View source for Sega LaserDisc hardware

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| consoleimage=LaserVideoDiscPlayer.jpg VIP9500SG.jpg
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| arcade_date_jp=1983
| arcade_date_us=1983
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'''Sega Laserdisc hardware''' is an arcade system produced by [[Sega]] in 1983. In addition to having a PCB and ROMs, the games made use of [[wikipedia:Laserdisc|Laserdiscs]] for full-motion video. Additional graphics and an HUD could be placed on top of the video sequences. 

''[[GP World (arcade)|GP World]]'' and ''[[Time Traveler]]'', two other Sega-produced Laserdisc games, run on slightly different hardware specifications from what is listed below. Another game, ''[[Albegas]]''/''Cybernaut'' (1983), is known to exist, but not much information is known about it.

==Hardware==
It was the first system dedicated to producing [http://gaming.wikia.com/wiki/Laserdisc_video_game laserdisc video games]. The first game to use it was ''[[Astron Belt]]'' (1983) and the last to use it was the [[wikipedia:Holography|holographic]] game ''[[Time Traveler]]'' (1991).

It used one of four laserdisc players, either a [[Pioneer]] LD-V1000 or LD-V1001, or a [[Hitachi]] VIP-9500SG or VIP-9550. Two different versions of the laser disc itself were also pressed, a single-sided version by Pioneer and a double-sided version by Sega. However, both discs have the same information and may be used in any of the four players.

The hardware combines [http://gaming.wikia.com/wiki/Laserdisc laserdisc] footage with a [[wikipedia:Real-time computer graphics|real-time]] [[wikipedia:2D computer graphics|2D computer graphics]] plane. The real-time graphics plane was overlaid by imitating a [[wikipedia:Matte (filmmaking)|matting]] technique. As the [[wikipedia:Cathode ray tube|CRT]] monitor [[wikipedia:Scan line|scans]] horizontally across the screen, it is fed information from the laserdisc up until the point where it is fed information from the [[wikipedia:Computer graphics|computer graphics]] system, after which information coming from the laserdisc stops, creating a black mask into which a [http://graphics.wikia.com/wiki/Sprite sprite] is inserted. It uses a [[wikipedia:Collision detection|collision detection]] system where both the laserdisc and sprite planes can interact with each other. Each frame of the laserdisc footage is coded with a hit detection spot stored in [[wikipedia:Read-only memory|ROM]] [[wikipedia:Computer memory|memory]]. The [[Zilog Z80]] [[wikipedia:Central processing unit|CPU]] [[wikipedia:Microprocessor|microprocessor]] reads the number of the laserdisc frame, and checks the laserdisc hit spots with the shots fired by the player, and if the coordinates correspond, it instructs the laserdisc player to display an explosion sequence. For sections where the player must navigate between walls, the walls in the laserdisc footage are also coded and use collision detection.{{ref|http://www.dragons-lair-project.com/community/related/articles/allgames/pic4.gif}}

==Technical Specifications==
{{multicol|
* Hardware: PCB + LaserDisc player
* CPU: [[Zilog Z80]] @ 5&nbsp;MHz (8-bit & 16-bit instructions @ 0.725 MIPS)
* [[wikipedia:Japan Amusement Machinery Manufacturers Association|JAMMA]] board: Sega PCB CN1
* [http://gaming.wikia.com/wiki/Sound_chip Audio board]: Sega PCB CN2 ([[wikipedia:Stereophonic sound|stereo]] output)
}}

===Laserdisc Player===
{{multicol|
* [[wikipedia:Laserdisc player|Laserdisc player]]: [[Hitachi]]-Sega VIP-9500SG, or Hitachi VIP-9550, or [[Pioneer]] LD-V1000, or Pioneer LD-V1001
* [[wikipedia:List of common resolutions#Television|Video resolution]]: [[wikipedia:480i|580×480]] (580 dots, 480 lines), 525 [[wikipedia:Scan line|scanlines]] (480 visible), [[wikipedia:Interlaced video|interlaced video]]
* [[wikipedia:Refresh rate|Refresh rate]]: 59.94&nbsp;Hz
* [[wikipedia:Frame rate|Frame rate]]: 29.97 frames per second
* [[wikipedia:Color depth|Color depth]]: 16,777,216 ([[wikipedia:True Color|24-bit true color]])
* Audio: [http://gaming.wikia.com/wiki/Laserdisc LaserDisc], stereo output
}}

===Real-Time 2D Graphics Overlay===
{{multicol|
* [http://gaming.wikia.com/wiki/Display_resolution Display resolution]: 256×256 [[pixel]]s, [[wikipedia:Progressive scan|progressive scan]]
* Refresh rate: 59.94&nbsp;Hz
* [http://gaming.wikia.com/wiki/List_of_color_palettes Color palette] [[wikipedia:Colour look-up table|table]]: 512 ([[wikipedia:Programmable read-only memory|PROM]])
* [[wikipedia:Color depth|Colors on screen]]: 256 ([[wikipedia:Video memory|color RAM]])
}}

* [[wikipedia:Tile engine|Tilemap]] plane:
** Tile size: 8×8 pixels
** Tilemap size: 32×32 (1024) tiles, 256×256 pixels
** Colors per tile: 2
* [http://graphics.wikia.com/wiki/Sprite Sprite] plane:
** Sprite sizes: 8×8 to 256×8 pixels
** Sprites on screen: 32 sprites per scanline, 256 [[wikipedia:Texel (graphics)|sprite pixels/texels]] per scanline

==List of Games==
* ''[[Astron Belt]]'' (1983)
* ''[[Cobra Command]]'' (1983)
* ''[[Galaxy Ranger]]'' / ''Star Blazer'' (1983)
* ''[[Albegas]]'' / ''Cybernaut'' (1983)
* ''[[GP World (arcade)|GP World]]'' (1984)
* ''[[Time Traveler]]'' (1991)

==Gallery==
<gallery>
LaserVideoDiscPlayer.jpg VIP9500SG.jpg|Hitachi VIP-9500SG with Sega product code
LaserDiscPlayer.jpg VIP9550.jpg|Hitachi VIP-9550, an alternative drive
LaserDiscPlayer.jpg LDV1000.jpg|Pioneer LD-V1000, a second alternative drive
LaserDiscPlayer.jpg LDV1001.jpg|Pioneer LD-V1001, a third alternative drive
</gallery>

==Physical Scans==
{{scanArcade
| manual=LaserVideoDiscPlayer VIP9500SG Sega Manual.pdf
}}
{{Sega Arcade Boards}}
[[Category:Pre-System 1 arcade systems]]