Specifications

Audio Technology
LCD Display Resolution
Clarion’s in-dash liquid crystal displays feature a
screen resolution of 1440 X 234 pixels for a total of
336,960 pixels. Some companies try and confuse you
by describing the number of picture elements - each of
the red, green, and blue picture elements. By their
standards, these units would have 1,010,880 picture
elements. When comparing video displays, make sure
the specifications you are comparing are using the
same format.
H.M.I.
Clarion has long been considered the industry leader
in the development and implementation of advanced
Human Machine Interface designs and concepts. Back
in 2006, Clarion took the H.M.I. concept to the next
level and made it the focus of the companies products.
H.M.I. refers to the interaction, interconnection, and
interdependance of man, music, and machine - all
while being easy to use.
Capacitive Touch Interface
In 2004, Clarion introduced a truly innovative concept
to the head unit category, a head unit with no buttons!
The DXZ945MP proved to be ahead of its time, but its
acceptance was huge. It offered a large monochro-
matic display with touch sensitive “bean” shapes for
navigation through the functionality of the head unit.
With a simple swipe of the finger, you can scroll
through radio preset stations, change system settings,
or randomize the tracks on a CD.
In 2009, Clarion felt it was time to introduce another
revolutionary concept to the masses, the FZ409 and
FZ709 and the NEW Capacitive Touch Interface.
These sleek looking source units feature a smooth
control panel with illumination capacitive sensor button
areas. This is an example of the intuitive H.M.I. design
that minimizes the number of moving parts while
maximizing functionality. Since only relevant button
icons appear for the task at hand, button hunting is
eliminated and access is more direct and responsive.
How does Capacitive Touch Interface work? Behind
the fixed plastic escutcheon are two plates, one is a
transmitter and the other is a receiver. The plates are
designed in the shape of the button area. A high
frequency capacitive field is generated between the
two plates and a capacitance to digital converter
records the strength of the field on the receiving plate.
When your finger moves into the fringe capacitive field
that leaks outside of the top plastic layer, this changes
the strength of the field on the receiving layer. The
Capacitance to Digital converter can sense this and
sends a signal to the source units micro controller, which
then interprets that as a button push and responds in
accordance.
What are the benefits of the Capacitive Touch Interface?
There are two primary functionality benefits. Capacitive
Touch buttons have no moving parts. This means that
they are resistant to failure. Also, with no moving parts,
there is no way for contaminants to infiltrate the system
and cause a malfunction. This can be anything from dust
or cleaning solutions that can get trapped inside of a
button.
Dimmer Input
Safety comes in many forms - but being able to concen-
trate on your driving is a fundamental part of the H.M.I.
concept. Driving at night adds an additional level of
complexity. To make it as easy as possible, Clarion
includes a dimmer input circuit on many of source units.
When connected to the factory dash illumination circuit, a
signal on this wire causes the deck to reduce the bright-
ness of the radio display, preventing it from being a
distraction. Safety in the form of simplicity.
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FZ709