Satellite Radio Systems Compared 429
The NYT has a review/comparison of XM radio and Sirius, the two systems of digital satellite radio. Not everyone wants to pay for radio, but I guess if you spend enough time listening to it, maybe it's worthwhile.
Short summary of article.. (Score:2, Funny)
Seriously, Sirius. Seriously. Sirius. (Score:4, Informative)
While I haven't used Sirius yet, I hope to afford it soon. XM seems like the work of monopolistic, commercialistic, record-company-loving businesspeople, rather than music lovers, and their service is inferior. Take a stand for a company that respects its customers by subscribing to Sirius.
Re:Seriously, Sirius. Seriously. Sirius. (Score:4, Informative)
While I haven't used Sirius yet, I hope to afford it soon. XM seems like the work of monopolistic, commercialistic, record-company-loving businesspeople, rather than music lovers, and their service is inferior. Take a stand for a company that respects its customers by subscribing to Sirius.
If I'm not mistaken, XM is owned in part by the monopolistic, commercialistic, record-company-loving businesspeople known as Clear Channel Communications. You may remember them as the company that's replacing all your local radio stations with prepackaged commercial crap.
Re:Short summary of article.. (Score:3, Interesting)
5 years from now the only system in use could be [thisNewSystem], leaving you looking not just like a betamax weenie, but like a betamax weenie without any tapes...
Late 90's I was trying to buy a small(ish) portable DAB-radio (Digital Audio Broadcasting [www.sr.se]; not by satelite), but there just were none available on the market (and the "desktop"-models were too expensive to be worth it, IMHO).
Then I got myself o
I sell sirius and XM (Score:3, Interesting)
I personally would go with XM, but if sirius wasnt 12.99 I would give it a hard think. The fact that you can buy sirius' subscription out right for 399 r
Well, lessee... (Score:5, Interesting)
Yeah, I'd buy that for $10. Hmm... FP?
FYI (Score:5, Interesting)
You may want to take that into account when picking a system.
good point (Score:2, Interesting)
Good thing i cant afford any of these anyway.
Yeah, its somewhat OT. Shutupp.
Re:good point (Score:2, Informative)
He lists the companies offshoring multiple times per week on his "Outsourcing America" segements.
Re:good point (Score:2, Interesting)
Europe will find that out as its increasingly aged (and shrinking) population is faced with supporting a tremendous welfare state burdened by longer living retirees. I'm sure the Europeans that do remain in Europe(the less intellectually inclined) will be hard pressed to provide full pension benefits for people who've worked 27 years and are retired for 40 years.
Eur
Re:good point (Score:5, Funny)
The idea goes both ways...
Comment removed (Score:5, Funny)
Re:good point (Score:3, Funny)
Re:good point (Score:5, Insightful)
If you look at the total compensation for employees in America and Europe, you won't find much difference as the higher American salaries are balanced by the higher outlays European companies make to finance the larger benefits and government taxes.
As I've indicated, outsourcing from Europe to America is marginal at best. So don't worry, your IT jobs will be going to India. At least this way you can feel better about yourself.
Re:good point (Score:2, Interesting)
I think there needs to be a major debate between the leaders of the IT industry in both countries - I am talking about the US and India here - as to the fallout of outsourcing.
On one hand companies are cutting costs. This is something ALL companies want, and it is next to impossible to talk them into a more "expensive" line of operation.
On the other hand, outsourcing jobs has led to an enormous shortage of jobs here in the US. This is clearly unproductive a
Re:good point (Score:2, Interesting)
Public American corporations suck, short term profits to forgo long-range strategy. Here comes Toyota, with most production made here, ready to beat Fnord down.
Perpetual downsizing is their futu
Re:FYI (Score:5, Funny)
Re:FYI (Score:5, Insightful)
Should a patriotic American support protectionist policies? Or support efficient economics? Either way it seems you're right.
efficient? (Score:2)
In the interest of efficiency, should *your* job be ported to Country B? You, personally.
And when your job is ported to Country B, you personally have to train the Country B personto do you job.
That is what's happening. IBM just announced a shift of 4500 jobs to Country B. Is it still efficient if it's your job?
Re:efficient? (Score:4, Interesting)
Of course it is. What, you expect me to lay aside rational thought because of personal investment in the outcome? You probably want victims deciding punishment for criminals, instead of impartial judges, too.
The efficient worker is adaptable and retrains. He doesn't rely on protectionism to keep his job at the expense of the buying power of everyone else in his country.
Boycott imports! (Score:2)
Re:FYI (Score:2, Insightful)
Not just that... (Score:5, Interesting)
My folks just built a log home in an area where you can not get any cellular signal. You can barely pickup the nearest radio stations, and that's only if you hold your nose just right. TV via antenna is next to impossible thanks to our hills that surround the home. Satelitte isn't just used by radio aficionados. Real folks like you and I sometimes need it.
Re:Not just that... (Score:5, Informative)
I recently bought a Sirius subscription because, though I am not a radio afficianado, I do like to hear music/news/actual programming when I turn on the radio. As it was, I found I had recently been listening to about 3 or 4 of the dozens of local stations in my area, one in particular because it averages only 5 minutes of commercials per hour, and the other couple stations for those few minutes. (the main is a listener-supported classical music station, and the only non-Sirius station I still listen to).
I gave up on the 20 minutes of hourly ads and the continuous rotation of the same dozen songs on all the other stations 6 months to a year ago.
Although I do have a CD player in my car, I like to hear new things that I haven't heard before, and it gets expensive buying new CD's all the time, even the generally more economical classical ones that make up the majority of my collection.
So after weighing my options, and with plenty of holiday travel in my immediate future, I decided in the long term it would be nice to go with satellite radio, as it would be cheaper than laying out the $20-30 per month I have been for new CD's. Plus I can have the opportunity to see what some of the 'music' out there sounds like that I wouldn't pay for under other circumstances. And the being able to listen through their website wherever I happen to have a live internet connection is a nice plus. Now if only the people who sell the stuff at Circuit City/Best Buy had a clue about it and could have told me that due to the poor placement of windows in my apartment it would be virtually impossible for me to get a direct satellite signal at home. But that's what rebates are for, to cover such costs of experimentation.
Re:Not just that... (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Not just that... (Score:3, Interesting)
Am I going to get Satelite radio? Not a chance.
Why not?
Re:Not just that... (Score:4, Interesting)
google link (Score:5, Informative)
My comparison of both (Score:5, Funny)
Re:My comparison of both (Score:2, Interesting)
With that being said, I
RIAA will have a field day (Score:2, Funny)
That is assuming the Sat radio is of much higher quality than the RF radio and that dubbing music off the radio is a much higher risk for the RIAA.
Of course, this only really applies to music stations and not news stations etc...
Definately (Score:4, Interesting)
Different plan (Score:4, Interesting)
Instant 4.7gigs of audio files and a remote control to boot. Even with my wide range of tastes ( some say bizarre) I'll only need a few discs worth to take my entire collection. Simple matter to re-rip all the Beatles albums at higher bitrates too since I'm not trying to cram stuff onto CD-Rs.
Re:Definately (Score:5, Insightful)
If you've never used a satellite radio before, then your comment is somewhat uninformed. There are two major downsides to what you propose. The first is that you never get to hear anything new. The only things you will listen to are what you put in your library. The second (and this is the one that most commentors have missed) is that you get a lot more than music on the radio. You also get a dozen news channels, sports, a couple of comedy channels, vintage radio shows (like The Shadow and The Saint, for example).
I'm not saying that satellite radio is for everyone, but oh MAN is it worth it.
Re:Definately (Score:3, Interesting)
They already are transmitting "near CD quality" compressed bitstream with accurate artist/label tags. Now, if there were some way my receiver would simply monitor the incoming bitstream and snag the incoming stream to hard disk, accumulating generic MP3 of what's transmitted.
I have no problem with paying for a subscription.
Most likely, I would listen to music coming from the drive, so I could transfer of
My own experience with XM (Score:5, Informative)
The bottom line, for those needing a quick answer, is Sirius is superior in sound quality, features(free streaming from their website!), and channel quality(better music, no commercials, better talk). XM has a few more channels that make very little difference to the end result (read on).
After careful review of both systems, Sirius came out the winnner, as I have said. The channels are laid out well, lack commercials, sound great, and are streamed on the internet. The only disadvantage of Sirius was its oft-sited lack of Nascar, which they seem to be trying to remedy. Also, XM has an extra comedy channel (it's boring, and features older, censored comedy), and a few more "experimental" music channels which most will find totally useless. Surfing XM for music is often like surfing the regular (terrestrial) radio in a large city-you get nothing but frustration. It's no wonder XM doesn't stream live on the net so that you can try before you buy. Also, XM's channel layout was unfriendly, in my opinion.
The greatest and most dizzying drawback in comparing the two, however, are the staggeringly stupid and annoying XM commercials. Not necessarily the corporate commercials that come from outside companies (which are annoying in an expected way), but the ridiculous and loud in-house XM stuff that makes you have to turn down your radio really quick when you've had it up loud-especially with the windows open (yes, they are that embarrassing). This, and the better performance of Sirius, was the deciding factor in my cancelling XM.
XM, however, holds their own and can satisfy a customer with some decent music and a fair selection of Talk. If not for Sirius, I would have kept XM, I think; probably because it IS nice to listen to the same station no matter where you go. Yet, as is the way of competition, Sirius has offered everything good that XM does and DONE IT RIGHT. Sirius outshines in the talk category, with a variety of Right and Left-wing shows, all of the useful talk channels XM has, and NPR, PRI, and a well laid-out channel plan.
XM does a bit better in the design of their customer care website. Sirius also has a customer care website, but it is not as robust (less detail). However, XM doesn't have streaming audio on its website-apparently we all have to pay XM $6.99 extra in additon to buying another $200 receiver for the house. In addition to the crappy commercials, this is probably where the corporate influence of XM being part-owned by ClearChannel and GM shows. (Clearchannel is responsible for the reason regular radio is so terrible).
One other interesting tidbit is that I was able to receive both services with an antenna hidden below the rear-deck of my car-made possible probably because it has a large rear-window at a steep angle. Sound quality was the same wherever the antenna was placed-inside or outside-of course. I understand that there was a professional review of XM vs. Sirius and that XM was said to have better sound, but the superiority of Sirius was glaring in my test. I say A-B it at a store with XM, if you can, on the same system. Do a channel comparison, too-I'm sure you'll see that what I've written is the case.
Good luck, and, for my two cents, I would support Sirius unless XM does an about-face. XM may be cheaper by a few bucks, but trust me: you get what you pay for.
Re:My own experience with XM (Score:2, Funny)
Re:My own experience with XM (Score:2)
Re:My own experience with XM (Score:2)
I will agree that Sirius has very good sound quality (I've had Sirius for over a year now, myself). But, just to warn any audiophiles in the audience: compression artifacts can occasionally be heard.
If you enjoy mp
Sirius also has indie rock (Score:2)
The channel is called Left of Center, free listening for 20 minutes.
I really don't like how XM is in bed with clearchannel, after the FCC approved News Corps buyout of DirecTV I'm afraid to invest in more technology that will just become consolidated and monopolized again.
Really now, if XM hits critical mass their ClearChannel masters will just milk it like they do regular FM. Afterall, you've
Of course, the question remains: (Score:5, Interesting)
Is there censorship???
That's the one thing that bugs me more than anything else about an AM / FM radio. When I listen to songs, I'm tired of the FCC regulating stations, and butchering songs I would otherwise appreciate into beeps, buzzes, silent space, and otherwise crap FX.
Maybe I'm the only one, but I couldn't care less about having a radio station that I could bring with me across the country. I'm more concerned about
a) Having a radio station not play the same thing 20x a day and
b) Having them NOT butcher the song.
Of course, I've been to all the places, Best Buy, etc and ask them. They don't know. I don't have any friends with this device.
So for now, it's a no go. Not until I know that it's uncensored, and always will be that way.
Re:Of course, the question remains: (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Of course, the question remains: (Score:5, Informative)
Yes, some of the channels (especially the re-broadcasts of CNN, Fox, and other actual radio stations) are censored.
But XM Comedy, Channel 150, is not fucking censored. No fucking way. Fuck Fuck Fuck. You can listen to Richard Pryor describe his love affairs in all it's wonderful detail or listen to Jackie the Joke Man make his sick fucking jokes as much as you want and you'll never hear a bleep.
Re:Of course, the question remains: (Score:2)
That's just an opinion, of course, but it is one shared by many. It's worth noting that not only do weak musical performers (I refuse to call most musical performers "musicians" because they cannot by any stretch of the imagination be confused with real musicians) but also weak authors include profanity to add drama to their products. It's a juvenile cop-out.
Except Chris Rock. That mother-fucker
Re:Of course, the question remains: (Score:3, Interesting)
Actually, the FCC no longer bans specific words. For all the (bleep)ing bleeping, blame the huge media companies, which are averse to risk-taking. So what people complain about is what gets censored, be it four-letter words or the latest Dixie Chicks song. If you don't like it, you should complain yourself.
Re: Sirius Radio is not censored (Score:2)
Re:Best Buy (Score:2)
I saw an earlier article where the biggest demographic for these are long haul truckers. No longer needing to switch stations every 30-45 minutes is a big plus. In town commuters don't have to deal with stations fading out mi
Re:Of course, the question remains: (Score:2)
I've got Sirius in my vehicle. The answer is that it varies based on the station. "Octane", a popular/alternative/semi-hard-but-not-heavy-metal station (think KROQ), is totally uncensored. And then there are stations like "The Pulse" which is geared more toward pop and softer rock. "The Pulse" censors music to a degree that I find a bit disturbing, I've heard them censor metaphors for drug use that do not actually contain any bad words. They once played a song on this station...
Re:Of course, the question remains: (Score:2)
Re:Of course, the question remains: (Score:2)
However, stations do have to take into account local obscenity laws all of the time.
The trick is, and this is what keeps stations from being fined, is that the people that actually listen to these shows repeatedly don't mind hearing vularity, so they don't complain. And most people who are just flipping through stations just don't care enough; so even if stations are indecent during the day, it's r
I have 3 XM receivers for over 2 years now. (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:I have 3 XM receivers for over 2 years now. (Score:2)
Unless they have a radio station that through subliminal hypnosis makes me believe that my car is constantly filled with hot, asian, bisexual, big titty women, I'm not paying any amount of money for radio!
Subscription sucks (Score:4, Insightful)
Every software company has these subscription software developers network.
Every other game is becoming subscription based. I am glad sims online is failing.
Every good radio frequency is subscription based.
Soon public bathrooms will be subscription based. The only thing that needs subscription is magazines.
both are unique (Score:2)
Sirius uses three geosynchronous satellites, has no commercials, is 12.99 a month. You can listen via streaming on your PC if you are a subscriber.
I beleive that Sirius would provide better coverage due to its three satellite system because the angle is much less. No commercials is cool, as is a lifetime subscription option.
A family member has XM, and it sounds highly compressed. It drove me crazy!
Neither reach to Hawaii (Score:2, Informative)
But the most important question is... (Score:3, Funny)
Re:But the most important question is... (Score:3, Informative)
I've Had XM (Score:2, Interesting)
Radio as a Local Medium (Score:5, Insightful)
Clearchannel and the whole deregulation mess has pretty well ended that. Aside from a few AM and college stations, radio has about as much identifyable personality as network television. And now proponents of Big Radio can point to the few remaining independents, by and large willfully obscure and pretentious holdouts, as examples of why small radio is no longer relevant.
Satellite Radio is probably good for a lot of reasons, but it certainly will do nothing to slow the gradual blending of America's cultural palette into one big swath of homogenous gray.
I've only lived in two places in my life. I'm about to take a two month long cross-country drive. I'm seriously worried that I'm not going to see (or hear) anything unfamiliar.
Re:Radio as a Local Medium (Score:2)
For example; Seger doesn't do too well on stations outside MI/IL/OH, so you don't hear it played at all. Same to a lesser extent with Ted Nugent and Alice Cooper. Jersey, Pennsylvania and NY overplay Springsteen. Heard more than enough Tom Petty for a lifetime
Making sure every city in America sounds the same. (Score:2)
It's easy to blame CC (Score:4, Interesting)
So, what's Clear Channel done? They're trying to make their AM stations like local TV stations. Local news/issues programs during prime time, and well-known network programming other times. For the music stations, it's even easier. They've got vertical integration among the stations, with playlists based on formats. Go ahead, examine the playlists of stations in the same format owned by companies other than Clear Channel. By and large, it's the same music.
The only real difference between markets is the level of talent and the fit and polish of the delivery. In big markets, you get good jocks and tight production. In small markets, you can hear some pretty awful radio.
As for XM, I've done three cross-country trips in the past two years via auto. I don't think I'd want to do it without an XM receiver. While there is some good local stuff out there, XM is good quality wherever you happen to be, and it's consistent. Montana is big, and sometimes you can't find a station for a couple of hours. I think the talk programming is better on XM than on Sirius, but that's just personal opinion. If you really dig on NPR, Sirius would probalby be more your cup of tea.
Re:Radio as a Local Medium (Score:3, Interesting)
Hi, I did a two month cross-country trip in the summer of 2000, and you can see part of my unfinished journal [jhu.edu]. I guarantee you that you'll pick up tons local flavor just about anywhere you go, not just through radio but through cuisine, live music, scenery, and just talking to locals. Here are some tips, in case you or anybody e
XM Radio Hacking (Score:2)
has anyone seen any or had anything experiences regarding this?
Re:XM Radio Hacking (Score:2, Informative)
Re:XM Radio Hacking (Score:2)
A parallel to this is that encryption isn't supposed to make something impossible to decode, it is just supposed to make it computationally impractical to decode. From the sounds of it, the satellite companies have definit
No pay, no way (Score:4, Insightful)
Seriously, though, I'm a little tired of the "why would anybody want to pay for that" attitude around here. It's a service, about the same value as a newspaper subscription, and priced accordingly.
Why does Slashdot seem to be getting more and more parochial?
Re:No pay, no way (Score:2)
Re:No pay, no way (Score:2)
Re:No pay, no way (Score:2)
If nothing else, they play some nice classical music, which sure beats rap any day of the week. I have yet to hear the same piece played twice, though I've only been listening for a couple of months.
Oh, and yes I said right wing media. The media used to be left wing when they were small
Re:No pay, no way (Score:2)
Re:No pay, no way (Score:2)
I just bought the XM SkyFi for a Christmas present (Score:2, Informative)
I'm also going to get him an adapter from Blitz Safe [blitzsafe.com] which gives you a muchhigher quality sound. Basically it plugs into the proprietary CD changer port on the back of the factory radio and has RCA plugs (or a 1/4" phono iirc) on the other end.
When deciding between XM [xmradio.com] and Sirius [siriusradio.com] I found this page [hometheaterforum.com] to be a good comparison between the two.
Playboy radio? (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Playboy radio? (Score:2)
Re:Playboy radio? (Score:2)
Driver is wanking.
Driver gets into wreck.
Airbag deploys.
I seem to remember that airbags can cause burn marks. If nothing else, that broken glass has got to be a bitch.
A blessing for use in aircraft... (Score:5, Interesting)
I have 100 channels to chose from, and have yet to get bored of the 5 or 6 I listen to regularly. I personally think Sirius is much better than XM, mainly for these "streams" as they call them: 2 NPRs, PRI and JamOn. There defiantly is a reason to pay for radio!
Huh? (Score:5, Funny)
"Neither satellite radio company promises to freeze its current prices or percentage of ads. XM, in fact, already offers the first premium premium channel - a Playboy channel for an additional $3 monthly, the first step toward a future filled with tiered, ever more expensive packages."
I mean what's ON that station....
"ooh yeah baby, that's it, uh huh, faster, ohh yeah...**and now a message from Mr. Hefner: Please open your eyes and pay attention to the road while driving, thank you**
Re:Huh? (Score:2, Funny)
My Experiences with XM Radio (Score:2, Interesting)
One of the options I chose to add was XM Radio. I wasn't happy with the way Sirius was panning out (back then they didn't even have coast-to-coast) and XM was $10/mo as opposed to Sirius's $13/mo.
I got some of the first XM equipment from Pioneer, including a head unit, reciever and antenna. None of
ClearChannel - a Major XM Investor (Score:5, Insightful)
I chose to go with Sirius Radio and I've been very pleased with it (I've had it for a bit over a year now). And, in addition to the no-commercials policy on their music stations, one of the major deciding factors for me was ClearChannel's stake in XM [xmradio.com].
For those not aware, ClearChannel owns over 1200 stations nationwide and they're one of the major proponents of payola [salon.com]. That's right -- artists get on the air simply because their labels paid for their songs to be played.
I believe that radio play should be based on merit and not deep pockets. And, I don't want to have anything to do with ClearChannel.
Re:ClearChannel - a Major XM Investor (Score:3, Interesting)
Hmmm, Metallica.... they sound familiar... weren't they the band that used to be good, turned to suck, and then became the anti MP3 posterboys? No shit, really?
Several times they've aired callers requesting old school Metallica to the point that
Re:ClearChannel - a Major XM Investor (Score:2)
--lowly four digit slashdot user ID Admiral Llama.
Re:ClearChannel - a Major XM Investor (Score:2)
Also, you have to factor in that a number of XM's channels aren't even programmed by XM, but are program
Sat. radio is great, but don't use FM modulation (Score:5, Informative)
Both the XM and Sirius radio streams are compressed to somewhere in the neighborhood of 64kpbs. They sound far better than what one would normally expect at that bitrate (I'm the type of person who encodes MP3s at 256k-320k). I believe each system uses its own proprietary codecs, and both have the capability to update those codecs over time and continue to work with existing equipment. Anyway, back to the point, it's a highly compressed audio stream. Between the compression and FM modulation, the music takes on a very dull sound. I do not think it is worth buying satellite radio unless you can have it direct input into your head unit.
I've finally managed to locate a company ("SoundGate") who makes an adapter to connect my Kenwood sat. receiver directly into the back of the truck's head unit (GM makes this a big PITA, by not providing a direct input unless you speak their proprietary protocol). It shows up this week or next, and I can't wait.
Initial review of an XM unit (not a comparison) (Score:2)
I am copying and pasting the content of my initial review of the Roady XM unit that I had posted on a website:
Great for use at work
I got Roady from a local store a few days ago and so far I l
users is a new term? (Score:2)
The author of the article says this as if no other companies call their customers users... If I'm not mistaken, ISPs have called their customers users (you're given a user name...) for years.
Sirius, hands down! (Score:2)
It's even better when you are trying to play pictionary while listening to it!
driving in silence = :'( (Score:2, Informative)
For the longest time I thought the same. I began driving recently... Sometimes CDs just get boring (no matter how many you burn xD). Radio at 7am is horrible. There is nothing on besides commercials and Howard Stern (sorry guys, he bores me).
I see why people are paying for radio now. Had I waited to buy my CD deck I would of gotten an XM tuner instead.
Sirius has NPR and NFL: worth the extra dough. (Score:5, Informative)
I live in a part of the world where I can't tune in the insanely ecclectic interviews and call-in panels on The Connection, or Click and Clack's "Car Talk." I can burn CD's for music, but not for NPR or NFL game play-by-plays. (I heard the Patriots make their goal-line stand on a staticky, faint AM station. I was honking my horn like a madman.)
XM has some really corporate news stuff (read: fluff), and some right-wing talk radio masturbation festivals, but Sirius has that =and= NPR. (Liberal-leaning hosts and commentators, usually, but a stringently centrist editorial policy. PRI and Pacifica are public radio left-wingnuts, but NPR makes damn sure all sides of a story are given their say.)
SoupIsGood Food
The Reality of XM vs Sirius (Score:4, Informative)
Hands down Sirius is the better choice.
First off Sirius has no ads, XM does.
Sirius is 12 a month, XM is 10.
Sirius has 2 satellites, 1 on each coast
and 1 doing a figure 8 over the the
middle of america and mexico.
Sirius has much better satellite service
than XM considering their better satellite
placement, and since XM only has 2.
Also in NYC alone Sirius is better as they
have ground transmitters to carry the signal
throughout the whole city, and they broadcast
from here in NYC.
Much better article (Score:5, Informative)
What I'm waiting for... (Score:3, Insightful)
When XM/Sirius debuted, they were around $300 for a receiver. Pile on top of that the monthly fee, and you have a really expensive way to listen to the radio. Initially most folks didn't want to invest in what could become a paperweight if the service failed.
Both XM and Sirius now have a cute little portable receiver for under $100. Starting to get tempting. I can bring satellite radio with me everywhere I have an aux in port. Less than $100 and I can listen anywhere? Starting to interest me.
So Sirius and XM, how can you get me as a customer? Let me pay for one year of service and give me the receiver free. Cell phone companies do it, you should too. I would gladly pay you for a full year of service and a receiver. After a year, if I don't like the service, I don't feel so bad about it.
This is why I love Slashdot (Score:3, Interesting)
I am in the market for a sat radio system (I'm in sales) and after reading that XM is partly owned by Clear Channel, welp, that just made my decision VERY easy.
CC has been *on record* as saying their primary purpose in life is to push ads. They are unapologetic about the fact that they have zero interest in promoting culture or diversity in their "playlists". Not to mention, they are the biggest supporter/supplier of payola, which has already been mentioned.
In other words, this is a no-brainer for me. I hate Clear Channel and will vote with my $$$ this time.
Is Sirius' music selection good? (Score:3, Interesting)
In dash receiver quality (Score:4, Interesting)
I mean, most cars these days (or so it seems -- all of our last cars at least) have large receiver openings (double-size or so). There's PLENTY of space for a CD / XM receiver with a nice, multi-line display and decent controls. But even the double-DIN receivers from Pioneer still only have 8-character displays. It's crazy.
And I don't even get me started on how most radios these days are just an ugly mess of widgets and doodads with very little thought to function or quality. The best-looking, most functional, radios out there all seem to be original factory radios. And they simply don't have the MP3 / Satellite features.
What I want, basically, is the nice Delphi XM receiver integrated in a double-DIN CD receiver, with aux inputs for my MP3 player, a half-dozen preset buttons, a volume knob, and a tuning / navigation / feature knob. Is that too much to ask? (and, no, I don't want to stick the Delphi receiver somewhere else on my dash -- with my Palm/GPS combo, I've already got more velcro then I'd really like.)
My Sirius Experience (Score:3, Interesting)
My Sirius experience (Score:5, Interesting)
While cruising one of my daily sites, someone had posted a message that Sears had a Sirius radio package deal... everything you need to get Sirius up and running for $50. I figured, for that price, I couldn't lose.
It tooks 2 months, and Sears finally cancled my order because they realized that the demand for the box set had exceeded the order. I was pissed off. Not because they misjudged the amount of orders that would come in... That's somewhat understandable. I would have let the subject drop right there if that was the problem. But no.. they had CHARGED my card two months ago, and I was thus paying interest (actually, it was a debit card, but Sears didn't know that) for two months on a product I didn't have. That's what really ticked me off... they took my money, used it for 2 months, and then said "oh... sorry, here's your money back, and we won't pay you interest." I wasn't about to stand for that.
I stomped down to my local Sears and bitched up a storm. They finally agreed to cobble together a similar Sirius system and give it to me for the $50 price.
The next day, I installed the system, via the FM modulator and got it hooked up. It was pretty easy to install myself. I had never installed any radio equipment in a vehicle before. Learned quite a bit, actually. Anyway, it fired right up and sounded a lot better than I was expecting considering it was via FM modulator. In fact, it sounded just like my stock head unit.
I'm not a big fan of stock head units, but I have not replaced my current head unit in my vehicle, even though I've had it 3.5 years. Boy... am I glad I waited.
I'm going to be getting a Sirius head unit, so I can plug directly into it. I love the Sirius, and I won't ever be going back to "regular" FM radio again. I will happily pay the $13/mo that I was reluctant to pay after actually using the system. The lack of commercials is so liberating. It's so frigging nice to turn on the radio, and listen without hearing all the bullshit I hear on FM stations. I have about 6 channels I listen to regularly, and I can usually find someone on one of the 6 that I like at any given time. There are a few occasions when all six channels suck, and I will jump around and experiment with other stations.
There are a few nitpicks that I have, though.
First, the fact that Kenwood Sirius tuners are not compatible with Panasonic Sirius tuners is ridiculous. They are both Sirius tuners, they should be compatible with any Sirius head unit. The upside of this is, the Kenwood Sirius tuner is $150, and is what I currently have. The Panasonic tuner is $50. Why is that important? Because all but the most expensive ($500) Kenwood Head Units suck. Really bad. Their LCD displays are like 10 Character, vintage 1990's displays. On the other hand, the Panasonic head unit (983 I think?) has a nice Active Matrix display for $200. That's the head unit I'm going to be buying here after Christmas... but I'm going to have to plunk down an additional $50 for the Panasonic Sirius tuner... which kind of irks me.
The other nitpick I have, which may or may not go away with the new head unit is the fact that channel surfing is exceptionally difficult. It's hard to find the stations you might want to listen to, and skip over the junk you know for sure you don't want to listen to. Currently, on the FM modulator, there's only 6 preset buttons, with 4 different positions. So you can have a total of 24 presets. However, getting to the 2, 3 and 4th position pre-sets is a pain in the ass. So I pretty much stick with the first 6 pre-sets.
Couple the fact that the FM modulator is a Kenwood unit, with it's 10 character display, and it's impossible to have the information you want on the screen up at any given time. You are limited to a portion of the song title, OR
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