In-dash receiver displays have come a loooong way in the past couple of years. We've seen dot matrix readouts give way to backlit LCDs, and LCDs yield to full-color, photograph-quality OEL masterpieces. There are a lot of display options to choose from these days, which brings up the inevitable question: Which one is best?

For better or for worse, displays can't really be measured quantitatively — what's "best" to me might be just so-so for you. The "best" display technology really depends on what your aim is. Are you a no-frills, just-want-to-see-what-station-I'm-on kinda person? Or do bright colors, moving pictures, and the ability to upload your own photos and graphics really turn you on?

Of course, there are some things about a display that are fairly cut and dried. How does it fare in bright sunlight? For years, many of us have been putting up with displays that look hot at night, but wash out during the day. Text legibility is an issue, especially with the advent of receivers that display MP3 text and satellite radio information. And, how easy is it to see what's going on with just a quick glance? After all, you don't want to be driving around with your eyes on your dash instead of on the road.

I had the opportunity to install four cutting-edge in-dash receivers into my Honda CR-V, drive 'em around for a few days, and get the goods on the display technologies. Here's what I found.

The candidates:
Alpine CDA-9835 with BioLite display
Pioneer DEH-P7600MP with animated OEL
JVC KD-AR7000 with 256-color OEL
Clarion ProAudio DXZ945MP with Optimedia touch-panel LCD

The Alpine CDA-9835

Alpine BioLite
First up: The Alpine CDA-9835. Alpine introduced the BioLite display technology in their 2004 receiver lineup, claiming that it provides "a much wider viewing angle than conventional displays and outstanding visibility, even in harsh daylight." I'll start by saying that I actually own an Alpine receiver (an entry-level model), and have literally only one complaint about it: the LCD display. It washes out in seemingly any kind of sunlight, to the point where I'm forced to shade it with my hand to see what's on my XM, or to adjust any of the audio functions. At night, it's OK. A little nondescript…but OK.

The CDA-9835, on the other hand…well, I'm in love. BioLite lives up to Alpine's description and then some — it gives you plain, simple, black and white text that scrolls seamlessly across the screen. It's wonderful for XM Satellite Radio's detailed song and artist info. The moving graphics (including radio, CD, and XM icons) are confined to a tiny corner of the display, so there's nothing to distract you from the information readout. There's simply nothing frilly or fluffy about it. Some folks might find that boring — I find it refreshing.

Looking for something just a little flashy? You do have the option to change up the color of the button lighting, which is nice. In fact, you have 512 colors to choose from. I flirted with a few different shades before settling on a bright, vibrant blue. Also, you can set the CDA-9835 to display a screen saver if you like (there are five to choose from, including moving clouds.)

I found the CDA-9835's display to be equally visible at night and during the day (it's especially pretty at night, when the button color really stands out). And it's got one really handy "extra" feature — a 3-position tilt button. The receiver opening in my car is up high in the dash, but if yours is down low (like in the early '90s Accord my dad drives, for instance), you'll really appreciate the ability to tilt the display. I suspect that the tilt would also come in handy if the display ever washed out due to sunlight. That never happened to me during the week or so I had the receiver in my car, though. Check out the photos below for a look at the tilt options.

It tilts!

The Pioneer DEH-P7600MP

Pioneer OEL
After parting (reluctantly) with the Alpine CDA-9835, I consoled myself by installing Pioneer's DEH-P7600MP. Way back in 1999, Pioneer, um, pioneered an entirely new kind of in-dash display: OEL (Organic Electroluminescent). Pioneer claims there are three big benefits to OEL technology:

• Easy viewing, even at wide angles and in bright sunlight
• Low power consumption, since OEL is a self-emitting device (no backlighting required)
• The ability to keep your eyes on the road because (I know I'm going fast, stay with me) the display is easier to read, making the receiver easier to control

Since Pioneer was the first to bring OEL to the in-dash receiver market, they've had the most time to perfect their displays. I installed the DEH-P7600MP in my dash with pretty high expectations — and I have to say, it delivered.

The OEL display is, as promised, easy to see at pretty much any angle. I didn't have any problems reading it from the driver's or passenger's seat of my 2000 Honda CR-V. I recruited my 6'7" boyfriend, who actually has to duck his head to fit in my car, to take a look — no problems reading the display, even from his bird's-eye view (the DEH-P7600MP doesn't have a tilt feature like the Alpine we discussed earlier). Even better, the receiver performed as advertised in the bright-sunlight situation as well. Not once did it wash out, and I never had to revert to the dreaded "shade the display with my hand" technique.

As far as helping me keep my eyes on the road…well, since I only had the receiver in my car for a few days, I'll have to give Pioneer the benefit of the doubt on that one. I have to own up to being distracted a couple of times by the OEL's selection of animated screensavers, including the sometimes-adored and sometimes-maligned "dancing dolphins." (A little background — when animated in-dash displays first came to Crutchfield, the two biggest players were Kenwood and Pioneer. Both brands featured screensavers with swimming dolphins. Some folks loved the dolphins — in fact, five or six years later, Crutchfield Sales Advisors still get asked for them all the time. Other folks, not so much. Me, I'm staying out of it. You guys fight it out.)

Above: The DEH-P7600MP's dolphin screen saver in action. Hey, those dolphins are quick! Hard to catch on film. Below: With the screen savers turned off, system info is bright and easy to read.

JVC Full-Color OEL
JVC entered the OEL game just this year. But by waiting, they were able to skip right over the one-color OEL option and dive right into a swankier full-color OEL design (Pioneer also has full-color OEL on several models this year). I was dying to check out the KD-AR7000, which sports not only the full-color OEL display, but JVC's PICT feature. PICT lets you upload your own photos and short movies, via CD-R, into the receiver for playback on the screen. Sounds cool!

This receiver has a very similar vibe to the Pioneer '7600 — it's mostly about "cool factor." After popping the receiver into my dash, I popped the included PICT software installer CD-ROM into my G4 PowerMac, hoping to upload some photos to the receiver's display for the drive home. No such luck. The software isn't Mac-compatible. Bummer.

With that little project on hold, I turned my attention to the display's readability. Not bad! Even in bright sunlight, I didn't have problems with wash-out. And with all the screensavers turned off (my preferred viewing mode), I ended up with a relatively clean, uncluttered screen. Nice. The overall clarity and brightness compared favorably with Pioneer's OEL. I did notice that, while the screen is about the same size as Pioneer's, the fact that it's not centered made it seem smaller, somehow. I found the overall look of the receiver clean and appealing (in practice, though, I must say that I prefer a rotary volume knob to the "up-down" buttons on this piece).

Even though I wasn't able to take advantage of the PICT feature and upload my own photos into the receiver, I did check out the built-in demo mode that JVC provides. This shows off PICT to good effect, and I was impressed with the clarity of the images displayed. I got a good feel for how pictures I've taken would translate onto the screen, and I think it would be a lot of fun (and a good way to impress passengers).

The JVC KD-AR7000

Clarion touchscreen Optimedia
The Clarion ProAudio DXZ945MP really deserves its own full-length review. Luckily, the Advisor's Robert Ferency-Viars did that already, so I don't have to. In a lot of ways, this receiver is a different animal than the others in this article — its display is touchscreen. Usually, I think about touchscreen displays in the context of 6" or larger in-dash DVD monitors. But the DXZ945MP is a regular, DIN-sized receiver with a small-ish display. Is touchscreen really useful in this context, or just a "cool-factor" distraction?

When I slid the Clarion into my dash, I was skeptical. The wavy frame around the display…a little frou-frou, I thought, not my thing. Plus, when I read that the display was an LCD (albeit a 16-gradation, full-dot matrix LCD), I immediately had visions of a washed-out, hard-to-read disaster. But when I fired up the ignition and the receiver blinked on, my mind started to open.

Like the Alpine CDA-9835, this display is black and white (and gray) — no bright colors. And when I realized that the wavy frame was there for a reason — to make touchscreen operation easier by guiding your fingers to the right places on the screen — it suddenly started looking less frivolous and a lot more practical.

The Clarion DXZ945MP in "cloud" mode.

In fact, the more I drove around with the DXZ945MP, the better I liked it. The screensavers are admittedly a little goofy, but you can turn them off for a plain and simple information readout. Or, just embrace the goofy and personalize a screensaver with your own message. (See photos below.) Plus, I was surprised and pleased to find that this receiver performed wonderfully in the readability department — in fact, on the completely subjective score sheet in my mind, it came in second (after the Alpine BioLite) when it came to visibility in bright sunlight.

Above: Enter a message of your choice using the touchscreen LCD. Below: Moments later, my message appears as one of the screensaver options! Hands off my CR-V, buster.

Which receiver won?
For me, out of these four display technologies, the Alpine BioLite is the winner. It's bright, easy to read, and refreshingly plain. However, I was really drawn to the clean, easy-to-use touchscreen Optimedia LCD from Clarion, and the animated OEL pieces from JVC and Pioneer are undeniably entertaining. Bottom line: choice is good!

To reiterate a sentiment from the opening of this review, receivers have come a long way (baby). All four of the receivers I tested showed admirable brightness and legibility, and all of them passed the sunlight test with ease. I have to say that I'd choose any of them in a heartbeat over the 2-year-old entry-level LCD that's now (sadly) parked back in my Honda's dash. Really, no matter what you're looking for, you can find it in today's selection. (Yes, you may have to pay a little more. But you can find it.)

Where will receiver displays take us next? Based on the continuing success of Pioneer's OEL, and JVC's excellent entry into the same category, I'll go out on a limb and predict that multicolor OEL will be popping up from more manufacturers. I also think that if Clarion is able to lower the price point on their touchscreen Optimedia (the model I tried out currently retails for $600), they'll have a runaway success on their hands. I predict more touchscreen.

I also hope that the industry is paying attention to the accolades that reviewers are heaping on the Alpine CDA-9835's BioLite display. There's a large contingent of folks out there who, like me, yearn for something plain, simple, and (above all) easy to read. And although BioLite is priced at a premium right now (the CDA-9835 is only $50 less than the Clarion), I hope that Alpine will start incorporating this very worthy display technology into some lower-priced receivers soon.