01-09-02, 08:26 AM
Yes folks its here, satellite radio! Imagine driving coast to coast and listening to the same station with no interuptions or static and is almost CD Quality sound.
Well that wish is now reality with Satellite Radio! There are now 2 companies in the US offering satellite radio service, these companies are XM and Sirius.
XM is considered now to be the leader of the Industry as they have been live and on the air for months now, they have reported at the CES that they have already topped 30,000 subscribers.
Sirius needs to play catch up, just launching this week at the CES show in Las Vegas, Sirius is charging $2 more a month then XM, however Sirius has far more commercial free stations then XM.
I had a chance to listen to both XM and Siruis this past week and here are my thoughts in the limited time I had to listen to both services.
I got to play with XM on a real XM radio at a local Best Buys store. I must admit I was not impressed with any of the radios on display. I had a thought in my head that the LCD displays on the units would show information such as song and artist information, but on these radios the only thing displayed is the channel name to which you were tuned.
Flipping through stations is not as easy as tuning a dial, you push a button then you wait for it to tune the next station. Because of the buffer the radio builds up it takes almost 5 seconds from then you change the channel til you actually hear it. So be warned for you channel surfers you will not like satellite radio.
XM's channel lineup was impressive and some of the basic channels were easy to remember, such as the 80's on channel 8, the 50's on 5 and so on. When you get into the more diverse channels things are kind of hard to find. They need to find a way to group things so its easy to remember. One plus is on all the XM programmed Channels the DJ's tell you often the channel number you are listening to, therefore etching it in your head making it easier to find next time.
Allmost all the XM programed channels feature DJ's who help you get through your ride. All of them I have found to make good copany, they were whitty and informative.
One thing I found interesting (yet boring) was XM has a few talk radio channels that it programs. The problem thus far is getting enough people to call in.
Most XM station do have commercials however unlike traditional FM or AM the breaks are only 30 seconds long and are far appart. No 3 min long breaks like you have on FM.
On to Sirius, I listened to Sirius via the Sirius website www.siriusradio.com (http://www.siriusradio.com) The audio on the website is live, all Sirius originated channels are online, the syndicated channels such as radio disney and E! Radio are not available online.
Sirius should change its name to Siriusly Confusing! While XM's Channels tell you what format you are listening to Sirius has channels which in no way tell you what your hearing.
For example on XM - Adult Contemporary is Adult Contemporary. On Sirius is "The Bridge"
And while XM has channels seperated by decades Sirius has decided to blend decades togeter. They dont have a 50 and 60's channel, instead these 2 decades are blended together to form Sirius Gold. Most 50's and 60's music purists will tell you that 50's music is much diffrent then 60's music. With all the space these guys have they should have them seperated and made a blend channel.
While some channels do have DJ's most do not the only feature bumpers telling you that "your listing to the bridge" they NEVER mention channel numbers, those taking sirius will find it take a long time to figure out where everything is. As far as Dj's goes, the ones they have do not have the personality of the ones on XM. Sometimes they will tell you its 15 past the hour but other then that not much more.
Sirius is more like listening to a CDplayer with a bunch of songs then listening to a radio station. For me the lack of personality would probably make me feel lonely while XM's personality makes you feel like you got a buddy in the car with you.
Sirius also needs to improve its information on the type of equipment you need and whats available, clicking on a product list on their page tells you that its coming soon. Not a good way to come out of the gate.
If I had to choose one company for my satellite radio I would go with XM. XM just feels good, it does not feel like a stale old CD player. XM has personality.
With that being said with the current equipment out there I wouldn't actually choose eaither company at this time. While its nice I still don't feel like its ready for prime time. My wife actually told me the other day I could purchase a satellite radio for my truck and I suprised her by saying I did not want one "YET" :D
Im Scott and thats my review.
COMMENTS PLEASE
Well that wish is now reality with Satellite Radio! There are now 2 companies in the US offering satellite radio service, these companies are XM and Sirius.
XM is considered now to be the leader of the Industry as they have been live and on the air for months now, they have reported at the CES that they have already topped 30,000 subscribers.
Sirius needs to play catch up, just launching this week at the CES show in Las Vegas, Sirius is charging $2 more a month then XM, however Sirius has far more commercial free stations then XM.
I had a chance to listen to both XM and Siruis this past week and here are my thoughts in the limited time I had to listen to both services.
I got to play with XM on a real XM radio at a local Best Buys store. I must admit I was not impressed with any of the radios on display. I had a thought in my head that the LCD displays on the units would show information such as song and artist information, but on these radios the only thing displayed is the channel name to which you were tuned.
Flipping through stations is not as easy as tuning a dial, you push a button then you wait for it to tune the next station. Because of the buffer the radio builds up it takes almost 5 seconds from then you change the channel til you actually hear it. So be warned for you channel surfers you will not like satellite radio.
XM's channel lineup was impressive and some of the basic channels were easy to remember, such as the 80's on channel 8, the 50's on 5 and so on. When you get into the more diverse channels things are kind of hard to find. They need to find a way to group things so its easy to remember. One plus is on all the XM programmed Channels the DJ's tell you often the channel number you are listening to, therefore etching it in your head making it easier to find next time.
Allmost all the XM programed channels feature DJ's who help you get through your ride. All of them I have found to make good copany, they were whitty and informative.
One thing I found interesting (yet boring) was XM has a few talk radio channels that it programs. The problem thus far is getting enough people to call in.
Most XM station do have commercials however unlike traditional FM or AM the breaks are only 30 seconds long and are far appart. No 3 min long breaks like you have on FM.
On to Sirius, I listened to Sirius via the Sirius website www.siriusradio.com (http://www.siriusradio.com) The audio on the website is live, all Sirius originated channels are online, the syndicated channels such as radio disney and E! Radio are not available online.
Sirius should change its name to Siriusly Confusing! While XM's Channels tell you what format you are listening to Sirius has channels which in no way tell you what your hearing.
For example on XM - Adult Contemporary is Adult Contemporary. On Sirius is "The Bridge"
And while XM has channels seperated by decades Sirius has decided to blend decades togeter. They dont have a 50 and 60's channel, instead these 2 decades are blended together to form Sirius Gold. Most 50's and 60's music purists will tell you that 50's music is much diffrent then 60's music. With all the space these guys have they should have them seperated and made a blend channel.
While some channels do have DJ's most do not the only feature bumpers telling you that "your listing to the bridge" they NEVER mention channel numbers, those taking sirius will find it take a long time to figure out where everything is. As far as Dj's goes, the ones they have do not have the personality of the ones on XM. Sometimes they will tell you its 15 past the hour but other then that not much more.
Sirius is more like listening to a CDplayer with a bunch of songs then listening to a radio station. For me the lack of personality would probably make me feel lonely while XM's personality makes you feel like you got a buddy in the car with you.
Sirius also needs to improve its information on the type of equipment you need and whats available, clicking on a product list on their page tells you that its coming soon. Not a good way to come out of the gate.
If I had to choose one company for my satellite radio I would go with XM. XM just feels good, it does not feel like a stale old CD player. XM has personality.
With that being said with the current equipment out there I wouldn't actually choose eaither company at this time. While its nice I still don't feel like its ready for prime time. My wife actually told me the other day I could purchase a satellite radio for my truck and I suprised her by saying I did not want one "YET" :D
Im Scott and thats my review.
COMMENTS PLEASE