My sister bought a 2004 rx330 and my gf just got a 2005 rx330. The screen resolution on the 2004 rx330 looks much much better than the 2005 rx. What could be the reasons for this?? In the 2005, i see larger pixels and fonts don't look nearly as smooth. The 2005 screen looks to me like it's capable of outputing much higher resolution than the icons and fonts used.

I understand that the 2004 navigation is 2/3 gen and that the 2005 is 4th gen but why is the resolution worse for the more recent nav??

I'm not sure what the navi software version is on both cars. I was thinking that maybe the 2004 rx has updated software and the 2005 doesn't. Would the software update change any of the screen/menu settings other than added POIs, streets, etc??

I'm considering getting the update 7.1 for the 2005 rx330, hoping that it might make the screen look better, but it seems like most ppl are saying it doesn't make any difference...

Any help would be much appreciated.

 

makes no sense to me why the graphics would be worse on the newer hardware.

I'm not sure about how much the dvd version will affect the crispness of the display. could some i guess but i'd think the generation of the screen/hardware would have more to do with that.

IMO, the primary diff in dvd versions is what you stated: addtl poi and addresses. depending on how much new development there is in the area you drive and and how old your current version is, you might notice no difference. or a lot. it just depends. be good to know how old the dvd is in the car right now. i would think if it's 3 or more years old, an upgrade might be worth it but depends on how you use it i guess.

some of the newer dvds do add some features to the system in addition to updated addresses. things like additional split screen options/dual maps etc. dvd v7 for our gen4 system definitely added some new capability like that.

 

Yea, i would think that the 2005 would have higher resolution too...

Can anyone post pictures of a 2004 navigation screen and a 2005 navigation screen please??

 

i noticed the same thing. i always felt that our 04 RX with Gen 3 nav looked "nicer" than the Gen 4 nav in our 06 GS. not much you can do, it was just a change in hardware from that year and for some reason it is more pixelated-looking, although i think the resolution is the same? i don't really know, just glad someone out there agrees with me on this

updating the dvd shouldn't change the way it looks; it only adds more data to the map.

 

THANK YOU for your reply lexuslover! Finally, someone agrees with me

Yea, for some reason the 4th gen navi in the 2005/2006 RX looks more pixelated. I wonder why this is... kinda bothers me because I'm pretty sure the screen is capable of displaying better picture on it.

I actually thought that something might be wrong with my gf's '05 navi and was going to update the software but I guess this would be unnecessary. Good to know, good to know. thanks.

 

I had a Gen 4 in my GX470 and always disliked it - older Honda's had better looking Nav - upgraded it to 7.1 and it looked the same, just traded it on an 09 RX350 and the Gen 5 Nav looks awesome, very hi-res, seems like they added functions to Gen 4 and had to save money on the screen resolution or something, but getting 7.1 won't fix it!

Rob

 

i think the 4th gen is the one with the green icons. It was so ugly that lexus only used it for like a year and then moved onto a new "look" with the current blue icons. The 3rd gen has the brown icons and while it was as pleasing to the eye, it was executed correctly.

I dont think its the screen that is the problem, but the graphics of the nav disc.