directv xm channels contract

[pez2002]

does anyone know how long directv has a contract with xm to carry the channels ? i will never forget my first listen to xm november 15th 2004 on directv :)

[Thaedron]

No, but I wish it would expire and bring back the old music choice channels. The XM stations that my wife and I like have DJs that we don't. And their Christmas music channel has a "long distance dedication" every other song. I want digital MUSIC, nothing more.

[dphil9833]

I am in complete agreement, Music Choice was 100's of times better than the obnoxious DJ's on XM. Also I strongly feel the sound quality on Music Choice was noticably better, XM seems to be sampled at a lower bit rate then Music Choice was. When they switched, I fired off a email to D* and got back a standard form response that D* routinely looks for ways to provide more value for its customers etc etc.

[Steve Robertson]

I agree Music Choice is much better and hope it comes back.

[Steve Mehs]

Other then the decades channels, which are done that way intentionally, which channels do you all hear DJ chatter on? I hardly ever hear any and I’ve listened to XM every day for the past 4 years. Some channels I listen to have absolutely have no on air personalities (Big Tracks, Lucy, XM Chill) some only have DJs at certain times of the day (Enlighten, BPM) and other stations have on air personalities that really define the channel, (Watercolors, The System) the DJ really adds a lot to the listening experience. I couldn’t imagine listening to smooth jazz without Trinity or listening to the specialty shows on The System without Zoltar.

I want digital MUSIC, nothing more.
www.apple.com/ipod

Satellite Radio is just that, radio, not a digital jukebox service. As long as the DJs aren’t like Sirius DJs where they bring up irrelevant blabber, I say bring ‘em on!

I have Music Choice on cable and I love it, but it’s not designed for listening long term. Some channels appear to be nothing but a megachanger on loop. Playlists are deeper then Muzak, but XM has much better playlists. Some channels on Music Choice just seem dead and that’s because the service not really meant for entertainment and serious listening, it’s meant for background noise in a retail environment. XM channels are programmed wit pasion, Music Choice is programmed like a robot.

[CHDinCT]

Another vote (by me for my wife) for Music Choice. She loved their Show Tunes music channel much better than the XM equivalent. Liked to listen to Broadway show tunes while cleaning. Too much talkie talk on the XM version.

[houskamp]

I wish they would make it a addon package.. would save me some money...

[cbeckner80]

I wish they would make it a addon package.. would save me some money...

Yea, except they probably wouldn't reduce the price if they took it out of the current packages, but would of course have a charge to add it in as a seperate choice.

But, I do like XM better than Dish's Sirius which I had for several years.

:grin:

[dpeters11]

I found I like XM, in fact since D* added XM I've added regular XM tuners. I love Cinemagic, no DJs.

[CCarncross]

The SQ issue would probably be here today even if we still had MC, the compression as with most regular channels has increased in recent years, it may get better after D10 and/or D11 are up and operational.

[Steve Mehs]

No the sound quality on XM on DirecTV was never as good as Music Choice on DirecTV. Nov 14th MC sounded excellent, Nov 15th, XM was not as good. Music Choice had better frequency response and was a little less compressed. It is also possible DirecTV used the same amount of bandwidth the 36 Music Choice channels took to broadcast the 72 XM channels. I have no proof of that, and unless you can find specific transponder info from the MC days and compare it today, there really is no way to find out, but it is a possibility and would explain it.

[dphil9833]

My wife developed a thirst for classical music to put her to sleep at night and to play while she was pregnant. Of course this was in the days of Music Choice, and the fidelity was excellent, I firmly believe the bit rate was considerably higher. As stated previously though as soon as XM changed over and we started listing to their classical channel, the music just is flat, it lacks any of the depth Music Choice had. And then to add insult to injury, the DJ XM uses sounds like he would be better suited on one of the rock channels. I mean you are listing to classical which is soothing and not over the top in any way and all the sudden the DJ bursts in, several decibels higher than the music, with a real gruff voice, just really un-nerves you and ruins the whole experience.

[Blitz68]

Bring back Music Choice so I can get my Arean Rock back. BoneYard and XM suck.


Or pickup Sirius :D

[mx6bfast]

I liked MC better also. Moreso for the fact I could tell what the station was but the name of the station. Now I have to tune to it so I can find out what they play. Because of that I rarely have it on anymore. My wife and I used to put it on when we would clean the house. Now we put cd's in.

[JMCecil]

I hope the contract expires and they renew none of them. They are just about as big a waste of space as the shopping channels.

[tfederov]

I think it was best said over at TiVoCommunity when XM first came on DIRECTV. Bag of suck. I'm not against satellite radio, I have Sirius. But I wouldn't want Sirius on DIRECTV either. This is the whole reason I'm so geeked on Media Share. I have the control again to play the music I want from my TV without all of the talk.

[jfalkingham]

I agree, I want my Music Choice back. The Sounds of the Season channel was outstanding. At least bring some of them back, I am very disappointed with XM on DTV.

I have Sirius since they started. I like it better than regular FM, however their "stream jockeys" do suck. They talk over music constantly on Sirius Hits 1 or New Country, its just plain annoying to pay for that. Other channels there are no chatter beyond a brief channel promo between song sets (which is not bad). Sports is why I'm there.

[Reggie3]

I like XM and use it on Directv - I also have a subscription to it for a portable unit that I move between the car and the audio receiver (I like the D* use because I can see the display on the tv for the song titles) and only use the receiver to pick up the stations that D* does not cover. I have not had a issue with the djs

[Thaedron]

Ch 818 - Flight 26 is the channel my wife and I prefer the most, that unfortunately has DJs. The Music Choice equivalent 'Adult Alternative' was awesome and had no DJs. I agree, that some of the XM variants do seem to have a deeper play list. However as others have indicated, I use this format for background listening. I also called and emailed D* when they switched and received a similar generic response.

While the playlist on MC may not have been "ultra-deep", they certainly have more content that we own. But thanks for the suggestion on using the ipod, we do that when we want to listen to something more tailored. The music channels (whether MC or XM) provide an opportunity to listen to a wider variety of music than I would ever own.

[Thaedron]

I agree, I want my Music Choice back. The Sounds of the Season channel was outstanding.

Ditto, Seconded and I'll vote as many times as I can. :D

The XM equivalent is pretty close in music content, however after what seemed like every other song they had some listener call-in dedication or announcement. If I wanted that, I'd go listen to Casey Kasem and his long-distance dedications or local radio.

[LI-SVT]

My vote is for Music Choice also.

[Chuck W]

Well, I love the XM channels and MUCH prefer them over Music Choice. When they had Music Choice, me and the wife used to try to listen to it, but we could never find a station that suited our tastes. With XM, there are several that we like to listen to and do, quite often.

To each their own.

[Dolly]

I agree Music Choice is much better and hope it comes back.
Same here :) Now the XM in my vehicle is great because the sound system is Bose. And who is worried about DJ's I'm tuned into Sports :sunsmile:

[Steve Robertson]

Same here :) Now the XM in my vehicle is great because the sound system is Bose. And who is worried about DJ's I'm tuned into Sports :sunsmile:

I have Bose on my deck where I listen to music the most and it still don't matter MC is far superior to XM in my mind

[Groundhog45]

Any service that I pay for shouldn't have a DJ. I just want the music or other content. MC was better for that. I never tune to the XM channels on the D* receivers. My wife always used to tune in the Christmas music on MC but never on XM. It's basically a waste of bandwidth. Let the folks who want satellite music subscribe to whatever they want separately from D*.

[Thaedron]

Out of curiosity, I created an XM / Music Choice poll (http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=93172)

[Steve Mehs]

I liked MC better also. Moreso for the fact I could tell what the station was but the name of the station. Now I have to tune to it so I can find out what they play. Because of that I rarely have it on anymore. I liked MC better also. Moreso for the fact I could tell what the station was but the name of the station. Now I have to tune to it so I can find out what they play. Because of that I rarely have it on anymore. [/quot]

That's a pretty poor reason not to tune in. I mean, terrestrial radio monikers like The Fox, Laser and Kiss don't really tell me the format of the station either. And if most of the stations you can get a good idea what the station plays and even if you don't after listening it makes sense.

Any service that I pay for shouldn't have a DJ.

Any service that markets themselves as a radio service should have DJs!

I hope the contract expires and they renew none of them. They are just about as big a waste of space as the shopping channels.


Never going to happen, so give it up. Music channels are used in retail environments and other commercial establishments, which equals big money. Besides they also provide another great value, inflating the channel count.
The Sounds of the Season channel was outstanding. At least bring some of them back, I am very disappointed with XM on DTV.
I'm really shocked people actually prefer MC's Sounds of the Season loop over the 5 unique custom programmed Christmas stations on XM. I like Music Choice's Sounds of the Season for everything but Christmas. There is no imagination, last year in a 5 hour listening span I lost track of the number of different versions of Frosty The Snowman I heard. Last year Music Choice used Showcase that is split between Disco and Classic Rap to play traditional Christmas songs, even that wasn’t as good as XMs Holiday Traditions.

BTW – For those that have broadband from Comcast, Time Warner or Brighthouse you can get Music Choice online streaming for free at 128Kb, it includes all channels, including the ones DirecTV never bothered to add or never made available to residential subscribers, plus a few online exclusives. TW and BHN customers go to rr.com/radio or musicchoice.com and login with your Road Runner email address. Not sure how it works for Comcast.

[max1]

Personaly I agree I think music choice should have stayed on with D-I tried to listen to the xm channels but couldn't stand them Only ones I liked were big tracks,xm 8xm the blend the rest were pretty week. For me I like the sirius better more music channels to choose from now that I have it in my home and car. We have E now and I have Sirius and Musack for me has a better variety than xm. I can also listen xm on aol as well. Max.

[loudo]

My wife and I prefer XM over MC any day. I remember when MC used to play the music loop and you could hear the same songs at the same time every day, on some of their channels.

[JJJBBB]

At least Sirius has no ads on their music channels unlike XM.
Who is this Opie dude anyways? Is he like a Stern WannaBe?
I did like MC a lot when it was on D*

[Steve Mehs]

At least Sirius has no ads on their music channels unlike XM.

Um, maybe you should do some research. You make it sound like XM is full of commercials. XM has commercials on 4 channels because they lost a court case and were forced into it. These 4 channels are not on DirecTV, XM Radio Online, XM on AOL or XM Canada. XM promotes them in no way and they have inhouse commercial free clones of those four stations and in the end it doesn't matter. Both XM and Sirius have 69 commercial free music stations. This is a complete non issue so don’t make it out to be one.

And by the way, you're the only one that brought O&A up, so I think 'like' you do have an idea of who he is.

[JJJBBB]

ic, thanks for the ifo, that's great to know if i ever think of switching. Yes i see his name on D* channel 879, i think in the mornings and simply assumed this was the case.

[Steve Mehs]

I apologize for being short. The commercial thing was beaten to death last year on the satellite radio sites when the courts ruled in Clear Channels favor and I got sick of it fast. I’m an Opie And Anthony fan, they used to be on WBUF 92.9 here. Howard Stern mornings, Opie and Anthony afternoons.

[Redlinetire]

I'm old enough to remember when you bought cable TV (20+ years ago) because of the all the 'commercial free' channels you got. Heck, even AMC was commercial free until a few years ago.

I'm guessing satellite radio will go to that someday...merger or not...

[johern]

I preferr XM. I think it has much better programming than Music Choice.

[Steve Mehs]

I'm old enough to remember when you bought cable TV (20+ years ago) because of the all the 'commercial free' channels you got. Heck, even AMC was commercial free until a few years ago.

I'm guessing satellite radio will go to that someday...merger or not...

I wasn’t alive/don’t remember back then, but the difference is that for the most part cable companies and the programming providers are independent from each other. So while Warner Cable or TCI Cable had ESPN, MTV, Lifetime and whatever other channels were around back then, they didn’t actually program them. TCI might have all intentions of keeping the medium of cable TV commercial free but the folks at Viacom changed their minds. Again, I'm not sure, just making a guess since I wasn't alive then :) For the most part all of XMs and Sirius’ music channels are programmed inhouse, except for the CBC Radio stations on Sirius and the two channels on XM from WorldsSpace Satellite Radio.

I do believe satellite radio will stay commercial free for a very long time to come, as it's a major selling point.

[texasmoose]

Bring back Music Choice so I can get my Arean Rock back. BoneYard and XM suck.


Or pickup Sirius :D

XM's Boneyard isnt that good either, but at least it plays songs that you don't hear all the time, like MC's Arena rock. The DJ's do sucketh though, and if I hear anymore "Rush, Extreme or White Lion" again my wife & I are gonna scream! Lord knows Arena rock played them alot as well, just the same tune over & over & over again. "When the children cry", my wife and I couldn't find the remote fast enough.

[bobnielsen]

Hmmm, could Media Share support reception of internet radio stations?

[cbeckner80]

I'm old enough to remember when you bought cable TV (20+ years ago) because of the all the 'commercial free' channels you got. Heck, even AMC was commercial free until a few years ago.

I'm guessing satellite radio will go to that someday...merger or not...

Let's go back MANY years ago, even FM had fewer commercials. OOPS! Just admitted how old I am.

I remember about 10 years ago when I first went with E*, there were commercials, but not as many as today. Of course some of that are the networks themselves. We get about 45 minutes out of an hours program. Used to be about one minute commercials years ago, now your lucky if they keep them down to 3 minutes.:nono2:

[NickD]

Personally to me it does not matter. I do like XM, but I already have XM in my truck, my wife's car and the boombox. How often do you guys listen/watch the music channels? I have put the stations on while eating dinner, cooking or doing things around the house to only have the station change to record something. For me it is just easier to have my stereo turned on. JMHO

[Redlinetire]

I wasn’t alive/don’t remember back then, but the difference is that for the most part cable companies and the programming providers are independent from each other. So while Warner Cable or TCI Cable had ESPN, MTV, Lifetime and whatever other channels were around back then, they didn’t actually program them. TCI might have all intentions of keeping the medium of cable TV commercial free but the folks at Viacom changed their minds. Again, I'm not sure, just making a guess since I wasn't alive then :) For the most part all of XMs and Sirius’ music channels are programmed inhouse, except for the CBC Radio stations on Sirius and the two channels on XM from WorldsSpace Satellite Radio.

I do believe satellite radio will stay commercial free for a very long time to come, as it's a major selling point.

No MTV, certainly no Lifetime and ESPN was around but we didn't get it till '81 I think. I do remember MTV hitting the airwaves though. They used to give away a little plastic overlay for your FM receiver to indicate where to tune in the FM simulcast of the music. Oh, those were the days....

Let's hope you're right about it being commercial free for a long, long time...

[MLBurks]

I hope the contract expires and they renew none of them. They are just about as big a waste of space as the shopping channels.

To say that the music channels is a complete waste of space is just plain nonsense to put it nicely. I listen to the music channels almost just as much as I watch regular TV. Since the sound from my TV comes through a home theater system, I listen to the music channels A LOT. And I know others do as well. Though I do not watch the shopping channels, I know of others who do. My point is if I or anyone else thinks that a channel(s) is junk or waste of bandwidth, you will find those who like it as much as you hate it. One person's junk is another person's treasure.

[cbeckner80]

To say that the music channels is a complete waste of space is just plain nonsense to put it nicely. Since the sound from my TV comes through a home theater system, I listen to the music channels A LOT.

I agree, that's the best way to listen to them. They sound pretty decent through my home theater system , and of course you dont' have to have your TV on.:)

[MLBurks]

I agree, that's the best way to listen to them. They sound pretty decent through my home theater system , and of course you dont' have to have your TV on.:)

Exactly! My R15 then becomes my satellite radio. I don't listen to traditional radio and I rarely listen to CD's. Whatever music D* caries be it MC or XM, that's my main music source in the house.

[Steve Mehs]

Music Choice sounds excellent over a home theater system. I have my cable box connected to my home theater receiver via HDMI and quality is excellent, nice action from the rear channels. No way would I listen via TV speakers. I haven't watched TV using TV speakers since 2001 when I got my first home theater system.

[MLBurks]

Music Choice sounds excellent over a home theater system. I have my cable box connected to my home theater receiver via HDMI and quality is excellent, nice action from the rear channels. No way would I listen via TV speakers. I haven't watched TV using TV speakers since 2001 when I got my first home theater system.

I don't remember when I last listen to the TV through the TV speakers. Just for kicks, today I did through my TV speakers which are stereo and was horrified:eek2: . Yikes! Never again.

[gblues]

No commercials on original cable systems? Probably had more to do with uncertain viewer numbers than anything else. Hell, most cable companies sell advertising on the side that they then insert into the commercial breaks locally.

That's one thing I'll never miss about cable: the horrible, horrible low-budget local commercials!!

[Redlinetire]

No commercials on original cable systems? Probably had more to do with uncertain viewer numbers than anything else. Hell, most cable companies sell advertising on the side that they then insert into the commercial breaks locally.

That's one thing I'll never miss about cable: the horrible, horrible low-budget local commercials!!

I'm talking late 70s, early 80s when cable became available in my area. They definitely promoted the 'commercial free' angle as a benefit, since most people wouldn't pay for TV that you could get free off the air. My neighbors definitely thought we were nuts to PAY for TV. :eek2:

[jimmyv2000]

Bring back Music Choice so I can get my Arean Rock back. BoneYard and XM suck.


Or pickup Sirius :D

Arena rock rules i miss it too:D

[jediphish]

+1 - Music Choice was better. Its the one thing that my local cable company has that D* does not.

[DawgLink]

XM just got SEC Football so GO XM! :)