Satellite Radio

Razorfish · 03-24-2004, 09:57 PM

Regular FM radio in my area is on a decline in quality. More commercials and playlists that are far too short. This has caused me to seriously look into satellite radio.

Overall it looks like Sirius beats XM almost hands down.

[list=1][*]No commercials[*]Bigger selection of equipment[*]No influence by Clear Channel[/list=1]

Does anyone who made the switch have an opinion? I've heard that signal stregth varies dependent on the terrain but I don't know the actual story.

Cam · 03-24-2004, 11:11 PM

One of my good friends had it for a while(before it was stolen from his truck). The little bit I played with it definitly left a good impression. Whether it's worth the monthly fee or not I'm undecided on at the moment.

vsp · 03-25-2004, 07:42 AM

If Sirius pulls the trigger in a couple of months and brings Opie & Anthony aboard, I'm in.

If Howard Stern ends up getting the boot from Infinity (which isn't as slam-dunk as he's predicting on-air, but isn't beyond the realm of possibility) and makes the jump, THAT will be a time that you'll wish you owned stock in Sirius.

SteveDallas · 03-25-2004, 10:27 AM

I'm very happy with XM. If you're dissatisfied with what you're hearing on FM, you'd probably be happy with XM or Sirius. To address your points...

-- Commercials
As of Feb. 1 of this year, XM got rid of commercials on all its music channels. So this is even. (Both services continue to have commercials on news/talk channels, something Sirius didn't go out of their way to point out when they were touting their commercial-free advantage.)

--Equipment selection
I honestly don't know what the current situation is, because I haven't shopped lately. But XM kicked Sirius' butt with the introduction of the SkyFi from Delphi. That was what made the difference for me, because I refused to pay that kind of money for something that was only usable in my car, and only one car at that. Now Sirius has a portable system on the market too, so that part of the market seems to have evened up. As for the dedicated in-car receivers, I dunno.

--Clear Channel
Ehh. I go back & forth on this one. Other than the predominance of Clear Channel talk show hosts, it's unclear to me what influence Clear Channel has that I should worry about. While Clear Channel has a significant investment in XM, it's not a controlling interest, and I'm not sure it's substantially bigger than the stake folks like GM and DirecTV have. (I admit I haven't looked up the numbers.) So far, it looks like more of a case of Clear Channel betting on all the horses in the race than in them trying to smother a competitor in the cradle. I do worry about future directions a little, but I figure I went for a good deal on hardware that Sirius could not match--but they can now, so I can bail to Sirius at a later date if there really start to be problems.

Other things to consider:

Talk shows:
I don't listen to these much, so I don't care. Sirius has made an effort to have a wider diversity of viewpoints.

Sports:
Each company has exclusive sports programming (NASCAR for XM, NFL, NBA, and NHL for Sirius)

Web streaming:
Sirius makes its programming available in streaming audio over the web. (I believe there is not an extra charge for this.)

Rumors:
As vsp says, there are lots of "shock jock" rumors. Who knows what will happen eventually? But I can't see either company will let the other have this market to itself.

There is supposed to be hardware coming out that will receive either Sirius or XM. I have no idea how close it is--probably not close enough to justify waiting.

lumberjim · 03-25-2004, 10:38 AM

you can get a sirius equipped radio in most new chrysler,jeep , and dodge cars from the factory. They have a 2 or 3 inch black "button" on the roof. My demo has it, and if i want, i can call and activate it for a free 6 mos while it is a demo. I havent bothered yet. maybe i will, though

smoothmoniker · 03-25-2004, 10:53 AM

screw that. Why should i pay for music? I'm going to rig my XM radio to pull down a pirated signal instead. Cause music should be free, man.

-sm

SteveDallas · 03-25-2004, 11:18 AM

Be sure to post the schematics after you do that!

Razorfish · 03-25-2004, 09:19 PM

Just got Sirius today. So far I'm very impressed with the selection of stations and fairly lengthy playlists (FM in my area has noticebly short playlists). The price wasn't bad and it was pretty easy to install. I got the plug and play unit that can be used with your existing radio and taken out to use for online music play. I did see that XM switched to no commercials and the small size of the delphi radio unit is nice but I'm happy with my choice.

There are a number of rap and hip hop stations I'll never use but I've filled my presets with a lot of other good stations.

03-24-2004, 09:57 PM	#1
Razorfish Superhero Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: New England Posts: 104	Satellite Radio Regular FM radio in my area is on a decline in quality. More commercials and playlists that are far too short. This has caused me to seriously look into satellite radio. Overall it looks like Sirius beats XM almost hands down. [list=1][]No commercials[]Bigger selection of equipment[*]No influence by Clear Channel[/list=1] Does anyone who made the switch have an opinion? I've heard that signal stregth varies dependent on the terrain but I don't know the actual story. __________________ Mostly lurking

03-24-2004, 11:11 PM	#2
Cam dripping with ignorance Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Grand Forks ND Posts: 642	One of my good friends had it for a while(before it was stolen from his truck). The little bit I played with it definitly left a good impression. Whether it's worth the monthly fee or not I'm undecided on at the moment. __________________ After the seventh beer I generally try and stay away from the keyboard, I apologize for what happens when I fail.

03-25-2004, 10:27 AM	#4
SteveDallas Your Bartender Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Philly Burbs, PA Posts: 7,651	Re: Satellite Radio I'm very happy with XM. If you're dissatisfied with what you're hearing on FM, you'd probably be happy with XM or Sirius. To address your points... -- Commercials As of Feb. 1 of this year, XM got rid of commercials on all its music channels. So this is even. (Both services continue to have commercials on news/talk channels, something Sirius didn't go out of their way to point out when they were touting their commercial-free advantage.) --Equipment selection I honestly don't know what the current situation is, because I haven't shopped lately. But XM kicked Sirius' butt with the introduction of the SkyFi from Delphi. That was what made the difference for me, because I refused to pay that kind of money for something that was only usable in my car, and only one car at that. Now Sirius has a portable system on the market too, so that part of the market seems to have evened up. As for the dedicated in-car receivers, I dunno. --Clear Channel Ehh. I go back & forth on this one. Other than the predominance of Clear Channel talk show hosts, it's unclear to me what influence Clear Channel has that I should worry about. While Clear Channel has a significant investment in XM, it's not a controlling interest, and I'm not sure it's substantially bigger than the stake folks like GM and DirecTV have. (I admit I haven't looked up the numbers.) So far, it looks like more of a case of Clear Channel betting on all the horses in the race than in them trying to smother a competitor in the cradle. I do worry about future directions a little, but I figure I went for a good deal on hardware that Sirius could not match--but they can now, so I can bail to Sirius at a later date if there really start to be problems. Other things to consider: Talk shows: I don't listen to these much, so I don't care. Sirius has made an effort to have a wider diversity of viewpoints. Sports: Each company has exclusive sports programming (NASCAR for XM, NFL, NBA, and NHL for Sirius) Web streaming: Sirius makes its programming available in streaming audio over the web. (I believe there is not an extra charge for this.) Rumors: As vsp says, there are lots of "shock jock" rumors. Who knows what will happen eventually? But I can't see either company will let the other have this market to itself. There is supposed to be hardware coming out that will receive either Sirius or XM. I have no idea how close it is--probably not close enough to justify waiting.

03-25-2004, 10:38 AM	#5
lumberjim I can hear my ears Join Date: Oct 2003 Posts: 25,571	you can get a sirius equipped radio in most new chrysler,jeep , and dodge cars from the factory. They have a 2 or 3 inch black "button" on the roof. My demo has it, and if i want, i can call and activate it for a free 6 mos while it is a demo. I havent bothered yet. maybe i will, though __________________ This body holding me reminds me of my own mortality Embrace this moment, remember We are eternal, all this pain is an illusion ~MJKeenan

03-25-2004, 09:19 PM	#8
Razorfish Superhero Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: New England Posts: 104	Just got Sirius today. So far I'm very impressed with the selection of stations and fairly lengthy playlists (FM in my area has noticebly short playlists). The price wasn't bad and it was pretty easy to install. I got the plug and play unit that can be used with your existing radio and taken out to use for online music play. I did see that XM switched to no commercials and the small size of the delphi radio unit is nice but I'm happy with my choice. There are a number of rap and hip hop stations I'll never use but I've filled my presets with a lot of other good stations. __________________ Mostly lurking

03-25-2004, 07:42 AM	#3
vsp Syndrome of a Down Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: West Chester Posts: 1,367	If Sirius pulls the trigger in a couple of months and brings Opie & Anthony aboard, I'm in. If Howard Stern ends up getting the boot from Infinity (which isn't as slam-dunk as he's predicting on-air, but isn't beyond the realm of possibility) and makes the jump, THAT will be a time that you'll wish you owned stock in Sirius.

03-25-2004, 10:53 AM	#6
smoothmoniker to live and die in LA Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 2,090	screw that. Why should i pay for music? I'm going to rig my XM radio to pull down a pirated signal instead. Cause music should be free, man. -sm

03-25-2004, 11:18 AM	#7
SteveDallas Your Bartender Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Philly Burbs, PA Posts: 7,651	Be sure to post the schematics after you do that!

Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)