Laseractive Computer Interface Pac

[TheClash603]

Does anyone own, or has anyone seen in person, the Laseractive Computer Interface PAC (PAC-PC1)? Per Wikipedia:

"This PAC has a 25-pin serial port allowing the CLD-A100 to be controlled by custom programs authored on PC or Macintosh computers. This PAC came with a 33-button infrared remote control providing more functionality than the 24-button remote included with the CLD-A100. Also included on DOS and Mac floppy disks was the LaserActive Program Editor. The floppy disks included some sample programs created with the editor for use with the first five LaserDiscs in the Tenchi Muyo! anime series."

I have been collecting Laseractive stuff for quite some time, and I have never come across one of these. In the last several years since I've been checking, there has never been one for sale on ebay. Was this thing actually released?

If you have one, please post some pics and talk about the Pac and what it can do. Furthermore, if anyone has one for sale, let me know! (Sorry if that part should be in the sale thread, I figured I'd avoid duplicate posting)

[Vlcice]

I think I've seen one for sale on Yahoo Japan auctions in the past ~3 or 4 years, so they do exist. They go for a huge chunk of change, of course.

I'd be interested in hearing more detail on what it can do beyond what Wikipedia says, too.

[TheClash603]

Any idea what the end price was of the auction?

[Vlcice]

Sorry, I don't remember. I seem to recall bidding shot up a few days in though - there was heavy competition.

[konangrit]

Commercial LD players came with serial ports to hook up the machine to a PC or other device which could then control the player, overlay graphics etc. These were used for arcade games, karaoke machines, and other multimedia applications.

Consumer LD players generally didn't feature serial ports. It sounds like this Pac turns the Laseractive into a commercial player to be used either with existing aplications, or with the software to create your own.

This could actually be a pretty useful Pac ...

DAPHNE (http://www.daphne-emu.com/site3/index_hi.php) supports LD Players with serial ports. Theoretically this Pac will allow playing of original arcade LD games on Laseractive through DAPHNE running on a PC. It could probably also be used with actual arcade hardware, there are serial port conversion boards for older arcade machines to work with serial port LD Players.

http://img824.imageshack.us/img824/1552/pacpc1front.jpg (http://img824.imageshack.us/i/pacpc1front.jpg/)

http://img27.imageshack.us/img27/3752/pacpc1.jpg (http://img27.imageshack.us/i/pacpc1.jpg/)

[Cryomancer]

I wonder what the hell the Tenchi stuff is about.

This PAC is a very interesting subject for sure.