I think this is the first time I've reported o­n car navigation systems, but these certainly deserve attention. They have a 30GB hard drive, can play back all sorts of multimedia files, and and two of the models have "XYZ Motion Street Guide," o­ne of the sweetest navigation features I've ever seen. Plenty more information and images inside.

Sony has started a new brand of car navigation system, called "XYZ," which is a HD system capable of playing back MPEG-2 files and such through a PC connection, and will release the first generation products in this line o­n June 10th. All of the models are Open Price.

The first-run lineup includes three models: the "NV-XYZ77," the "NV-XYZ55," and the "NV-XYZ33." While the specifications of the units are essentially the same, the difference lies in the included accessories and body colors. Sony has explained that the XYZ77 is considered the "full package," the XYZ55 the "Navi Package," and the XYZ33 the "basic package." The expected retail prices and included accessories are as follows:

	NV-XYZ77	NV-XYZ55	NV-XYZ33
Expected Retail Price	~210,000 yen	~180,000 yen	~160,000 yen
Body Color	Silver+Black	Silver+Black	Silver+Black+White
Car Station	Yes	Yes	Yes
Home Station	Yes	No	Yes
Expansion Station	Yes	No	No
Recordable Maps	Detailed City Map +  XYZ Motion Street Guide	Detailed City Map  + XYZ Motion Street Guide	Detailed Road Maps
Remote Control	Yes	Yes	No
A/C Vent Attachment Kit	Yes	Yes	No
Carrying Case	Yes	No	Yes
GPS Antenna	Yes	Yes	Yes

The primary feature is a removable 30GB HD that can be connected to a PC. Or more specifically, the unit is connected to the "Car Station" while in the car, and the "Home Station" while in the home, and data can be transferred to the unit from the PC with the Home Station connection. Navigation data, video data (MPEG-1/2), and audio data (ATRAC3/ATRAC3plus/MP3) can be stored o­n the 30GB HD.

Files that can be saved to the hard drive are MPEG-1, MPEG-2, ATRAC3, ATRAC3plus, MP3, JPEG, TIFF, and BMP files. When the navigation data is already o­n the drive, approximately 5,000 ATRAC3plus songs (when using 64kbps) can be stored, the equivalent of around 4 hours of MPEG-2 video (4Mbps).

Furthermore, it is recommended that the MPEG files be created with Giga Pocket. Also, the supported ATRAC3plus bitrates are from 64kbps to 256kbps. Japanese ID3 tags are also supported for MP3 files.

The transferring software is, for video, "XYZ Video Manager," and for audio, "SonicStage Ver. 2.0." The supported operating systems are Windows ME, 2000, and XP.

The Car Station can be affixed to the dashboard or A/C vent panel. It features o­ne analog audio output (shared with FM transmitter output) for connecting to an amp.

In addition, using the Expansion Station (included o­nly with the XYZ77, otherwise it's 36,750 yen) that connects to the Car Station, users get 4x "diversity antenna" ports, 1x composite input, 1x analog audio input, 1x reverse camera input, 1x video output, and 2x audio outputs. This can be connected to DVD video units and such, and use the main display for this purpose. However, since there is no digital audio input/output, Dolby Digital and other bitstream outputs are not supported.

Also, using the "NVA-RS1" Rear Station (sold seperately for all models, 26,250 yen), it can be attached to the rear seats, and video data and such can be enjoyed by those in the rear of the vehicle. The Rear Station has a composite input and analog audio input, so it can also be connected to DVD video units, et. al.



 The Home Station has a USB 2.0 interface, composite video output, and an analog audio output. Video and audio files stored o­n the hard drive can be output to TVs or audio systems.

Furthermore, the unit also features a Memory Stick slot and CF card slot, meaning that JPEG, MP3, and other files of this sort can be played back from a wide variety of mediums. However, said port does not support MG Memory Sticks, so it cannot handle ATRAC3 files stored o­n a Memory Stick. Writing from the HD to memory card is also not supported.

The display is a 6.5V" widescreen VGA, and supports dual display of Navi and TV, Video, etc. Also, it uses a touch panel, and changing the volume is as simple as dragging your finger up and down o­n the screen with use of the "Gesture Command" function. Finally, o­n the remote controller included with the XYZ77 and 55, there are 2 jog dials for supporting control of navigation and AV functions.

The external dimensions are 204 x 49 x 104mm (W x D x H), and the unit weighs 720g. Although there are audio outputs o­n the main unit, this is strictly for output of navigational sounds.

For standard navigation software, the XYZ77 and 55 include detailed city maps, while the XYZ33 uses detailed road maps. o­n the XYZ77 and 55, the newly developed "XYZ Motion Street Guide" (temporary name) can also be used.

This feature uses computer generated images of intersections, created by taking pictures of the actual intersections with a car-mounted camera, and converting them to CG, and for the first time the map is displayed as a 3D image. In other words, positions are displayed in relation to this 3D model, as well as navigation. The HD uses an independently developed compression technique for storage, and this data is later expanded o­n the unit, through a technology called "XYZ Map Engine" (temporary name).

XYZ Motion Street Guide follows intersections at 23 wards of Tokyo and 13 government designated towns throughout the country - bringing a total of 5,000 locations that use this feature.

Addition and deletion of detailed city maps is also done by overwriting a non-used data sector with the PC. Renewal of the data is done by internet, and service for this will begin in the middle of July.

One characteristic of the search display is called "Situation Search," which includes possible situations such as "Eat together" and "I need to use the bathroom." There are 1,048 genres, and with 43 sub-genres to "ramen," Sony has said that "this is the largest amount of information content in the industry."

Other functions include a Web browser and mail functions inside the main unit. This is done by connecting with a CF card type PHS card. However, this cannot download maps.



Inspired by:
http://www.watch.impress.co.jp/av/docs/20040406/sony1.htm

News Release:
http://www.sony.jp/CorporateCruise/Press/200404/04-0406/