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Which satellite radio service do you prefer?
XM
66%
 66%  [ 6 ]
Sirius
33%
 33%  [ 3 ]
Total Votes : 9

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FootHiker
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PostMon Jan 31, 2011 7:19 am 
I'm sick to death of the limited choices on my car radio. Especially the lack of a real news channel (NPR and "All Things Considered" - snicker - is not news - but more on that later). I put "satellite radio" in Google and came up with two main providers, Sirius and XM. (The article also says they've merged.) So, my questions: 1. Is a satellite radio subscription worth it? Mainly for the car, that is. 2. Which do you prefer and why -- XM or Sirius?

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jenjen
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PostMon Jan 31, 2011 7:25 am 
I believe Sirius and XM are the same now. Our truck has satelliet radio, and it's awesome. The next car we buy will have satellite radio, no question.

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treeswarper
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PostMon Jan 31, 2011 7:44 am 
I have the ancient Roady system. It has a flaw which I like but the FCC probably doesn't. paranoid.gif If I have the receiver on, and a portable radio set at 88.3, I can listen to it on any portable radie within a close range of the receiver. No cables. I think there was a recall to fix that. I like it as I can listen to satellite radio all over the house and in the shop. It is harder in the shop, as it is a metal building. Yes, there are quite a few news stations and you can pick your bias. smile.gif

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FootHiker
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PostMon Jan 31, 2011 7:57 am 
jenjen wrote:
I believe Sirius and XM are the same now.
Wikileaks says the programming is different, even though they are owned by the same company now. That's what I'm asking, which do you prefer for the content?

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Spotly
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PostMon Jan 31, 2011 8:17 am 
Neither - I'm waiting to understand it myself. Right now I'm more than happy with our local Bob FM. Limited commercials, no news, no morning talk...just a good mix of all kinds of music but mostly rock. The problem is they don't tell you the name of the song and I'd like that so I can download my favorites onto the MP3 player for my exercise hikes. I think satellite does though....so I'm looking at getting one too.

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whistlingmarmot
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PostMon Jan 31, 2011 9:18 am 
Stay away!!! In my opinion they have engaged in deceptive business practices. In fact, the WA state AG has received over 100 complaints about the company. Check google and you'll see it is a nationwide issue. I've canceled my service and just listen to recorded music in the car. A Zune Pass provides nearly the same functionally for less cost.

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FootHiker
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PostMon Jan 31, 2011 10:18 am 
whistlingmarmot wrote:
Stay away!!! In my opinion they have engaged in deceptive business practices. In fact, the WA state AG has received over 100 complaints about the company. Check google and you'll see it is a nationwide issue. I've canceled my service and just listen to recorded music in the car. A Zune Pass provides nearly the same functionally for less cost.
That really sucks. I'll stay away. Is there any alternative, other than Zune Pass that provides music only (no news)? Banks and corporations today all seem to cheat and steal. And so brazenly.

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veronika
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PostMon Jan 31, 2011 10:31 am 
whistlingmarmot wrote:
Stay away!!! In my opinion they have engaged in deceptive business practices. In fact, the WA state AG has received over 100 complaints about the company. Check google and you'll see it is a nationwide issue. I've canceled my service and just listen to recorded music in the car. A Zune Pass provides nearly the same functionally for less cost.
I loved my XM however, they are shady with thier business practices. I decided not to renew my subscription and told them I did not want it anymore but they signed me up for a new subscription anyways. I had hell getting my money back as they were on auto-bill pay. I had to switch bank accounts because of them. They would not take me off auto bill pay either.

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whistlingmarmot
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PostMon Jan 31, 2011 10:53 am 
If you have 3G cell coverage then you can go the Pandora route on a smartphone. There are many limitations to watch out for though. Cost, coverage (mine works fine in the metro area), and unlimited data plans are the biggest issues. I'm not familiar with Pandora for news, only music...though you might be able to find an app that streams your desired news source.

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Hulksmash
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PostMon Jan 31, 2011 11:43 am 
None of the above. HD radio, its simply digital radio (if i understand correctly) it's signal piggybacks the traditional analog signal. It has no subscription fees, the sound quality is better. And yes there are even some stations are transmitting commercial free, or limited commercials.

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Lono
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PostMon Jan 31, 2011 3:02 pm 
If I can suggest, get a Zune HD, load your favorite music, connect it via the aux input to your car stereo, and play it on shuffle play. The latest Zunes also come with an HD radio tuner so you get the local stations (free) that broadcast that. I listen to KBCS sometimes, but other local stations do HD FM. The music subscription runs about $14.95 a month, its all you can eat, download and listen as long as you maintain a subscription - there's also an offer of an annual subscription for a month or two less per year. With that you get 10 free music downloads a month, so if you use that you're paying on the order of 4.95 a month for listening to whatever music you want. Of course you can also mix in your own music too, easy enough to rip and load onto the player. Not sure how this compares financially to XM / Sirius - a ZuneHD runs about $160 from Amazon, 14.95 a month, keep ~120 songs from that per year. I use my Zune at home, in my car alot, and at work, and on the road for watching movies etc. I also have music over 2 home PCs, the Xbox and my laptop, all included in the price. Maybe XM has a similar portable form factor to compare to. Or you can do the same with an iPod, I don't care - although there's no subscription there, or HD radio tuner either. Anyway, I like the Zune for music, podcasts etc. What you don't get might be talk radio, ex. Howard Stern.

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SlingShot
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PostMon Jan 31, 2011 3:56 pm 
I 2nd HD radio! Sat music is crap. The compression they use sounds like crap on a nice system. Thats why most systems are in cars not homes. Most stations broadcast multiple HD signals. HD1 is a simucast of normal broadcast, HD2 is an alt. KISW HD2 plays audio from concerts. The mountain HD2 is delta blues. Once you have HD radio your stations double or even triple depending on location. 1 downfall is HD transmition range is about half that of traditional FM. Also, your AM stations now sound more like FM.

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Grizzy
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PostMon Jan 31, 2011 4:28 pm 
DogNTallGrass wrote:
Sat music is crap. The compression they use sounds like crap on a nice system. Thats why most systems are in cars not homes.
Well I LOVE my XM radio. I've had XM for many years now, if they were to start playing commercials on the music channels I would be out of there fast though... YES, they are a bunch of as#wipes, but Listening to Jazz, Alt Rock, Groove, Comedy, Baseball, and Deep tracks with no ads is enough to spoil you inside of a week. (Baseball and Comedy do have ads BTW) The only thing better than commercial free music is Pandora, or my own pod. I can't get Pandora in my truck, but XM is very close.... I've had some run ins with their customer service too...They sure could use some work there...

All the birds have flown up and gone; A lonely cloud floats leisurely by. We never tire of looking at each other - Only the mountain and I. ~Li Po~
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Backpacker Joe
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PostMon Jan 31, 2011 4:40 pm 
I subscribe to XM. I has superior talk radio IMO. Serious might have better music.

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Dayhike Mike
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PostMon Jan 31, 2011 4:42 pm 
Obviously, that's because the crap on talk radio can't be taken Seriusly. moon.gif

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