77017 Posted May 17, 2005 Share Posted May 17, 2005 I think there was small discussion about this under a different topic. I wanted to find out if any of you are subscribers to satellite radio and if so, which company and what do you think about it. I just got sirius and now I can never go back to terrestrial radio. Listening to regular radionow is like being hogtied viet-cong style. Same 3 payola songs over and over again sandwiched between 50 minutes of commercials per hour. No thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
travelguy_73 Posted May 17, 2005 Share Posted May 17, 2005 I have had XM almost since day 1, and love it. It was actually the deciding factor in my new car purchase (VW didn't have it, Honda did ). I have the boombox at the office and so never get to miss my tunes. As for the XM vs Sirius, that is an entirely different topic. I think they are both relatively similar, but each have their strong points (depending on the genre you prefer). At the end of the day, both of them are needed to effectively balance Clear Channel, Infinity, etc. Xm411.com has some terrific forums dedicated to XM. I'm sure there are Sirius sites out there too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emil76 Posted May 17, 2005 Share Posted May 17, 2005 I spend most of my day in the car and local radio was driving me crazy with the commercials, so I jumped on with XM shortly after they started operation. I think that both companies are similar in programming, but I think XM is winning on the technology side of things. I recently bought a MyFi, which is their walkman style device, and I listen to it everywhere from in the car to Memorial Park when I'm running. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpcampbell Posted May 17, 2005 Share Posted May 17, 2005 We have it in one of our cars. My wife loves it, so I re-upped for another 2 years or so.I personally am addicted to local sports talk radio, so it's not that useful for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoustonMidtown Posted May 17, 2005 Share Posted May 17, 2005 I have Sirius in my car....I would never own another car without it - I got so tired of driving 30 minutes to work and never hearing any music - just talk, talk commercial, talk.I chose Sirius because it was available for my car - I don't know all the pros/cons of XM vs Sirius - check out last months "Cargo" magazine - they did a pretty decent comparison of the 2....if I remember, XM won for their technology, Sirius won for their programming, XM for their clarity, and a tie for customer service (don't hold me to all those - Ive slept since reading the article!!)Their is a great variety to chose from...too much actually....I have 5 or 6 favorites that I listen to regularly.....the rest are fun to tune in to every once in a while to see whats going on.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewMND Posted May 17, 2005 Share Posted May 17, 2005 I got XM as a gift for Christmas two years ago, and I recently got the boombox for my house. It is one of the greatest things ever for the time spent driving in Houston. I love the 90s station, I graduated HS in 2000, so I guess I'm a child of the 90s, I also enjoy the rock stations Lucy & Ethel, but there are so many stations to choose from for just about every type of taste. As far as XM or Sirius, I have no idea what the difference is, but I do think Sirius might have more sports channels, I know XM has baseball. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpcampbell Posted May 17, 2005 Share Posted May 17, 2005 Anyone had experience with deadspots at all? I was escecially wonder how the MyFi did around and inside tall buildings, etc. I could throw a paper airplane out my window and hit ClearChannel, but I can't pick up any of their stations (AM at least) at my desk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MidtownCoog Posted May 17, 2005 Share Posted May 17, 2005 So did you Satellite fans ever buy music to begin with? Or were you always radio fans, and clear channel send you over the edge?Just curious Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomv Posted May 17, 2005 Share Posted May 17, 2005 Narrowly programmed commercial free music was around before Sirius and XM, wasn't it? (CD player, tape player). If money is no concern, though, I wouldn't mind having one or both in my car. Can you have both? But I really enjoy the local talk, sports, and news that old fashioned radio provides. There's enough good stations on the airwaves where you can surf around to avoid many of the commercials. I must admit, though, a few ads aren't all bad. The local commercials, especially, help you keep up with what's going on in the community, what's new, where the good deals are, etc... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
travelguy_73 Posted May 17, 2005 Share Posted May 17, 2005 So did you Satellite fans ever buy music to begin with? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
travelguy_73 Posted May 17, 2005 Share Posted May 17, 2005 Anyone had experience with deadspots at all? I was escecially wonder how the MyFi did around and inside tall buildings, etc. I could throw a paper airplane out my window and hit ClearChannel, but I can't pick up any of their stations (AM at least) at my desk.<{POST_SNAPBACK}>I rarely encounter deadspots. The only major place I know of is around Terminal A at IAH--totally goes out there. Otherwise, even in my office parking garage, I get tunes.I should add that even with all the repeaters around Houston, there will be some deadspots--like in the middle of buildings, basements, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewMND Posted May 18, 2005 Share Posted May 18, 2005 So did you Satellite fans ever buy music to begin with? Or were you always radio fans, and clear channel send you over the edge?Just curiousBack in the early years of high school I did buy CDs, but then I moved on to downloading when Napster became all the rage, and I still download, it's just now I pay for it, I subscribe to Napster to Go, that's about 16 bucks a month, and then my XM subscription is 10 dollars. Usually I'll hear some song on the XM I never heard before that I like, remember it, and when I get home download that song to my mp3 player. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
editor Posted May 18, 2005 Share Posted May 18, 2005 I've had Sirius for I don't know how long -- maybe three years or so. I haven't had much problem with dead spots. I drove from Houston to San Antonio to New Orleans to Indianapolis and the signal only skipped once, and that was out near Beaumont in the middle of nowhere with no buildings or bridges around. Weird.Both companies are rapidly deploying terestrial repeated to fill in the gaps. I find coverage in downtown Houston to be surprisingly lacking. I accidentally severed the satellite antenna on my unit and it was only usable in a small portion of downtown off the terrestrial antenna. But I can go anywhere in downtown Chicago with full signal and no satellite antenna. I guess bigger markets get them first.I have Sirius in my home now, and I can't imagine going back to regular radio. If you're getting it for your home and you don't have a south-facing window for the antenna, you might consider Sirius instead of XM. I've heard anecdotal evidence that XM is much more dependent on a view of the southern sky. I guess this makes sense because XM's birds are in geostationary orbit, while the Sirius satellites make a crazy figure-8 orbit from the north pole down to Brazil and back. My advice: Go to Circuit City and get a Sirius rig. Then go to Best Buy and get an XM rig. Take them both home and use them for a week to compare the content. Then return the one you like less. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
editor Posted May 18, 2005 Share Posted May 18, 2005 One more note about how I feel about satellite radio.I have loved radio since I was a child listening to WNBC/New York under the covers on my battery-operated Pac-Man radio (speaker in the mouth). I worked in radio for nine years as a DJ, a news reporter, a news anchor, a news director, and eventually a program director for a news/talk station. In spite of all my love for radio, with the exception of public radio I haven't listened to a single terrestrial station since I got satellite. It's just that good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dalparadise Posted May 18, 2005 Share Posted May 18, 2005 One more note about how I feel about satellite radio.I have loved radio since I was a child listening to WNBC/New York under the covers on my battery-operated Pac-Man radio (speaker in the mouth). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoustonMidtown Posted May 18, 2005 Share Posted May 18, 2005 So did you Satellite fans ever buy music to begin with? Or were you always radio fans, and clear channel send you over the edge?Just curious<{POST_SNAPBACK}>I was a CD guy - I bought them and burned my own..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
77017 Posted May 18, 2005 Author Share Posted May 18, 2005 A, I don't have a c.d. Player in the car I'm in most of the time. Two, to buy the c.d.'s that match the selection of songs I hear on sirius would cost in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. And D, there's no way I could ever match the level of spinning the sirius d.j.'s spin at, especially with a bunch of c.d.s while I'm driving. D.j. Premier has the illest mix show on sirius, every friday night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
editor Posted May 18, 2005 Share Posted May 18, 2005 XMU is like 97x in Cincinnati (independent alternative station...BAM! the future of rock and roll!) I remember 97X from when I lived in Cincinnati. I could never get a signal in my home because WOXY was way way up in Oxford. But I could listen in the car.Anyway, they're gone now. Format changed. Owner, too, I think. But I thought I heard they were going to try to make a go of internet radio, which means you can listen to them again, even though you're not in Cincinnati anymore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoustonMidtown Posted May 18, 2005 Share Posted May 18, 2005 A, I don't have a c.d. Player in the car I'm in most of the time. Two, to buy the c.d.'s that match the selection of songs I hear on sirius would cost in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. And D, there's no way I could ever match the level of spinning the sirius d.j.'s spin at, especially with a bunch of c.d.s while I'm driving. D.j. Premier has the illest mix show on sirius, every friday night.<{POST_SNAPBACK}>What channel on Sirius ?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
77017 Posted May 19, 2005 Author Share Posted May 19, 2005 What channel on Sirius ??<{POST_SNAPBACK}>wax 42 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musicman Posted February 19, 2007 Share Posted February 19, 2007 Feb. 19, 2007 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricco67 Posted February 19, 2007 Share Posted February 19, 2007 Sirius XM? My radio can handle whatever option they can come up with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoustonMidtown Posted February 19, 2007 Share Posted February 19, 2007 Feb. 19, 2007 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
houstonmacbro Posted February 20, 2007 Share Posted February 20, 2007 Yeah, I am kinda wondering that too ... especially since I own some shares. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoustonMidtown Posted February 20, 2007 Share Posted February 20, 2007 Yeah, I am kinda wondering that too ... especially since I own some shares.Here's what happened overnight:Shares of Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. and XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. both shot higher on Tuesday, a day after the two U.S. satellite radio operators agreed to a $4.6 billion merger.In early electronic composite trading, shares of XM, the company to be acquired under the deal's stock-swap structure, jumped 28.4 percent to $17.95, their highest in nine months. Meanwhile Sirius share rose 12.7 percent to $4.17, their highest in about a month. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lockmat Posted July 23, 2007 Share Posted July 23, 2007 I'm listening to one of the CEO's of XM or Sirius on cspan radio, whichever is taking over. He's saying the prices are gonna be like 30% lower and there will be different packages which include a family package that does not include any adult content and even an a-la-carte service. For that, the person will have to get a new radio. For the family package, they won't. I think the family package will be about $11 and the a-la-carte even cheaper.I don't know the technicalities of course, but if radio can do it, why can't cable do a-la-carte? I know one of the arguments is that prices would go way up for that. Radio and tv are probably two totally different businesses even though they are media and that's why it won't work. But I'd like to hear the reasons.-----He just said they haven't made a profit yet either. Weird how that can work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
editor Posted July 23, 2007 Share Posted July 23, 2007 I'm listening to one of the CEO's of XM or Sirius on cspan radio, whichever is taking over. He's saying the prices are gonna be like 30% lower and there will be different packages which include a family package that does not include any adult content and even an a-la-carte service. For that, the person will have to get a new radio. For the family package, they won't. I think the family package will be about $11 and the a-la-carte even cheaper.I just don't believe it. I've heard them say over and over how combining the two companies will save money and that money will be passed on to the customer, but when has that EVER happened? When companies combine they save money and keep it for themselves, either for expansion or as profits.I just don't see how reducing competition is going to lower prices. Look at Netflix. Last week it announced it's actually lowering the price of its most popular plans because of competition from Blockbuster. That's how the market works. It's how capitalism has worked for hundreds of years. Combining Sirius and XM just means bigger cigars for the CEOs.I don't know the technicalities of course, but if radio can do it, why can't cable do a-la-carte? I know one of the arguments is that prices would go way up for that. Radio and tv are probably two totally different businesses even though they are media and that's why it won't work. But I'd like to hear the reasons.From a TECHNICAL standpoint, as long as you have a modern cable box the cable companies can do a-la-carte cable. The problem is that they're mired in layer after layer of legacy contracts. That's why Dish and Direct are somewhat more flexable -- they didn't have those historic obligations to uphold.A good example was back around 2000 when Disney wanted Time Warner Cable to carry Toon Disney and some other channels in Houston that Time Warner didn't think its cusomers wanted. Disney threatened to not renew its contract for the cable company to carry KTRK unless the other channels were brought on board. The result is that Time Warner, now Comcast, is stuck giving you, and charging you, for channels you don't want (Toon Disney, etc...) so that you can get the one channel you do want (KTRK). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lockmat Posted July 23, 2007 Share Posted July 23, 2007 I just don't believe it. I've heard them say over and over how combining the two companies will save money and that money will be passed on to the customer, but when has that EVER happened? When companies combine they save money and keep it for themselves, either for expansion or as profits.I just don't see how reducing competition is going to lower prices. Look at Netflix. Last week it announced it's actually lowering the price of its most popular plans because of competition from Blockbuster. That's how the market works. It's how capitalism has worked for hundreds of years. Combining Sirius and XM just means bigger cigars for the CEOs.So do you think he's just lying?Maybe part of the reason they will drop is b/c although two satellite companies won't be competing against each other, the merger of them both still need to compete against HD radio and free radio?I know after hearing those prices, I'll seriously consider giving into an $11 family package. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musicman Posted July 23, 2007 Share Posted July 23, 2007 So do you think he's just lying?Maybe part of the reason they will drop is b/c although two satellite companies won't be competing against each other, the merger of them both still need to compete against HD radio and free radio?I know after hearing those prices, I'll seriously consider giving into an $11 family package.isn't it 12.95 now? or something along those lines? dropping it to $11 would make you change your mind? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lockmat Posted July 23, 2007 Share Posted July 23, 2007 isn't it 12.95 now? or something along those lines? dropping it to $11 would make you change your mind?I think he said that would be the family rate, which is lower than the would-be normal rate which includes everything, and that price he said would be 30% lower than the current rate. I don't know the current rate. Is it really $12?----Just checked it. More or less, it is $12. I never knew the price. I wonder what all that "cheaper" talk was about.http://www.sirius.com/servlet/ContentServe...d=1150907696769 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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