Computer Screen Photoassisted Technique (CSPT) is a recent interesting approach for the development of optical sensor platforms using ubiquitous devices. We demonstrate here that the information obtained by CSPT measurements can be useful for other than sensing purposes and a computer set and a web camera can also be exploited as spectroscopic technique for the characterization of the compounds used as indicators. CSPT measurement data have been used to characterize novel features of the a,c-biladiene chemistry, which have been later confirmed by photophysical characterization carried out using classical instrumentation. The demonstrated analytical capabilities of a regular computer-web camera set reach a degree of complexity approaching that of fluorescence excitation-emission spectroscopy, something remarkable considering the exploitation of familiar and already well distributed devices. © The Royal Society of Chemistry and the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique.