LaserActive happiness and disappointment

[R.Sakai]

So after much begging and dealing, I got my office to let go of a Pioneer LaserActive they had sitting in a backroom covered in dust :)

Everything in *perfect* shape, no box or manual for the system, and somewhere during the process the remote for it was lost :(

But for $200 I got the machine and the TG16 and Genesis PACs with both controllers (The turbo pad still has the plastic film on it :) along with:

Quiz Econosaurus
Vajra
Manhattan Requiem
Pyramid Patrol
The Great Pyramid
I Will

All of them with their Spine labels, and except for Pyramid Patrol, the plastic wrapping on the sleeves :)

The one thing I'm really disappointed about though, is that the optical port on the back of this guy only puts out sound with standard audio CDs when neither of the PACs are inserted. With either system module in, and a game be it CD, LD, Cart or HuCard playing, my receiver says it's picking up a DTS signal, but no audio to be heard. I noticed on the WiKi it's mentioned the Genesis PAC is supposed to support it. Anyone happen to know if it's possible to get game audio over the optical? I expect Air Zonk over digital would sound pretty badass :)

But, I'm in complete nerd heaven over this thing :)
And I Will has got to be the worst-best game ever, it's like watching a train wreck, hehe. Love it :)

[MrSparkle]

wowo 200 with both pacs is one hell of a deal. I saw the turbo pac go for 350 pretty recently on ebay by itself. BTW where the hell do you work that they just HAD a laser active sitting around? I need a job at some place that just has old game consoles sitting in storage haha. I'd guess it was just for the laser disc playing features if you didnt get a bunch of games along with it.

[Captain Wrong]

I don't have my manual handy, but I'm 99.999% sure the optical out is only going to work for the Laserdisc (and CD) functions. If you have a LD with PCM stereo or a DTS track or are playing an audio CD, it should pass to your receiver.

[bust3dstr8]

Wow nice score. If it has been sitting a while I would open it up and give it a good clean.
The the big heavy tray also benefits from some white lithium grease. Mine would barely open until I cleaned it up a bit.

Now go get a Hyperion ASAP.

[R.Sakai]

Aw, big bummer to hear the genny/turbo games won't do digital audio on this thing, I was kinda amped on it :)

As far as anyone at the office knew, it was pretty much unused since its purchase back in 93'-ish. Sounds like it was purchased to see if it was a viable platform at the time. We came across it when a co-worker was poking around some old back rooms and went "Hey dude, you know what this big weird dev-kit looking thing is?". I just about had a damn heart attack, hehe.

As far as I can tell from staring into it, the insides look pretty clean. That monster drive tray slides in and out with no issue. Thing sounds like a monster truck from the point of pushing the big on switch though, lol. If/when I do decide to take a peek inside, is there any caveats to watch out for (Like the PS2s little wire along the inside?)

I'll have to keep an eye out for a copy of that Hyperion though, looks like it's one of the more 'video gamey' games on the machine. Looks like a much better Pyramid Patrol, and waaay the hell better than Vajra, which was the game I remember seeing as a kid and wanting this thing for. I've seen a sequel to it listed, was it any good?

Thanks much for the input on this guys, I think I'm in love with this system :)

[Captain Wrong]

It one of those "so wrong, it's right" systems, though I wouldn't have one if I hadn't found one for $25. (I'd probably have taken your deal as well though. I'd love to have the TG-16 PAC, but not for "collector's prices.") I only have one game for it (Space Berserker) and if that's representative of the kind of Laseractive specific software, I'm not in a hurry to collect any more. Still, it's a good conversation piece and it's a nifty Sega CD set up.

You should be ok taking the cover off. I don't think it's booby trapped on the inside. And as for the noise, nothing to be worried about. Every laserdisc player I've ever used or owned tended to be a bit vocal when starting up. Nature of the beast, I guess.

[Steve W]

I always loved mine just because it could play Sega CD games. That's what I did with it most of the time, although one game (Surgical Strike) would get jammed inside the unit and I'd have to fish the CD out with a tool.

$200 is an amazing price. I paid $200 just for the laserdisc player itself, after the machine was discontinued in the US. I ended up getting insanely lucky and buying a Mega LD module years later when the store was going out of business. I guess they found the thing under a shelf or something, and marked it down to $5. My biggest regret is that I didn't buy the karaoke module, too. But karaoke has never interested me, so I passed on it. I've never been able to find the PC-Engine module except online at jaw-dropping prices. Congrats on your purchase!