Satelite Radios

[Liz]

I'm looking for suggestions for someone who is interested in a satelite radio. Some of us are thinking of getting her the radio for her birthday. I know little about them and tried googling for info - brands, cost, etc., but came up with too many options. We would like to get a decent one that won't cost her too much monthly - we'll pay for the first few months.

BTW, can you take the radio traveling and get the same stations in different areas? Sorry if these are stupid questions.

Thanks for any info.

Liz

[another view]

Hi Liz, I've had Sirius since last August. Basically it comes down to either Sirius or XM which are both satellite radio services. One isn't better than the other - just different stations. Choose one or the other, then get a compatible radio from them. I know at least at sirius.com you can listen for free for a day or so to see if you (or your friend) likes it and XM probably has the same thing. I chose Sirius but they're both very similar. You may have heard news about a pending merger between the two and if it happens I'll keep it. Overall I like it but not sure if I like it enough to pay for it. What I find is that it's all new for about the first three months, and then after that there's the same familiarity (tediousness if that's a word) with regular stations. For example, I'm a big fan of singer/songwriters and their one station for this genre tends to favor about three artists on half the songs played...

I have mine set up in my car and sure, it's plug and play as advertised - but for the best results plan on spending some time tearing the car apart or spend some money on having it professionally installed. Sirius has a portable but I've never tried it. My radio can pop out of the car and into one of their boom boxes but I haven't done that either (wonder how good the signal is inside, need an antenna for that?).

However I'm sure it's worth the monthly fee just to never hear a car dealer commercial again!

[mwfanelli2]

I listen to XM radio via DirectTV. They carry about 83 XM channels.

As already mentioned, the stations start fall into a pattern that gets boring after a while. Also, I know of no one who listens to a lot of the stations. Usually, you pick out a few and ignore the rest. But you pay for them all. Out here, lots of people use a Sirrus radio transmitting to 88.1 FM on their radio. That's also an NPR station so I wind up hearing Sirrus radio in traffic! Howard Stern is the worst (for me, at least).

The best part about XM (and Sirrus) is the lack of commercials on MOST stations, some stations still have commercials. Yes, the stations are exactly the same no matter where you go. This is great if you like consistency, bad if you like to hear the local color and diversity.

In really rural areas or worse, in the mountains, the signal can disappear. Of course, even regular radio disappears too. Here in my part of Perryville Maryland, my landlord figured out that there is no XM or Sirius service, the signal is somehow blocked and they don't put ground-based repeaters in semi-rural areas like this. Make sure the service can be received where she lives or be prepared to install a outside antenna on the roof.

For me, I listen to XM because it is part of the DirectTV lineup. If I had to pay separately for it, I wouldn't bother. I should mention that there is a guy here at the college who absolutely loves XM. Just a matter of personal preference!

[Liz]

Thanks Steve and Michael - for all the information and input.

After reading all of this information the bottom line is that this would not be the kind of thing to give as a gift. There are one or two stations that carry some of the programs she likes, but probably not enough to warrant giving it to her - with the stipulation that if she wants to "keep" it she will have to pay for it. I'm not that sure she would want to invest in it now.

I was surprised in the sense that I thought there was NO advertising. Interesting. AND money is a bit scarce these days.

I appreciate you're taking the time to give me all this information.

Liz

[Greg McCary]

I had SIrius for sometime and liked it. I think Sirius and XM are talking merge. They are having a hard time competing against internet radio among other things. The comedy stations are, well, Nasty. and the rap stations are too. Parental discretion advised

[Liz]

I had SIrius for sometime and liked it. I think Sirius and XM are talking merge. They are having a hard time competing against internet radio among other things. The comedy stations are, well, Nasty. and the rap stations are too. Parental discretion advised

Thanks Greg, I appreciate the information.

Actually the person for whom the radio is being considered is more of a spiritual person, although she also enjoys pop and semi-classical music. However, she is interested in stations that carry EWTN and the Catholic Radio station and they are both on Satelite 24/7 I believe. They're not always available on regular radio. However, I think they are also available on short-wave radio.

Do you think short wave radio is a good option? I think it's free and they do carry stations that regular radios don't.

Thanks.
Liz

[mwfanelli2]

I was surprised in the sense that I thought there was NO advertising. Interesting. AND money is a bit scarce these days.

Don't get me wrong, the vast majority are free. But a few of the offerings are, I guess, feeds with commercials. It's not something that makes a real difference.

[mwfanelli2]

Also...

You know, satellite television might be an option. They have a lot of religious networks on 24/7 there as well as XM radio. I can't give you the list as I've eliminated them from my personal guide! For some reason, I start to smoke when they're on...

[retroactiv]

I really love my XM it is great to have on a long trip along with being able to have what is it about 200 channels of anything to tune to, if you are like I am and listen to music based on mood. Yes you can listen to the same stations on your trip from NY to CA

[WsW-WYATT-EARP]

The biggest thing to think about are you going to be in a place to listen to it long enough to make it worth the monthly fee? When I first got my XM radio 5+ years ago I was at a desk job. Had to run my antenna into my bosses office in his window so I could get reception. They are very touchy to direct line of sight (just like direct tv). In the car the reception is great 99% of the time. Every once in a while it will loose signal for a few secs then pop right back on.

I have since moved back to the shop and no longer get to listen to it at work. I do use it in the car still. I have the XM to go which came with the car and home saddles. It is also portable and will record if I want it to. My main reason for going with XM was MLB and Nascar. XM has since lost Nascar to Sirus.

My wife has XM in her car since her commute is 45min + each way. My brother has just put one in his truck also and loves it. The nice thing is they have the "family plan". Which you are allowed I believe 4 radios after the 1st one at a discounted rate. Also you get the ability to listen to XM online with your user name and password.

As AV said - the difference between Sirus and XM is pretty much the extra channels. The basic channel line up is pretty much the same - your picks of comedy / country / pop ..... The extra channels is where they vary. Go to best buy or circuit city and you can listen to each one in the store. Don't go by the reception they have in store cause they run a repeater so they get good reception. The antenna will get a signal through anything pretty much except metal.

Everyone that I have talked to that has one or the other just loves them. I wouldn't trade mine for anything. And yes - as Chris said - you can listen to the same station from coast to coast.

[Greg McCary]

Thanks Greg, I appreciate the information.

Actually the person for whom the radio is being considered is more of a spiritual person, although she also enjoys pop and semi-classical music. However, she is interested in stations that carry EWTN and the Catholic Radio station and they are both on Satelite 24/7 I believe. They're not always available on regular radio. However, I think they are also available on short-wave radio.

Do you think short wave radio is a good option? I think it's free and they do carry stations that regular radios don't.

Thanks.
Liz

I am not sure if she would like short wave. If you call Sirius's 1-800 number and act like you are interested most likely they will send you a package, radio and all for free. They have sent me two and charged nothing with no type of contract.. The ones in the stores offer rebates but I didn't want to fool with that.

[Liz]

Ben & Chris,
Thank you for taking the time to provide all this information and for sharing your experiences. Having read all of the above, I may at least look into it further (prices, etc). I'll have to see how much this is going to cost. I like the idea of getting more than one. I was initially thinking of getting one for a friend, but don't want to give her an added expense after the initial "gift" has run out. However, maybe I'll just talk to her about it first which seems to be the best option for me (and her) personally.

Liz

[Liz]

I am not sure if she would like short wave. If you call Sirius's 1-800 number and act like you are interested most likely they will send you a package, radio and all for free. They have sent me two and charged nothing with no type of contract.. The ones in the stores offer rebates but I didn't want to fool with that.

That's interesting - thanks for sharing it. The next step is to check out the cost - initial and ongoing.

Thanks again.

Liz

[Jaedon]

I have used both Sirius and XM and I find that Sirius has better content as well as a greater variety of music styles to listen to. By greater styles I mean more than one station of each of the various styles available. That way you don't get stuck in the rotation as often. Sirius also seems to have better broadcast power as the reception is much better and was constant even through the mountains in Virginia and Tennessee while traveling from Toronto to Florida. XM was unable to provide this reception consistency.

[another view]

Well, I guess I'm not alone in my opinions about satellite radio... Listening to Steve Earle's show yesterday morning was worth the subscription price for me, so it is different than regular radio. I'm also a big NPR fan but I think my local station is better.

I know someone with XM who had information from them about the merger several months ago. If they do it, they are (or at least were) planning on offering packages as low as about $7/month. It was something along the lines of pick 50 stations from either XM or Sirius, but if you wanted everything it would cost quite a bit more. Since I have my favorite half-dozen channels I'd stay with it for $7 month if they do that. I don't think I'd pay $150/year (roughly) for it again though.

[Liz]

Well, I guess I'm not alone in my opinions about satellite radio... Listening to Steve Earle's show yesterday morning was worth the subscription price for me, so it is different than regular radio. I'm also a big NPR fan but I think my local station is better.

I know someone with XM who had information from them about the merger several months ago. If they do it, they are (or at least were) planning on offering packages as low as about $7/month. It was something along the lines of pick 50 stations from either XM or Sirius, but if you wanted everything it would cost quite a bit more. Since I have my favorite half-dozen channels I'd stay with it for $7 month if they do that. I don't think I'd pay $150/year (roughly) for it again though.

That's good to know. The question is "when" will the decision to merge or not to merge transpire? Guess I'll wait a while.

Liz