Thinking about getting XM.

[POPS]

I am thinking about getting sat radio. So can anyone give me the "real" 411
on sat radio please?

[Rich]

POPS wrote:
> I am thinking about getting sat radio. So can anyone give me the "real" 411
> on sat radio please?

Go to the respective sites, compare content and listen to the free
trials.

XM = http://www.xmradio.com/learn/programming_xm_vs_sirius.jsp

Sirius =
http://www.sirius.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=Sirius/CachedPage&c=Page&cid=1065475754125

and
http://www.sirius.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=Sirius/Page&c=Page&cid=1107787275024&

Make up you own mind. Good luck

[Lowdown in Lodi]

I would say listen to the free online trials to get an idea of what you'll
hear on either service.

But there are some simple guidlines:

a) If you require baseball, Oprah, or Opie & Anthony, Dylan, or NASCAR races
(this year) or NASCAR personalities (into the future), XM

b) If you require NBA, NFL or Stern, or NASCAR races after 12/31/06, Sirius

c) If you require college ball, you should see which games interest you most
(and which won't be televised) and consider the two services' coverage
accordingly. XM has several conferences, while Sirius has cherry-picked
certain schools.

d) If you require a "wearable" receiver, the XM Inno & Helix are the only
real possibilities, unless you want to get a generation 1 XM device; Sirius
has been claiming they'll have one for 18 months now, but as of now it is
still MIA -- it sure isn't going to be as portable and polished as XM's Inno
when it gets here.

e) If you are mostly interested in music,

-- If you prefer diversity and depth of playlists, XM, which has about
5-6 more music channels (and see (m), below) and their music library is 2.2M
tracks vs. SIRI's 500,000 (note to Sirius_Rich: I know; Mercedes thinks
Sirius has 2M tracks, but we both know they're wrong).

-- If you prefer repetition of hits, Sirius -- you'll tend to hear more
familiar music on Sirius.

-- If music sound quality is your main criterion, XM is way better, but
Sirius does have better talk sound quality

-- Sirius *DID* have the lead in rap and hip-hop, but apparently, XM is
now better

f) If you require Air America, XM. Both have Fox News Channel and Fox News
Talk channel.

g) If you require NPR, Sirius (but it lacks NPR's most important programming
like ATC & ME)

h) If live music is a major consideration and artist exclusives are
important to you, XM by a wide margin.

i) If you're a headbanger, it is a tossup but probably tilts a little toward
Sirius

j) If you like Classic Rock or Blues, it is a tossup but I lean toward XM.

k) If you like Classical, XM by a substantial margin IN MY OPINION.

l) If talk is your main interest, you should compare the lists at
XMradio.com and Sirius.com, and see which more closely aligns with your
interests.

m) If you'll be using the Internet streaming, XM has carries about 4-5 more
music channels plus a good selection of AOL's streaming channels.

n) If you'll be using it indoors and don't want to have to run an antenna
outside, you stand a much better chance of getting consistently good
reception with XM from indoors as Sirius has problems with indoor reception.
An exception would be if you live in certain areas in the far North.

o) If you'll be located in an urban area, which service provides better
reception depends significantly on the availability of repeaters. XM has
about twice the number of repeaters as Sirius does. Areas serviced by
repeaters will pretty much always provide great reception.

p) If you need a 24/7 Elvis, 24/7 Stones, or 24/7 Buffett channel, they
allocated three of their music channels for this purpose. XM doesn't have
any channels that are committed to one performer.

I'm sure there are other considerations I've missed, but I think these are
the big ones.

[Rich]

Pops,

I have both services in my car. Make up your own mind and try not to
be influenced by the local XM shill. I have full faith you will make
the right decision if you truly compare services.

[Lowdown in Lodi]

> I have both services in my car. Make up your own mind and try not to
> be influenced by the local XM shill. I have full faith you will make
> the right decision if you truly compare services.

ROTF. It does start to look a bit one-sided, when all things are
compared...

[takeshi.kovachs@gmail.com]

Here is the thing that people complain the most about Sirius.
Repitition. And more repitition.
Here is one of the moderators at siriusbackstage.com talking about it

"I tend to agree that SIRIUS playlist are stale and the lack of
removing and adding songs to keep these small play list fresh just
about borders on obscene. It is true that on some channels you can
almost set your watch by when a song will be played. How these
programmers think is acceptable is beyond me. XM does a much better job
of mixing it up and keeping their playlist fresh. I am down to one sub
for SIRIUS right now and much of that is because of this issue. I am
sick and tired of it myself. It's pretty sad when you go out and invest
in a MP3 player and subscribe to a download music service to be able to
get music you simply aren't hearing on Sat Radio, but that is indeed
the case with SIRIUS."

At Sirius it's all about the repition.

http://siriusbackstage.com/forum/showthread.php?t=85946





Lowdown in Lodi wrote:
> > I have both services in my car. Make up your own mind and try not to
> > be influenced by the local XM shill. I have full faith you will make
> > the right decision if you truly compare services.
>
> ROTF. It does start to look a bit one-sided, when all things are
> compared...

[Lowdown in Lodi]

That kind of says it all -- he was, before, a most powerful advocate for
Sirius music content. They really need a Lee Abrams or some other kind of
guiding light for their music programming.

[Rich]

Lowdown in Lodi wrote:
> Sirius music content. They really need a Lee Abrams or some other kind of
> guiding light for their music programming.

Sorry Pops, but every time the XM shills mention Lee Abrams, it reminds
me of his picture during a financial analyst presentation. Very
professional man he is:


http://tinyurl.com/omqe3

Good luck with your decision.

[Dr. Droo]

POPS wrote:
> I am thinking about getting sat radio. So can anyone give me the "real" 411
> on sat radio please?

I don't think you're going to find answers without bias on open forum.
It really would serve you well to analyze content offerings to make
sure that there is something worth your 12.95 a month.

Things like hardware, etc. are of little significance until you
determine that much. You should consider waiting closer to the
Christmas season if you can to buy, as there should be some pretty good
deals to be had from both carriers.

--D

[Lowdown in Lodi]

> Things like hardware, etc. are of little significance until you
> determine that much.

Unless portability is important. The plug & plays are all about the same;
but at this point XM has the only wearable/portable option, and has quite a
few to choose from. Maybe Sirius will soon deliver on its promise, and
maybe not. Historically, we've seen quite a lot of vapor from Sirius.

In this instance, they may be waiting to see what's going to happen with the
XM litigation -- if Sirius releases its wearable without coming to terms
with RIAA (i.e., crippling its capabilities), Sirius will be sued on day
one.

> You should consider waiting closer to the
> Christmas season if you can to buy, as there should be some pretty good
> deals to be had from both carriers.

Like everything else. But when you're talking a hundred bucks difference
between now & then, it is hardly worth waiting on; it isn't thousands.

[David]

On Sat, 12 Aug 2006 16:58:20 -0500, "POPS" <mayfieldp@bigfoot.com>
wrote:

>I am thinking about getting sat radio. So can anyone give me the "real" 411
>on sat radio please?
>
If you want background music for your candle and incense shop, go with
XM. If you want to hear some good tunage while you're in your car,
Sirius will please you better.

[Bill Kraski]

POPS wrote:

> I am thinking about getting sat radio. So can anyone give me the
> "real" 411 on sat radio please?

Several have already suggested trying the online trials of each. When
I did so, the online audio for Sirius was abysmal & the choices of
which channels I could try for free was very limited. From what I've
read here, the radio audio has to be better than the online streams
used for trial listeners. And if the music styles you like aren't
available in the online trial, you can at least get a feel for the
amount of variety you'll get on a given channel.

Your second consideration is how you'll be listening. If your primary
listening is either car or home (or both), there's plenty of available
equipment for both, including high end stuff for the home audiophile.
If your possible mobile listening might include enough of a percentage
of nonvehicle listening, then your choice is limited -- Sirius does not
yet have "wearables" (units capable of battery operated live
reception). Both services have units that can record received content
for later portable playback -- so, if that's acceptable portability,
then both services are functional.

HTH

--
Bill K

[Rich]

Bill Kraski wrote:
> I did so, the online audio for Sirius was abysmal & the choices of
> which channels I could try for free was very limited.

What music channels from Sirius are missing from the online stream?

http://www.neoscrib.com/index.php?page=siriuslineup (available Sirius
channels online)

I really don't think you know what you are talking about. Or do you?

[Lowdown in Lodi]

An interesting and presumably objective review:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/11/AR2006081100085.html

[Bill Kraski]

Rich wrote:

> What music channels from Sirius are missing from the online stream?

When I was looking at both services, Sirius basically only had the rock
channels for the 3 day trial. No classical, no jazz, no new age, no
christian music, no chill, just rock. And Sirius had very poor audio
on their online streams.

> http://www.neoscrib.com/index.php?page=siriuslineup (available Sirius
> channels online)

Things have definitely changed, then. Right now, I'm listening to new
age streamed from Sirius on a new 3 day trial. I guess enough of us
must have complained that if we couldn't preview what we would be
paying for, then we'd go elsewhere.

> I really don't think you know what you are talking about. Or do you?

I guess not anymore. ;-) Someone at Sirius wised up. They finally
figured out that a subset of the rock channels was not sufficient to
interest all the potential subscribers that wouldn't normally listen to
those channels.

--
Bill K

[Oscar]

POPS wrote:
> I am thinking about getting sat radio. So can anyone give me the "real" 411
> on sat radio please?
>
>

Seems that XM has slightly better music options while Sirius has better
talk options.

Which ever you choose don't expect great sound. Expect something
between FM and AM depending on how you hook the system up. FM
modulation is the worst. Best would be a direct hook up to a Sat ready
receiver or direct FM connection.

Oscar

[Lowdown in Lodi]

>
> Which ever you choose don't expect great sound. Expect something between
> FM and AM depending on how you hook the system up. FM modulation is the
> worst. Best would be a direct hook up to a Sat ready receiver or direct
> FM connection.
>

With a direct-connected receiver (such as an OEM or PIO receiver), you will
get better-than-FM sound quality on all XM music channels. Most talk
channels, probably not.

With an FM-modulated device (wireless or hardwired) it is pretty tough to
argue that you're going to get better than FM sound, however.

[David]

On Mon, 14 Aug 2006 20:20:54 GMT, "Lowdown in Lodi" <Lodi@lowdown.com>
wrote:

>>
>> Which ever you choose don't expect great sound. Expect something between
>> FM and AM depending on how you hook the system up. FM modulation is the
>> worst. Best would be a direct hook up to a Sat ready receiver or direct
>> FM connection.
>>
>
>With a direct-connected receiver (such as an OEM or PIO receiver), you will
>get better-than-FM sound quality on all XM music channels. Most talk
>channels, probably not.
>
>With an FM-modulated device (wireless or hardwired) it is pretty tough to
>argue that you're going to get better than FM sound, however.
>
You must have some crappy sounding FM where you live. XM sounds like
a Muntz Stereo Pak with dirty heads.

http://www.8trackheaven.com/Images/muntz2.gif

[Lowdown in Lodi]

> You must have some crappy sounding FM where you live. XM sounds like
> a Muntz Stereo Pak with dirty heads.


FM sounds crappy everywhere.

[Captain Funn]

POPS wrote:
> I am thinking about getting sat radio. So can anyone give me the "real" 411
> on sat radio please?
>
>




POPS,

As for comparing content check out the Washington Post article from
yesterday. It is fairly comprehensive.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/11/AR2006081100085.html

[Lowdown in Lodi]

>
> POPS,
>
> As for comparing content check out the Washington Post article from
> yesterday. It is fairly comprehensive.
>
> http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/11/AR2006081100085.html


I suspect POPS gave up and got an Ipod after checking this thread out....

[CodeMonkey]

Lowdown in Lodi wrote:
>> POPS,
>>
>> As for comparing content check out the Washington Post article from
>> yesterday. It is fairly comprehensive.
>>
>> http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/11/AR2006081100085.html
>
>
> I suspect POPS gave up and got an Ipod after checking this thread out....
>
>

LOL You are probably right.

[fafaflunky]

CodeMonkey wrote:
> Lowdown in Lodi wrote:
> >> POPS,
> >>
> >> As for comparing content check out the Washington Post article from
> >> yesterday. It is fairly comprehensive.
> >>
> >> http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/11/AR2006081100085.html
> >
> >
> > I suspect POPS gave up and got an Ipod after checking this thread out....
> >
> >
>
> LOL You are probably right.

And Codemonkey gave up on women and started sucking cock

[CodeMonkey]

fafaflunky wrote:
> CodeMonkey wrote:
>> Lowdown in Lodi wrote:
>>>> POPS,
>>>>
>>>> As for comparing content check out the Washington Post article from
>>>> yesterday. It is fairly comprehensive.
>>>>
>>>> http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/11/AR2006081100085.html
>>>
>>> I suspect POPS gave up and got an Ipod after checking this thread out....
>>>
>>>
>> LOL You are probably right.
>
> And Codemonkey gave up on women and started sucking cock
>

You have a serious addiction to people being ---gots and sucking ----.
Wishful thinking maybe? Or is that you don't want to come out of the closet?

[ORION]

I prefer XM.