Simrad NSO 4-16 16" Glass Bridge MFD | NEON OS

The Simrad NSO 4-16 puts the full glass bridge command center on a 16-inch display, which is the size that fits a lot of helms and works beautifully as a second station on a bigger boat. It's a multifunction display built to run the whole boat, controlling engines, radar, sonar, lighting, audio, and video from one clean touchscreen. Same platform and same capability as the larger NSO displays, just in a footprint that fits where 22 or 24 inches won't.

At its heart is the new NEON operating system running on a Qualcomm 8-core processor. That's the same processing power as the bigger displays, so even the compact NSO feels fast and responsive. Charts redraw quickly, screens change without lag, and running several functions at once, chart, radar, and sonar, stays smooth. A smaller display that's just as quick as its big siblings is exactly what you want when helm space is tight but you don't want to give up capability.

The screen is a Full HD touchscreen at 1920 by 1080 resolution, with a wide 80 degree viewing angle so the picture stays clear whether you're right at the helm or off to the side. A full touchscreen interface keeps operation intuitive, the way you'd expect from a modern glass bridge, and it comes with a magnetic sun cover to protect the glass when the boat's not in use.

Connectivity is where this compact unit punches above its size. It has Gigabit Ethernet for fast networking, built-in WiFi, and both video in and video out, so it's a full participant in a larger system rather than a stripped-down little screen. It talks to your engines, radar, sonar, lighting, and AV, pulling the boat together onto one interface, and its video and network capability make it just as capable a hub or second station as the bigger displays.

Navigation comes ready to go. The NSO 4-16 includes the next-generation C-MAP Discover X chart, so you have detailed cartography from the moment it's installed. Between the charts, the sharp Full HD screen, and the fast processor, planning and following a route is quick and clear.

It's built for the marine environment. The display carries an IPX6 and IPX7 waterproof rating, so it handles spray, washdowns, and the occasional dunking. It runs on a 12 or 24 volt DC supply with reverse polarity and over-voltage protection built in, and it's efficient, drawing up to just 33 watts, which is easy on a helm electrical system, especially when you're running more than one display. Physically it measures about 15.4 inches wide, 9.6 inches high, and 3.1 inches deep, so it fits helms where the larger sizes simply won't.

A word on what a glass bridge display like this actually changes about running a boat. Instead of a helm cluttered with separate gauges, switches, and single-purpose screens, you get one clean interface where the boat's systems come together. You glance at one place to see your chart, your radar, your sonar, your engine data, and your systems, and you touch that same screen to control lighting, audio, and video. Even at 16 inches that consolidation reduces the clutter and mental load of running everything, and it makes a tight helm far more livable. The compact size is also what makes the 4-16 such a natural second station, giving a crew member at a second helm the exact same full interface and control they'd have at the main station, sharing every source across the network. That's a lot of capability packed into a display you can fit almost anywhere.

Who's this for? Captains building a glass bridge on a boat where a 16-inch display is the right size, or bigger boats adding a capable second station that shares the full network. If you want to control engines, radar, sonar, lighting, and entertainment from a fast, Full HD touchscreen in a compact footprint, the NSO 4-16 gives you the whole platform. If you've got more dash to work with, the NSO 4-22 and 4-24 step you up in screen size on exactly the same system.