The Official Pioneer LaserActive Player thread-

[Necromancer]

I hope someone harvested those kiosk pics.

[BlueBMW]

Bloufo, I believe I have a copy of Manhattan Reqiuem if you're interested.  It is the US version if I remember, but I think that game has a language option in it so it doesnt matter.  Most games are language selectable and the region of the PAC doesn't matter.  The only game I know of that had language specific versions was Don Quixote.  A few games will show a different title screen depending on the PAC used.  Road Blaster/Prosecutor comes to mind.

[DragonmasterDan]

I have officially joined this club.

Congrats, we meet annually in Wisconsin.

[Mathius]

I am gonna get me one of these things one day. ONE DAY!

[jtucci31]

Ah no f*ck this thread! I hate that it just got bumped again. I want one so bad but don't quite have the money for it right now.

Must. Resist. Urge. To. Just. Buy. One. Anyway.

[SignOfZeta]

I borrowed one from a guy for several months. That cured my urge totally.

A lot of its appeal disappeared when the price on LD in general tanked. The A100 was very similar in a lot of ways to the best player I could afford at the time, an S201. Now I own several significantly better LD players so the LA seems pretty...crappy to me. If there was a dual tray LA player with wooden sides and a huge remote I'm sure I'd be willing to overlook how lame and expensive the games are and justify owning one. It's cool, it just isn't as cool as it could be, IMHO.

[Bloufo]

Bloufo, I believe I have a copy of Manhattan Reqiuem if you're interested.

Sure I'm interested. Thanks.
Thing is, I'm not exactly next door, though.

It is the US version if I remember, but I think that game has a language option in it so it doesnt matter.  Most games are language selectable and the region of the PAC doesn't matter.  The only game I know of that had language specific versions was Don Quixote.  A few games will show a different title screen depending on the PAC used.  Road Blaster/Prosecutor comes to mind.

Good to know. So much misinformation (or lack thereof) out there. I mean I was just watching this dude with the ridiculous YT name (Metal Jesus?) and they were talking about how Mega LD and LD-ROM² titles were region specific.

[DragonmasterDan]

I borrowed one from a guy for several months. That cured my urge totally.

A lot of its appeal disappeared when the price on LD in general tanked. The A100 was very similar in a lot of ways to the best player I could afford at the time, an S201. Now I own several significantly better LD players so the LA seems pretty...crappy to me. If there was a dual tray LA player with wooden sides and a huge remote I'm sure I'd be willing to overlook how lame and expensive the games are and justify owning one. It's cool, it just isn't as cool as it could be, IMHO.

Yeah,
As a general LD player there are certainly much better much more affordable options. And for playing Sega Genesis, Sega CD, TurboGrafx 16 and CD games there are also cheaper options. The only real reason to own it is to play the LD-ROM games which only have so much appeal.

[xelement5x]

I hope someone harvested those kiosk pics.

I thought I saved pictures of it but I can't seem to find them now.  I hope I did save them

[RyuHayabusa]

Ah no f*ck this thread! I hate that it just got bumped again. I want one so bad but don't quite have the money for it right now.

Must. Resist. Urge. To. Just. Buy. One. Anyway.

You're not missing much. I've owned two of them and while they look cool as hell in your entertainment center, they're not really worth the money. The picture quality for LD movie playback isn't that good compared to other cheaper LD players, the PACs are too expensive, especially the NEC PACs, and the handful of LD games that are worth a damn are exorbitantly priced, like Road Prosecutor and Time Gal.

[jtucci31]

Ah no f*ck this thread! I hate that it just got bumped again. I want one so bad but don't quite have the money for it right now.

Must. Resist. Urge. To. Just. Buy. One. Anyway.

You're not missing much. I've owned two of them and while they look cool as hell in your entertainment center, they're not really worth the money. The picture quality for LD movie playback isn't that good compared to other cheaper LD players, the PACs are too expensive, especially the NEC PACs, and the handful of LD games that are worth a damn are exorbitantly priced, like Road Prosecutor and Time Gal.

Yeah, I've gone over this all with myself so many times in my head, and with DragonmasterDan. They really are the most impractical machine in terms of sheer size, money investment, and your return on investment. I justified an x68k because it had a large library of games I wanted to play and knew I would be entertained for quite awhile. But to buy a giant LD player for the chance to play Time Gal and Road Blasters just isn't logical.

And yet, every time I get the chance to play DDan's LA, or even pass a glance at it, all logic goes out the window. My gaze turns into true love and I fall in love with it all over again and start planning ways to buy this and that and make room for it here or there.

It's a tiring affair  :oops:

[SignOfZeta]

Man, if you think the A100 is huge the larger players would make you poop your pants. The A100 is maybe tied (with a dozen other models) for third smallest Pioneer LD player. Most Sony players were smaller (also, mostly broke by now) but most Pioneers were larger. The LDW1 is about 2 feet deep, making it a challenge for any piece of home theater furnishing and it's a lightweight compared to the LD-S2 or HLD-X0 which at nearly 80lbs probably outweigh your entire home theater.

[jtucci31]

Heh yeah that's a good point. I have a broken LD player I got from a goodwill that is so big I use it to prop up my PVM on a stand. It's that big. I can't imagine the practicality of these things in any capacity back in the day.

[DragonmasterDan]

Man, if you think the A100 is huge the larger players would make you poop your pants. The A100 is maybe tied (with a dozen other models) for third smallest Pioneer LD player. Most Sony players were smaller (also, mostly broke by now) but most Pioneers were larger. The LDW1 is about 2 feet deep, making it a challenge for any piece of home theater furnishing and it's a lightweight compared to the LD-S2 or HLD-X0 which at nearly 80lbs probably outweigh your entire home theater.

The Sony professional line players are/were pretty reliable I have a couple of 1450s that as of a year or so ago were still working as well as ever. But yeah, their consumer models were low end.

[Bloufo]

Ah no f*ck this thread! I hate that it just got bumped again. I want one so bad but don't quite have the money for it right now.

Must. Resist. Urge. To. Just. Buy. One. Anyway.

You're not missing much. I've owned two of them and while they look cool as hell in your entertainment center, they're not really worth the money. The picture quality for LD movie playback isn't that good compared to other cheaper LD players, the PACs are too expensive

That's true. But at least you do get "enhanced" LD playback capabilities on the A100 with either the Sega or NEC PAC, right?
Frame-by-frame, multi-speed jog, still frames, whatever else.