Sattelite Radio questions

[dbt1949]

I'd like someone to tell me more about sattelite radio. I've done a little research and it seems there are two providers in the US (Syrrus & XM) and that they're about $10 a month. But then I gather you need a special radio ($100+) and a base station/antenna ($50+).Is that about it?
I would want it for home use only.
Thanks!

[VynlSol]

Yep, that's all there is to it (at least for XM, don't have any experience with the other one).

[ChaoZ]

Anybody know of XM tech is available in Canada?  Somehow, I doubt it because of the stupid CRTC regulations.

[marcain]

We subscribe to XM and love it.  If regular radio drives you nuts because of the commercials and song selections, you should give XM a shot (borrow a friend's for a few days, if you can).  It's about $10 a month, or less if you pay in advance.

We have a dedicated XM device called the Roady that plugs into the car stereo through a tape adapter.

The only downside I've found is that since it's line of sight, your signal will drop every time you drive under an overpass or whatever.  You should keep this in mind if you're planning on listening to it inside the house (since you'll need line of sight from the antenna).

[Destructor]

Anybody know of XM tech is available in Canada?  Somehow, I doubt it because of the stupid CRTC regulations.

From what I know, all XM tech is US only. I could be wrong though.

And dbt1949, here's what I had to do to get my Sirius setup:

You buy the base station for $100. Then, you'll need either a car adaptor ($50) OR a boombox like device ($50). If you want, you can get both. Obviously one is for the car while the other is for other uses.

From there, it's a subscription based service. Sirius charges $12.95 a month, or you can get a year subscription for I think $120. It's something like that.

Sirius radio http://www.sirius.com offers (for free upon subscription) a web based version of their stations. Useful if you didn't purchase the boombox device. Also, because of this, you can sign up for a free 3 day test run of all of their stations. If you're curious, go visit their site.

The advantages of XM radio - no commercials, EVER. Short of the occasional 'Station ID', you'll never hear anything short of music. Unless you tune into one of those talk stations anyway.

All music all the time, and it's available no matter where you drive in the US. A very nice item if you drive lots every day.

[Starshifter]

The advantages of XM radio - no commercials, EVER. Short of the occasional 'Station ID', you'll never hear anything short of music. Unless you tune into one of those talk stations anyway.

Just want to let everyone know that it is SIRIUS Satellite that is 100% commercial free (hence the slightly higher monthly fee).  I don't think XM is completely commercial free, but I could be wrong.  SIRIUS also provides all NFL coverage (not available on XM).  And of course the recent announcement of Howard Stern on SIRIUS (I couldn't care less about him, whereas some others might).  I own neither, but my brother has SIRIUS and I've heard it and it is fantastic.  I just can't afford it right now.

Furthermore, Mongo (the SIRIUS logo) is really cool!

[msteelers]

Right now, XM is by far the most popular of the two, based on subscription rates. Anyone who has it will never listen to regular radio again.

On a side note, there is a comedy talk radio station here in Orlando that I listen to. Almost everyone of their programs got picked up and place on XM as well as regular radio. I know that a lot of shows are getting that chance.

Sirius is getting Howard Stern in 15 months. If even a small percentage of Howards audience makes the jump with him, then Sirius could become the bigger of the two. Plus they have the football...which is damn cool.

[Steron]

My fiance recently bought me SIRIUS for my birthday. I love it. They play all the NFL games which is the single reason I chose it over XM. I think they also do all the NHL (if there is going to be an NHL season) games as well. Having Stern come to SIRUIS was just a bonus for me. Hopefully he will get back to being funny instead of whining about the FCC and Tom Chiasano all the time.

Anyhow, regardless of which you choose, once you switch to satellite radio you won't go back.

[Misguided]

My wife got Sirius for her car. We absolutely love it.
I thik Sirius is on the move. Some folks have already mentioned a couple of things. The channels are also available for free to DishNetwork customers.

IIRC, XM also has an internet feed, but you have to pay extra for it.

[marcain]

IIRC, XM also has an internet feed, but you have to pay extra for it.

Meaning you can stream XM over your internet connection?  You wouldn't happen to have a link to info on this would you (I couldn't find anything on XM's site).

edit: okay, found it

only $3.99 more a month... hmmm  

[Sepiche]

I have XM that I listen to at work and it's by far some of the best money I've spent.  It really put me over the top when they started carrying Air America radio.  Lots of great rock stations and they have their own NPR station now too.

s

[gellar]

I had XM in my old car and have not yet transplanted it into the new ride... and I'm going bloody nuts without it.

I need to buy a new receiver though, as there's no reasonable place to mount the old Delphi unit in the new car.  I'll probably get one that's built into the head unit, as that's cleaner anyway.  Don't know if I'll go XM or Sirius this time though... I kinda like the Sirius lineup a bit better.

We'll see.