a converged, fourth-generation device capable of playing LaserDiscs, compact discs, console games, and LD-G karaoke discs. It was released by Pioneer Corporation in 1993. In addition to LaserActive games, separately sold add-on modules (called "PACs" by Pioneer) accept Genesis/Mega Drive and PC Engine/TurboGrafx-16 ROM cartridges and CD-ROMs.
Pioneer released the LaserActive model CLD-A100 in Japan on August 20, 1993, at a cost of ¥89,800 and in the United States on September 13, 1993, at a cost of $970 ($2163 in 2026). NEC later released a cloned version of the system, the NEC PDE-LD1, which also accepted Pioneer's PAC modules. The LaserActive was a commercial failure.
Emulators
| Name | Platform(s) | Latest version | Active | License | Compatibility | Recommended | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| x86 | ||||||||
| ares |   
|
nightly [1] |
✓ | ISC (Permissive) | 88.46% 23 out of 26 reported titles [lower-alpha 1] |
✓ | ||
| MAME | 
|
git artifacts[lower-alpha 2] [2] libretro core[lower-alpha 3] |
✓ | GPLv2 BSD-3-Clause |
? | ✗* | ||
| BlastEm |
|
Nightly builds libretro core [3] |
✓ | GPLv3 (Copyleft) | ? | ✗ | ||
- ↑ There were 57 official titles. Additionally, 2 Myst prototypes (for the American Sega PAC though judging by Japanese language presence inside them, the Japanese release was likely in the works) are known to exist: 02-110, 02-111 + unconfirmed 02-114 whose existence is only known from a single low-res image. Unreleased game Steel Driver is rumored to exist as well. Only games relevant to corresponding PAC(s) are counted. I.e. for Genesis/Mega Drive emulators, only support for Mega-LD games is counted. MegaLD and LDROM2 emulation support was built from extensive reverse-engineering of the register interface of the Pioneer PD6103A IC using the MegaLDRegEditor program below on real hardware, and most aspects of the hardware are emulated fully and correctly at this time. This is the first LaserActive emulator capable of booting and running games, with no known differences from the real hardware.
- ↑ CI-Windows CI-Linux CI-Macos
- ↑ As 0.251, 0.139 (2010), 0.78 (2003), 0.37b5 (2000)
Enhancements
| Name | ares | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Controls | Input lag-mitigating technique | ? | |||||
| Graphics | Resizable internal resolution | For emulation of 2D systems, the resolution can only be upscaled, making the pixels more apparent. | |||||
| Sprite replacement | ? | ||||||
| Widescreen hack | ? | ||||||
| Performance | Internal frame rate hack | ? | |||||
| Overclock | ? | ||||||
| Preload optical disc image to RAM Useful enhancement feature for users with slow mechanical HDD seeking performance. However you need reasonable amount of RAM capacity. |
? | ||||||
| Post-Processing | AI-powered filter compatible (Freestyle) |
? | |||||
| Filters | ✓ | ||||||
| Inverse tone mapping compatible | ? | ||||||
| Post-rendering anti-aliasing (FXAA, TXAA and MLAA/SMAA) |
? | ||||||
| Post-rendering scaling (Sharp bilinear, Lanczos and FSR 1) |
? | ||||||
| Shader chain | ? | ||||||
| Quality of life | Automatic updater | ? | |||||
| Big Picture Mode | ? | ||||||
| Built-in cheat manager | ? | ||||||
| Built-in custom resolution/CRTSwitchRes For using this on Windows OS you need CRT Emudriver. Another option is using EDID editor tool such as "Custom Resolution Utility". |
Exclusive to libretro cores and GroovyMAME at the moment. Also there is a project for achieving software emulators like libretro cores and GroovyMAME send the raw RGB data over a network to a core running on MiSTer, it basically turns the MiSTer into a GPU for the emulator allowing for easy setup and use with CRT TVs/Arcade monitors. | ||||||
| Built-in mod editor and manager | ? | ||||||
| Built-in patch manager | ? | ||||||
| Capable image format support | ✓* | ||||||
| Command line options | ? | ||||||
| Pause/resume emulation | ? | ||||||
| Per-game profiles | ? | ||||||
| Portable and Stealth Useful enhancement feature for non-personal computer use or plug-and-play scenarios. However, the software may still require the necessary prerequisites and dependencies for your operating system if it is not statically linked. |
? | ||||||
| Streamable compression format | ✓* | ||||||
| TAS features | Fast-forward/turbo speed | ? | |||||
| Frame step (forwards and backwards) |
? | ||||||
| Macros/Scripts/Lua | ? | ||||||
| Movie recording/playback | ? | ||||||
| Rewind | ? | ||||||
| Save states | ? | ||||||
| Misc | Screen translator Using optical character recognition (OCR) and other techniques, this feature can provide live translation of in-game text, text-to-speech for visually impaired users, and more — either on demand or automatically. |
You can use RetroArch's AI Service or the standalone offline bquenin's Interpreter. | |||||
| Debug features | ? | ||||||
| EmuVR support | Exclusive to libretro cores at the moment. | ||||||
| Ambient sounds simulation Simulation of audio from original hardware and environments, such as mechanical hard drive, floppy diskette, and optical drive noises (e.g., head seeks, spin-up/down, tray loading, disc spinning, and clicking), variable CRT flyback transformer whine (the classic high-pitched "coil whine" that dynamically changes pitch based on screen brightness and content), arcade cabinet effects (e.g., fan hum or button rattles), and other background ambient noises. |
✗ | ||||||
| Audio filters and presets Simulation of characteristic playback limitations and coloration of vintage consumer audio hardware, such as CRT television speakers, arcade cabinets, handheld consoles, early PC sound outputs, and low-fidelity integrated speakers. These filters are not intended to be perfectly accurate recreations, but rather to evoke the tonal qualities, distortion, bandwidth limits, resonance, and compression associated with 8-bit and 16-bit era devices. Examples include mono or narrow stereo output, reduced frequency response, speaker cone distortion, mild saturation, aliasing, and preset lo-fi profiles inspired by classic TVs, portable game systems, radios, and retro multimedia hardware. |
Exclusive to libretro cores at the moment. | ||||||
| Netplay | ? | ||||||
| RetroAchievements | ? | ||||||
| Rich Presence (RPC) Allows the emulator to share real-time game session details (e.g., current game title, level, boss, playtime, or custom status) with external applications. This enables features such as displaying what you're playing on your profile, inviting friends to spectate, or triggering join-in-progress functionality where supported. |
? | ||||||
Hardware features and peripherals
| Name | ares | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Hardware features | DTS and RSS (it lacks the popular Dolby AC-3 surround/Dolby Digital) |
? | |
| LD player | ~[lower-alpha 1] | ||
| Peripherals | 3D goggles (GOL-1) | ✗ | |
| PACs | Computer interface PAC | ✗ | |
| Karaoke PAC | ✗[lower-alpha 1] | ||
| NEC PAC | ✓ | ||
| Sega PAC | ✓ | ||
| Misc. | |||
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Pioneer LaserActive supports Audio CD, Video CD, CD-G, LD-ROM², LD-G and Laser Videodisc. Advanced features like frame-by-frame playback or enhanced karaoke modes (e.g., for CD+G, a related but distinct format) may require inserting a Sega PAC (S-10) or NEC PAC (N-10) for improved functionality during VCD viewing. Without the Sega PAC, the LaserActive can still play the audio portion of a CD+G disc as a standard audio CD, but it won't display the graphical content. The NEC PAC (N-10) doesn't add CD+G support in the same way, as its focus is on TurboGrafx-16/PC Engine compatibility. Unlike most optical-disc standards, LaserDisc is not fully digital, and instead requires the use of analog video signals.
Use this section for more infomation about LD capture. LD-ROM² disc image support added to Ares.
PACs
- SegaRetro - LaserActive PACs
- Category:Pioneer LaserActive PAC emulators
- Sega PAC (PAC-S10/PAC-S1)
- Mega LD games for the Pioneer LaserActive's Sega PAC expansion module
The Sega PAC allows the system to play Sega Mega Drive, Sega Mega-CD, and also Sega Mega LD games, in addition to CD-G media. Like it's counterpart, the NEC PAC, it also expands the LaserDisc functionality of the system by adding advanced playback features like frame-by-frame view and multi-speed jogging. Ares supports it since v146.
- NEC PAC (PAC-N10/PAC-N1)/PC Engine PAC (PCE-LP1)
- consolemods: NEC LD-ROM² games for the Pioneer LaserActive's NEC PAC expansion module
The NEC PAC (or its alternative version the PC Engine PAC) allows the system to play NEC PC Engine, NEC PC Engine CD-ROM², and also NEC LD-ROM² games, in addition to CD-G media. Like it's counterpart, the Sega PAC, it also expands the LaserDisc functionality of the system by adding advanced playback features like frame-by-frame view and multi-speed jogging. Ares has initial support for NEC/PC Engine PAC games, full support will come in v147.
- Karaoke PAC (PAC-K10/PAC-K1)
The Karaoke PAC allows the system to play LD-G media, and features karaoke-oriented inputs and controls. See this dedicated page for information about home media playback support.
- Computer Interface PAC (PAC-PC1)
The Computer Interface PAC allows the system to be controlled by an NEC PC-98, IBM PC DOS, or Apple Macintosh personal computer, by way of a custom program authored to communicate via the PAC's 25-pin serial port.
3D Goggles (GOL-1)
An active shutter 3D system compatible with 6 LD-ROM games: 3D Museum, Vajra 2, Virtual Cameraman 2, 3D Virtual Australia, Dr. Paolo no Totteoki Video, Goku. Up to 2 goggles can be connected to a console with the 3D Goggles Adaptor (ADP-1) sold separately. The official adaptor/goggles are very rare, but any 3rd-party CRT-based LCD shutter controller can be used instead, as can any pair of LCD shutter 3D glasses that connect via 3.5mm jack (this includes the Sega Master System and Famicom 3D glasses).
Emulation issues
The LaserActive Project wishes to document all LaserActive media. On their FAQ page, they have this to say about the possibility of creating a LaserActive emulator:
Emulation of the LaserActive, if attempted at all, would be an incredibly difficult task – due to the hybrid nature of the system's hardware (utilizing Sega/NEC hardware in synchronization with the unique LD player hardware) and the analog-digital composite image (analog video background, digital in-game graphics generated by said Sega/NEC hardware).[1]
Emulator developer Nemesis has made an effort to dump the games for the system (except for porn games).[2] Copies of the games sent to him were supposed to be dumped and then returned.[2]
