Satellite Radio - xm or sirius?

[Guest copenhagen]

I want something to use in the car in the house and in a boom box for camping, etc... easily moved inbetween.

My truck has an mp3 player port on the front of the stereo (like one of those headphone jacks)...

I have never ever even looked at satellite radio before - I don't know how much they cost or which service is better. Also I have no clue who makes the best equipment for the stuff I want to do. I did hear that they are both trying to merge into one company...

Please opine

[Guest elcidwill]

Both companies market a product that performs the task that you are looking for.

I would reccomend that you head over to Best Buy or the equivalent retailer in your area and take a look at what they have. Monthly service is under $20 for both companies. You can get a portable reciever for around $150 or less if I recall. Very easy to set up.

I can't live without it for long road trips.

[brickhistory]

Since they announced a merger, it's probably a moot point.

[Beaver]

I wouldn't pay for either. I had XM for 3 months and my roommate has Sirius. They both play the same shitty songs over and over.

[Guest Tertle]

Yeah I'm pretty sure they're merging

[Stiffler]

I wouldn't pay for either. I had XM for 3 months and my roommate has Sirius. They both play the same shitty songs over and over.

I agree, although I am keeping my XM, I have also started to notice commercials popping up on "commercial free" stations. So...I may not keep it for long.

[MT near]

I have sirius and love it....regular radio sucks! Commercials all the friggen time. I dont think I will ever go back to radio, unless satelight companies start charging an arm and a leg.

Sirius is around 12 bucks a month, or you can pay a yearly fee up front. There are a few receivers you can choose from. They have a bunch of cool options and I feel its worth it.

[Goblin]

The one thing i didnt like about signing up with Sirius is that they made me pay the $xx.xx per month up front...So i had to charge $200 something to my card after spending $200 something for a reciever. Didnt seem worth it at the time, so I took it back.

[DC]

Football or baseball.

That's what the choice used to be about. The merger news is true, but it won't happen overnight. So basically, if you're a fan of both sports but like football more, you can roll the dice that the merger will be complete enough by football season (if it is even approved) and go for XM. Or you can get Sirrus and go w/o baseball this summer.

I got XM when I moved to Pensacola and saw how long my commute would be. I couldn't tolerate the regular radio much longer and wanted to listen to the ball games on the way home. Baseball was during the week and I just didn't find myself listening to the radio (which is only in my car) as much during the weekend for football. If I want to watch football games that aren't available at home, I just go to the sports bar.

Satellite radio is a godsend for long, solo cross-country car rides, though.

[Boxhead]

True that, I wish I would have had it in my car as I was towing my wifes car from NE Tenn to Las Vegas...over 2300 miles and never over 60MPH...and often MUCH slower due to the snow, ice etc...Satelite would have been great....the worst part, the car I was towing had it...just not mine! lol oh the humanity!

[SPiF]

Yeah, I'm going to end up doing alot of driving back and forth for the next year at least, playing ping-pong in the south, so I've been looking into it. Only about 4-5 mandatory long drives, but from what I hear it's pretty much worth it for that.

[Champ Kind]

Anyone ever used XM or Sirius overseas?

[Guest sleepy]

Anyone ever used XM or Sirius overseas?

Phlash, I wanna say that it is only designed for the NW quadrant of the globe, but I could be wrong.

If you have a subscription (I have XM), you can also stream off the internet for free. That's mostly what I'm doing now. Can't speak for Sirius, but I believe XM has a discounted rate for internet only subscription.

I, too, am getting pissed at some of the commercials on some of XM's channels. Still, it is MUCH better than terrestrial radio. I never thought I'd be a radio snob. I don't plan on canning, though, because the word is that rates will not change for current subscribers once the merger occurs. Can't wait to get baseball AND football. I may never study again!

-sleepy

[Guest crotter]

I just picked up an XM receiver at walmart for $20. It is the "sportscaster" model. Also if you do a search online there is currently a promotion code out for XM that provides 3 months free service and waives the activation fee of $10!

So far I really enjoy XM, I havent loaded up my winamp playlist in a couple days.

edit: actually heres the code: XMSCION03

I just used it last night and it went through. There is a place to enter it online when you go to register your receiver at xm.com

Edited April 2, 2007 by crotter

[Champ Kind]

Phlash, I wanna say that it is only designed for the NW quadrant of the globe, but I could be wrong.

That's what I thought. Something about "geosynchronous" or whatever making them only able to cover a certain part of the globe.

[Bluto]

I have XM and enjoyed it until NASCAR went to Sirius but once they merge you'll be able to receive all the channels. They're claiming no new software needed and all existing radios will work. Both have the same news (FOX, CNN, etc) and channels like ESPN. XM has some funny comedy channels and are unrated. It was nice to have that for the long drives. I have the portable Samsung/MP3 XM radio with built in antenna. It's a pretty sweet unit but was like 299. I think both companies have about the same radios. If you're willing to sign a contract for like 3 or more years then the price drops under $10/month. I know for XM once you're a subscriber then you can listen online for free but it's only the commercial free channels and doesn't include any of the news or sports.

Regarding the coverage I heard Sirius is better because they have 3 satellites versus XM's 2 static satellites. Sirius is also talking about launching a 4th in 2008. One of the reasons XM is losing money is due to only 2 satellites causing the need for more ground repeaters.

[CHS17]

When I was shopping for satellite radio, Sirius had three geo-synch satellites, where XM only had two. I thought I had read that XM added a third, but I can't prove it. I do know that Sirius has Canadian customers.

As far as the merger, the law would need to change because right now it's against the law for the two to merge. The contention of the two companies is that they not only compete against each other, but also terrestrial radio, new HD radio, iPods, etc.

I have Sirius: NFL, college football, NASCAR, Howard Stern, just to name a few.

like he said ^^^^

Edited April 3, 2007 by CHS17

[ClearedHot]

When I was shopping for satellite radio, Sirius had three geo-synch satellites, where XM only had two.

Please see diagram above your post…Sirius does not use geosynchronous satellites. The Sirius satellite orbits are radically tilted and they travel at the same 17,500 miles per hour that the XM satellites do, but their paths take them as close as 15,700 miles over the backside of the earth to as much as 28,000 miles high when the satellites are over the USA. This type of orbit is a 24-hour orbit that keeps two satellites over the U.S. at all times. It's the same type of orbit once used by Russian satellites to spy on the U.S. The reason Sirius decided to use this type of orbit was to increase signal strength at odd angles (optimized for cars) and to limit the number of expensive repeaters.

Since they announced a merger, it's probably a moot point.

Not true…The final deal has yet to be approved and Mel Karmazin testified that there will be multiple price options, but if you want all the channels from both, you would likely pay more.

I’ve had both…still do now that I think about it…my wife’s Acura has it built in and she likes XM. I have Sirius for Howard Stern which I record and transfer to my IPOD. I can and do stream both and hook them into the whole home sound system. The only draw back is I can’t stream at work as the Hurlburt Comm Nazis are the worst in the Air Force. I actually had a webpage blocked the other day because it was an “educational reference”…UFB!

[CHS17]

like he said ^^^^

Hence the short edit, but I appreciate the astro lesson.

[ClearedHot]

Hence the short edit, but I appreciate the astro lesson.

Actually, Elroy, it would be orbital mechanics vice "astro".

[CHS17]

Fair enough, you're right. I was thinking in more general terms of astrodynamics, but I wasn't much into the space side of things in school.

Maybe we can call it a draw... Astro or Orbital Mechanics...

Edited April 3, 2007 by CHS17

[Guest wilco]

Since you have an aux input have you considered an iPod instead of radio? Load an iPod w/ 10k songs and use it like a radio station. I like talk radio on long trips though, but I can load up my iPod w/ podcasts and books.

Also: no monthly fees or reception problems

[DC]

The reason Sirius decided to use this type of orbit was to increase signal strength at odd angles (optimized for cars) and to limit the number of expensive repeaters.

My XM signal is completely blocked when sitting in a drive through waiting for my french fries when the window is on the north side of the building. Very obnoxious problem, though pretty limited in scope. Not in Altus though. That town built all of its fast food windows on the south or east/west sides. Something about the restaurants being all on the west side of Main St I think...

That being said, I spent a lot of time in my car today and it was great to have baseball coming into my ears again. Ahhh... opening day.