I cancelled a few months ago, but for those who are still paying, didn't see this posted yet......



http://siriusbuzz.com/sirius-xm-rate-increase-for-march-11th-confirmed.php

http://consumerist.com/5136200/confirmed-sirius-radio-raising-rates-march-11

Yep, saw the news on Sternfanetwork.

Anything else, Robin?

No Howard, I am offically done. I'll listen to your lifeless show with D list boy band members and Joan freaken Rivers as you count your 15 million your last 2 years and your Fridays off and every postal holiday off and listen to you the next day like everyone else.

;)

It looks like they will be losing some money from me. I will be dropping my second receiver because of this.

Anyone have a full list of promises made to the FCC prior to the merger that we can expect them to break in the coming months?


*I realize that the "no rate hikes" applied to the base right, but removing services from the base plan and charging to get them back seems to be an end around.

Why would I pay for online radio when there are better alternatives that don't have me channel surfing like I did with the new XM before I cancelled (in favor of streaming internet radio/iPod podcasts).

I thought it was a very bad move myself regarding the internet radio hike. It will motivate people to look for alternatives, and then Slacker and Pandora will be found, among others..........for free. Then, people will soon figure out that these services are also available via cell phones and portable devices, and ask........why would I pay for satellite???

Just my 2 cents........

Boy that Mel K sure is a genius.

I thought it was a very bad move myself regarding the internet radio hike. It will motivate people to look for alternatives, and then Slacker and Pandora will be found, among others..........for free. Then, people will soon figure out that these services are also available via cell phones and portable devices, and ask........why would I pay for satellite???

Just my 2 cents........



I already done just that, looked around and found Slacker. So now I'm using Slacker more and more. I was going to cancel 2 of my 3 XM units in Jan., then decided not to and wait until their subscription ran out in March to make a decision. This rate hike made up my mind.

In March I'll be down to just 1 XM unit.

Unfortunitly losing two of my favorite stations(the vault and buzzsaw)and being replaced with crap(boneyard and deeptracks)ill have some serious thinking to do.:(

Those guys at siriusbuzz.com sure do love their satellite radio. I guess when you are a stock holder of a tanking stock you'll look for hope anywhere.

Even though it is only a few dollars per month, I'm having a hard enough time getting value out of $77 per year plus the $6 per month second car radio. When it gets added up per year I see that I'd rather have the money than their service.

Now if their service improved that might be a different story, but at this rate it's looking like the typical model of cable company service. Move stuff from one plan to another, increase the need for the higher plan, charge a little more each year, and before you know it you are paying a lot more than you realize.

I use my "free" internet feed the most and the regular car service comes in second. It looks like I would need to purchase the internet feed option to continue to receive the same value as I do now. That's now $36 more per year plus my second car is $24 more per year. I'm now up to $60 more per year to stay where I am today. I'm already paying $149 per year ($77 plus $6x12) so now I'm up to $209 per year and that's with the "one time" $77 discount.

Anyone have a full list of promises made to the FCC prior to the merger that we can expect them to break in the coming months?


*I realize that the "no rate hikes" applied to the base right, but removing services from the base plan and charging to get them back seems to be an end around.

Why would I pay for online radio when there are better alternatives that don't have me channel surfing like I did with the new XM before I cancelled (in favor of streaming internet radio/iPod podcasts).


I beleive the FCC said nothing about raising your or any additional subscriptions .

that my friend is called"a loophole".........:o

Yep, around 60% of my listening is done on the internet.
If they start charging for that over and above, I am done.
The sign of good faith I was looking for was making the 128k feed free for everyone.
What a slap in the face.
Add to this:
AM Radio sound quality
Bubba (not a huge fan but they diluted the product by repeating a censored show)
Cinemagic - gone and not replaced (200 channels and you can't find room for a movie station???)
Howard's (the reason I subscribe in the first place) continued downward spiral of energy towards his show.
I honestly feel we are listening to a 2 year retirement show.

this may be the last straw for me...

I just set up Mundu on my Windows mobile smart phone......for free! http://mundu.com/products/mundu-radio/features

So far it seems to work pretty well, and you can add any internet radio stream to customize your play list. Being that I have an unlimited data plan, this seems like it will be a good alternative in the car for me. It works even with one bar in an Edge network.

Also, Slacker just released versions of its service for Iphone and Blackberries.......pretty cool if you have one of those devices!

Oh............did I mention that I love the FREE! :)

Cinemagic is on channel 76. I just checked to make sure. They need to bring back Beyond Jazz in some form before my sub is up in March. They also killed Musical Starstreams on the Chill Channel. Quality is going down.

I wrote a letter to the FCC and urged against the merger - especially since both CEO's said they could be profitable within a year on their own anyway. I listen online every few weeks - not a big deal, but I was thinking about adding a portable unit for a 2nd vehicle/hand-held situation. That is now out.

Also, I have a lifetime sub on my one unit. What does it mean that I can pay $500 for a lifetime sub to lock-in rates? If base rates can't change for 3 years - what does the $500 buy (even to a monthly sub)?! Unlimited online? Unlimited 2nd receiver? That's the rate for a full first-unit lifetime account! :mad:

Here is an EW story that pretty much sums up the way I feel.

"Sirius XM raising costs? Vive le monopoly!"


Some six months after last summer's merger between Sirius Satellite Radio and rival XM Radio, we're now seeing reports that the new Sirius XM is raising prices starting March 11, charging $2 more per month for additional subscriptions, and $2.99 a month for online streaming (formerly part of the base package). This move is seemingly in line with the FCC merger agreement because technically, the company is not raising its base price -- if you have one receiver and don't stream online, you're not affected. What's more, if you call Sirius XM customer service, someone will explain to you that you can lock in the current rate if you sign up for a three-year subscription (which in satellite radio years, is like, well, a decade). Still, the post-merger move feels like a disconcerting harbinger of price increases to come.

I've personally never been a Howard Stern fan (seems every day there's fewer of those around), and at home, I plug my Internet-connected laptop into the stereo to listen to various online radio as well as my MP3 collection. That means the only place I really listen to satellite radio is my car or at work via the Internet. I like having Sirius on my four-hour road trips to see my Boston-based in-laws, but I think I might just stick with terrestrial radio and my iPod (connected via an inexpensive yet adequate-at-least-in-rural-areas FM modulator) for car rides and ditch the satellite radio rather than pay an extra 3 bucks a month just to listen at work. Yes, it's about saving cash. But it's also about saying screw you to this monopoly before it bites me in the behind.

Anyone else gonna chuck their satellite radio if this price-jacking rumor is true? How do you listen to radio these days? Or perhaps radio really is a dead medium...?

http://popwatch.ew.com/popwatch/2009/01/sirius-xm-raisi.html

If Siri really publicises this and tries to push people into multiple year subscriptions (like they did three years ago), it means that they are seeking a one time boost in revenues to help keep the bankruptcy vultures from feasting on its bottom line.

Think about- for years, they have depended on new car sales for subcriptions. Now, no one is buy cars and no one is buying new subscriptions.. They are trying to get the equivalent of a dead cart bounce.

Cinematic is most definitely back, it's one of the only reasons I haven't cancelled. They've also let DaveZ put back a little of the clips between the songs that Sirius made him pull.

Why would you pay for this when there are already hundreds (er.. thousands) of internet radio steams already available for free? Many of which are >128kbps...

I am still thinking of cancelling my Sirius subscription. The fact that internet users will be getting better quality audio than my satellite receiver is another reason to axe the service. I signed up for "Sirius Satellite Radio", not "Sirius internet radio"

Why would you pay for this when there are already hundreds (er.. thousands) of internet radio steams already available for free? Many of which are >128kbps...

I am still thinking of cancelling my Sirius subscription. The fact that internet users will be getting better quality audio than my satellite receiver is another reason to axe the service. I signed up for "Sirius Satellite Radio", not "Sirius internet radio"

I use my Iphone like my XM inno portable- I jog with it and listen to internet music via Pandora. Get this- Pandora uses aac like XM, but check out the bit rate difference:
XM: 32bpks
Pandora: 64bkps
You now know why I love listening to streaming internet music off my Iphone !

I bought Sirius with the intention of spending the majority of my listening time in the car. Sure when in town I could buy an iPhone and use it to stream free internet radio, but on long trips out of town where there is no data coverage, Sirius is the only streaming audio option.

I bought Sirius with the intention of spending the majority of my listening time in the car. Sure when in town I could buy an iPhone and use it to stream free internet radio, but on long trips out of town where there is no data coverage, Sirius is the only streaming audio option.

I'll agree with you on that for now. They are still building towers and expanding coverage. For the times I don't get cell service, there is always back up music. However, I still have gotten lack of sat coverage on some of my long trips, like along cliffs and through areas with tall trees. Go down CA highway 1 and you'll see what I mean.
The other time I like it is when I am on cruises and usually can get a signal in the eastern carib and western carrib to just north of Cozumel.
Still, not good reasons to shell out $13 a month.

from the sound of it, looks like if you have only one subscription it wouldn't change, but if you added a second it would increase. Did I misread something or what?

Unless you don't mind losing or paying for the internet stream now.

Unless you don't mind losing or paying for the internet stream now.

I don't listen to Sirius online anyway, but, according to the article, my one and only subscription won't change, only if I add an additional sub? I am a bit confused by that.

I bought a new vehicle a year ago and got a free year of Sirius. They called me the other night to get me to renew. Had a "2 year special" for something like $450. I said i want the $6.99 month deal where i pick the 50 stations I want. They said I need the new receiver that can only pick up that signal. What total f'ing BS. It's the same goddam signal, dont give me that crap that you cant send that signal to the factory radio in my new vehicle. Isaid your stock is at $.10 a share and I am a shareholder, I would think you guys would do anything you possibly can to keep subscribers.

I don't listen to Sirius online anyway, but, according to the article, my one and only subscription won't change, only if I add an additional sub? I am a bit confused by that.

You know, now I am not positive the way the article is written. The way that I interpret it though is that all subscribers will have to pay for the internet stream if they want to keep it.......................hopefully its not an automatic thing..........what a mess....

I'm no marketing or business genius but it seems like this is a real stupid approach for them to take. Seems like the add on subs are all bonus for them, since the fixed costs of billing, etc are all taken care of with the main account. That being the case, rather than raise the rate and chase people away, why not lower by 1-$2 and try to attract more people to add subs? And with the internet stream why take it away and piss people off, instead attract more customers by offering an internet only option for those that don't want to buy SR hardware. I will be done with at least one extra sub and possilby my entire account if this goes through.

I'm no marketing or business genius but it seems like this is a real stupid approach for them to take. Seems like the add on subs are all bonus for them, since the fixed costs of billing, etc are all taken care of with the main account. That being the case, rather than raise the rate and chase people away, why not lower by 1-$2 and try to attract more people to add subs? And with the internet stream why take it away and piss people off, instead attract more customers by offering an internet only option for those that don't want to buy SR hardware. I will be done with at least one extra sub and possilby my entire account if this goes through.
There business gurus feel that the loss of subscriptions by adding $2 will net more than the increase in subscriptions by dropping $X.

There already is an internet only subscription. I think it's $8 a month.

There business gurus feel that the loss of subscriptions by adding $2 will net more than the increase in subscriptions by dropping $X.

There already is an internet only subscription. I think it's $8 a month.
Their business gurus have done such a great job with the company to this point, they must be right.:rolleyes:

I only have one radio in my car, a Skifi2 and really have become hooked on it. I only listen to the local news radio station on FM now. I re-upped with a three year membership last year and just bought the lifetime (on equipment) membership because I could apply the remaining two years to it. Cost me an extra $142, non-refundable, and I took the gamble. If satellite radio stays in business for another three to four years, I will make out. If not, I'm SOL.

As to quality of programming.....I hate Howard Stern....he has no attraction for me. He really has no talent as oppossed to a guy who was rail-roaded here in the DC area, Doug Tracht, aka - The Greaseman. Howard Stern has spewed far worse and continues to operate. It's also all personal preference as I liked XM programming better then Sirius, but it's what I'm used to.

Just my opinion on Stern. If you like him, great.

I really hope satellite radio contimues at least until someone figures out how to make internet radio feasible in a moving car environment.

and now a word from Mercury. :)

and now a word from Mercury. :)


Thank You Pat.....

Doug Tracht, aka - The Greaseman http://www.feebleminds-gifs.com/smiley-faces11.gifhttp://www.feebleminds-gifs.com/smiley-faces11.gifhttp://www.feebleminds-gifs.com/smiley-faces11.gif




Now carry on. http://www.feebleminds-gifs.com/smiley-faces6.gif

As to quality of programming.....I hate Howard Stern....he has no attraction for me. He really has no talent....Not according to him.

I really hope satellite radio continues....No matter what they do with the programming and pricing in the future, it's never going to last with the present sound quality, or if it gets any worse.

At least that's my opinion.

No matter what they do with the programming and pricing in the future, it's never going to last with the present sound quality, or if it gets any worse.

At least that's my opinion.

I've never been one to bitch and moan about the SQ of XM. It is what it is.

So far I still have XM in my car BUT on some trips I take my Slacker G2 radio and plug that in instead of the Roadie.

The SQ difference is astounding. The Slacker sounds soooo much better, and much better separation too.

Well this sucks.

We've paid a year's worth for our main XM receiver, which has already been paid for the year. We also only recently paid for a year's worth for the second receiver (about 3 or 4 months ago now) so that's paid up for a while as well, I assume? When the time comes for it to auto-renew, we shall see if we keep it or not.

As for the charge for XM Online, we're not happy about that at all. I don't use it much but DH does -- not really sure we want to shell out the extra $$ for it though....

It figures. :(

DGK
P.S. Can someone direct me to a Slacker link? I'd like to look into it, especially if it's better SQ and it's free (correct?)... TIA

Well this sucks.

We've paid a year's worth for our main XM receiver, which has already been paid for the year. We also only recently paid for a year's worth for the second receiver (about 3 or 4 months ago now) so that's paid up for a while as well, I assume? When the time comes for it to auto-renew, we shall see if we keep it or not.

As for the charge for XM Online, we're not happy about that at all. I don't use it much but DH does -- not really sure we want to shell out the extra $$ for it though....

It figures. :(

DGK
P.S. Can someone direct me to a Slacker link? I'd like to look into it, especially if it's better SQ and it's free (correct?)... TIA

It's free. They do have monthly plans but for ME there's no reason to sign up. I just use their free service.

Listen to the online service. You can setup what channels you like, etc. If you like the music they offer 2 portable Internet radios that play their music stations on the go. The radios are not free, BUT the service is still free.

http://www.slacker.com/

Also check out Pandora for internet music. Pandora and Slacker are both similar- free, try to find what you like, let you skip six songs an hour and the soud quality is comparable.
One thing that you may not be used to is the dynamic range (difference between loud and soft sounds) of both service is pretty much as far as I can tell, same as CD's. On sat radio (and most FM stations) they compress it so louds and softs are the same. For example, if you were listening to DIre Straits "Money For Nothing", on sat radio, the opening by sting would be the same as the crescendo with the drums, totally unlike the CD. FM was the first to do this so that Enos the Inbred in his pick up truck could hear the music above the noise of his glass pack exhaust. It was almost like a "louder" station.
XM/Siri do the same thing.
I was listening to U2's "Where the Streets Have No Name" and it was like the CD- long intro was quiet and the rest was loud.
It was beautiful!

Yeah, the timing of this price hike leaves me shaking my head.

There's hundreds of FREE Internet music stations on-line, so what does SiriusXm do? They start charging a fee for their Internet feed?!

And a recession has officially hit full force, so they choose now to hike their rates?!

I know the company is in serious trouble, and we don't know what's going on behind the scenes. But on the surface these moves seem foolish right now, and they smell of desperation too.

Don't they have a very large interest payment coming soon, around 400 million? Or did they work out a deal to postpone it?

Don't they have a very large interest payment coming soon, around 400 million? Or did they work out a deal to postpone it?

In Feb they owe about 180 million. Then another 400 million in June or July, around that timeframe..And then another 400 millioni in December.

All in all it comes to almost 1 billion $ in 2009.

I haven't heard of any deal being worked out yet with the banks.

IMO nickel-and-dime-ing their subscribers with extra charges at a time of economic stress for so many people is probably NOT going to help them raise the $$ they need to make that payment in Feb. OR June/July...instead, people will just either drop their second subscriptions (as we plan to do, most likely, when it's up for renewal), or cancel altogether, and they'll end up making LESS $$, not more.

It's just wrong-headed thinking, or not very practical, it seems.

BTW thanks very much for those suggestions, re: Slacker and Pandora. :) I've checked out both, and I especially like the Slacker option. I'm going to try out their player later. The portable's a bit pricey, though...

DGK

IMO nickel-and-dime-ing their subscribers with extra charges at a time of economic stress for so many people is probably NOT going to help them raise the $$ they need to make that payment in Feb. OR June/July...instead, people will just either drop their second subscriptions (as we plan to do, most likely, when it's up for renewal), or cancel altogether, and they'll end up making LESS $$, not more.

It's just wrong-headed thinking, or not very practical, it seems.

BTW thanks very much for those suggestions, re: Slacker and Pandora. :) I've checked out both, and I especially like the Slacker option. I'm going to try out their player later. The portable's a bit pricey, though...

DGK

The G2, what I have is pricey. About $200..

The G1 there are deals on Ebay, or Woot( sometimes), etc. They go between $60 and $100..

But if you do take the plunge do your homework on which player you want to buy. The Slacker forum has a lot of info on both players. There's good honest reviews of both. The G1 is much cheaper, but its drawbacks are greater too. It's bigger, more buggy, etc..

Have fun

If you are continuosly near any wifi, you can simply stream Pandora/Slacker on most any portable that has wifi. You can use an Itouch , but there are alternatives.
For example, my Iphone replaced a Cingular HTC PDA/phone. The phone part is obviously dead to me, but the wifi still works and it could probably pull in the internet music. Same applies to any lap top with wifi..

The price hike really means nothing to me IF:

1. They just don't "hike" up the price. I only have one subscription with Sirius, a Stiletto 10, and that is it. I have no need for the internet stream, since I never use it anyway.

Is this price hike going to be an "option" for customers(like the Sirius everything is currently $12.95/month and includes the internet streaming)? Like a separate fee? Is it something that Sirius/XM are going to e-mail/contact their customers in some way, and ask them if they want it or not? Or are they just going to hike up your rate, and then wait for people to call and complain to get it removed from the subscription?

Anyone know?

I don't know for sure. But given their history I'd bet they will charge you 1st, then fire 1/2 of the telephone customer reps, then wait for/ignore the calls and cancellations. ;)

i only have one subscription so this rate increase won't affect me much. however, i would like to maybe get away from satellite radio considering the ease of things like iphone apps and the like. however, most of the stations that i listen to are talk type programs like espn radio, foxnews, sirius patriot and the like. are there any other options to listen to them live instead of just on podcast?

i only have one subscription so this rate increase won't affect me much. however, i would like to maybe get away from satellite radio considering the ease of things like iphone apps and the like. however, most of the stations that i listen to are talk type programs like espn radio, foxnews, sirius patriot and the like. are there any other options to listen to them live instead of just on podcast?

Not sure about the others, but Fox News does have a couple of options -- there's this, if you're on the go:

http://www.foxnews.com/mobile/index.html

There's also this, if you've got access to a PC or laptop:

http://www.foxnews.com/strategyroom/

For that, they have their own player that streams live. It also has a Fox News radio stream on there, and if there's something newsworthy going on, they often have that on there as well (i.e. news conferences, breaking news events, etc.). It's pretty cool, actually.

Unfortunately I don't know of anything comparable to XM/Sirius-type applications, but if you've got access to a mobile device or PC, at least you can listen to some of what's going on.

I'd imagine there's got to be other options out there for the other stuff you mentioned, as well.

DGK

I received my XM radio as a gift in 2003 and loved the service-- the SQ was great, music was great, etc... bought a 5-year sub in 2005 before the first rate hike.. that is looking like it was a good decision. I haven't been particularly happy with the overall direction of XM and hated the merger and it seems like the merger has managed to be worse for all involved than anyone expected.

I listen online more than to my SkyFi because online sounds so much better... that said I've really almost stopped listening to any XM since they basically Sirius-ized everything.

I got a Slacker radio from Woot for $50 on a lark because I've been unhappy with XM and I am BLOWN AWAY. I believe the Slacker portable uses a 40-48kbps AAC bitrate, similar to XM (although XM is down to 32kbps on many channels), but it sounds *so much more incredibly better* I can't even explain. Whereas XM sounds like good AM/bad FM to me at its current quality in the car, the Slacker sounds really good-- at least as good as 128kbps MP3s most of the time (there is an occasional song that sounds like the compression messed it up but that is semi-rare, thankfully). Slacker sounds better to me than XM ever did. Online Slacker sounds great, as well (and again, better than XM online although with the bump to 128kbps it might even out)

I'd highly, HIGHLY recommend checking out Slacker right now. Their online player is amazing, the customization is amazing, and the SQ is very very good.

I really wish XM would go back to the incredible service that I had in 2003 but I am afraid my 2010-sub might end up being "lifetime" if current patterns hold. I hope I get to keep online until then because I can't really bear to listen to the Skyfi anymore for any length of time...

I believe the Slacker portable uses a 40-48kbps AAC bitrate, similar to XM (although XM is down to 32kbps on many channels), but it sounds *so much more incredibly better* I can't even explain. Whereas XM sounds like good AM/bad FM to me at its current quality in the car, the Slacker sounds really good-- at least as good as 128kbps MP3s most of the time (there is an occasional song that sounds like the compression messed it up but that is semi-rare, thankfully). Slacker sounds better to me than XM ever did. Online Slacker sounds great, as well (and again, better than XM online although with the bump to 128kbps it might even out)

I.

I have been trying to find out the exact bit rate of Slacker and i think it is 40kbps for low rate and 64kbps for high rate, both with aac. I did read that the pandora uses 64kbs. These rates are DOUBLE what Xm uses. To my ears, Pandora and Slacker both sound the same- pretty f-ing good and I think it sounds even better than a 128kbps mp3. If this were tv, it would be like getting HDTV for free, as opposed to paying to get overly compressed standard definition (XM).

Yeah, the timing of this price hike leaves me shaking my head.

There's hundreds of FREE Internet music stations on-line, so what does SiriusXm do? They start charging a fee for their Internet feed?!

And a recession has officially hit full force, so they choose now to hike their rates?!

I know the company is in serious trouble, and we don't know what's going on behind the scenes. But on the surface these moves seem foolish right now, and they smell of desperation too.

I agree. The logical thing to do is to DROP prices and high priced services on the service.... Get rid of Howard Stern, the Oprah channel, Martha Stewart, Playboy Radio, and all other things that cost millions.

I mean, really, who needs those things on a music station? Get rid of all but one comedy channel, sports channel, etc. Canceling the sports channels alone could have saved them millions...

I guess only idiots can become executives in this country :).


Re: Sound quality. I recorded a few channels back in the early days of XM. They sounded GREAT! I'd say close to 5.1 surround sound. Now adays, though, it sounds as compressed as the sirius radio did in the one car that had it. Ugh. I was all for the merger if it kept XM untouched and going, but now I am regretting it 100%. But as sad as all that is, It's STILL better than the overplayed crap heard on normal radio...

Better bitrate would keep me locked in but that is not the case, just renewed at the $77 rate for a year will see if they are still around next year. I have an Iphone and use Pandora and Really like Flycast and there high quality sound, downside is when you travel 3G and edge is limited in most parts of Nevada thats where the satellite radio shines.

I'd highly, HIGHLY recommend checking out Slacker right now. Their online player is amazing, the customization is amazing, and the SQ is very very good.

+1

I started messing with Slacker a few months ago, feel in love with it and turned several people onto it. Lots of customization, good selection of music, no talk, very limited commercials (about 1 an hour). Since I raved about it my brother got me a G2 Player for Xmas and loaded the app on his iPhone. Its pretty much replaced Sirius in my car, I listen to it all the time. The only downside right now is a lack of a car dock and battery life is only 4 to 5 hours so I get two or three days of commuting before I have to recharge. However after that much listening its time to refresh via WiFi anyway so no real complains. Depending on the genre/artist Slacker may not be perfect but its made listening to music fun again.

As for Sirius's future, I agree with what NV5655 said - they need to drop all these costly celebrities and go back to what's its all about: music. Some sports, talk and comedy are nice additions, but not if it involves multi-million dollar contracts. I can understand Howard since he put Sirius on the map and has a huge radio/internet fan base, but how many people signed for Sirius based on Martha and Oprah? My wife DVRs that crap off TV all the time so she doesn't need (or even want) it in the car as well.

I agree. The logical thing to do is to DROP prices and high priced services on the service.... Get rid of Howard Stern, the Oprah channel, Martha Stewart, Playboy Radio, and all other things that cost millions.

I mean, really, who needs those things on a music station? Get rid of all but one comedy channel, sports channel, etc. Canceling the sports channels alone could have saved them millions...

I guess only idiots can become executives in this country :).


Re: Sound quality. I recorded a few channels back in the early days of XM. They sounded GREAT! I'd say close to 5.1 surround sound. Now adays, though, it sounds as compressed as the sirius radio did in the one car that had it. Ugh. I was all for the merger if it kept XM untouched and going, but now I am regretting it 100%. But as sad as all that is, It's STILL better than the overplayed crap heard on normal radio...

I've been screaming about all the big ticket signings for YEARS. There's no excuse for them to go out and spend all that money, money they never had. It made absolutely no business sense.

But now, they can't just dump all these contracts. Legally they just can't cancel contracts, they're stuck.

I agree with the SQ. When I 1st got XM when I heard songs that I heard often before I remember thinking how 'different' they sounded on XM. The SQ was so good and clear I'd hear instruments I never heard in that song before. Those days are over.

Now Slacker is reminding me of those early days of XM. Today I heard Me and Bobby MaGee on my G2. It sounded so much different and better then when I'd hear it on XM.

I agree. The logical thing to do is to DROP prices and high priced services on the service.... Get rid of Howard Stern, the Oprah channel, Martha Stewart, Playboy Radio, and all other things that cost millions.

As has already been mentioned, you can’t just drop Howard and Oprah; they have contracts. It’s unfortunate, but nothing can be done about it until those contracts expire.

I mean, really, who needs those things on a music station? Get rid of all but one comedy channel, sports channel, etc. Canceling the sports channels alone could have saved them millions...

What do you mean by “who needs those things on a music station”? Are you suggesting that XM is for music? If so, you are sadly mistaken. Sports is a major driver for subscriptions. For instance, I signed up for XM largely because of Major League Baseball. As much as I don’t like a lot of what’s happened since the merger, I will keep my subscription as long as they offer all the MLB games.

One sports channel? One comedy channel? Why not one music channel? You need to have at least two comedy channels, one for family-friendly material, one for adult oriented. You need multiple sports channels due to the diversity of sports programming.

Just because you only want XM for music doesn’t mean that’s how other subscribers feel.

+1

I started messing with Slacker a few months ago, feel in love with it and turned several people onto it. Lots of customization, good selection of music, no talk, very limited commercials (about 1 an hour). Since I raved about it my brother got me a G2 Player for Xmas and loaded the app on his iPhone. Its pretty much replaced Sirius in my car, I listen to it all the time. The only downside right now is a lack of a car dock and battery life is only 4 to 5 hours so I get two or three days of commuting before I have to recharge.

Why not just get a car charger USB plug? That's what I use when I use my G1 Slacker in the car.

What do you mean by “who needs those things on a music station”? Are you suggesting that XM is for music? If so, you are sadly mistaken. Sports is a major driver for subscriptions. For instance, I signed up for XM largely because of Major League Baseball. As much as I don’t like a lot of what’s happened since the merger, I will keep my subscription as long as they offer all the MLB games.

One sports channel? One comedy channel? Why not one music channel? You need to have at least two comedy channels, one for family-friendly material, one for adult oriented. You need multiple sports channels due to the diversity of sports programming.

Just because you only want XM for music doesn’t mean that’s how other subscribers feel.
I agree, the one thing that gave me pause about canceling is that I will need a new source to listen to Sox games. I think the NFL and MLB are really the only worthwhile big ticket items though, NBA and NHL do not translate well to radio. But it was the big spectrum that made XM appealing - they had a station for everybody. What I think Sirius management doesn't get is they try to make every station appeal to everybody. I just don't think that's a successful model. And why are they so concerned about who listens to what for how long on a subscription service. Who cares about channel flippers as long as they have something they like to flip to?

Cinematic is most definitely back, it's one of the only reasons I haven't cancelled. They've also let DaveZ put back a little of the clips between the songs that Sirius made him pull.

So that's what's been going on. I'd wondered about the clips.

To be honest, I found that the clips were mostly distracting. And I felt that over the three years of my XM subscription that the clips had been increasing in length, thus reducing my enjoyment of the music.

So if Sirius forced them to cut back on clips, then, for me, this is the first thing Sirius has gotten right since the channel consolidation a few months ago. Now if they could just muzzle the DJ's on the other stations and expand the playlists, I'd be a lot happier.

Now Slacker is reminding me of those early days of XM. Today I heard Me and Bobby MaGee on my G2. It sounded so much different and better then when I'd hear it on XM.

I was thinking about this today-- when I first got XM in 2003, it was *fun* to listen to. Yeah, it was a shiny new toy, but they were playing an amazing variety of different music, on tons of different channels, all sounding VERY good.. I discovered a lot of new music and heard a lot of favorites. Pretty much my main source of music from 2003-2005 was on XM. I too have a few (unfortunately not many) recordings from back in the day and it is AMAZING how much better XM sounded... anyone who claims they really had XM back before the bitrate massacre of March 1, 2006 (the day I thought my Roady was broken because the SQ took such a massive dive), and says it sounds as good as it did then needs to get their ears checked.

Now, between the sound quality dropping consistently, and the merger destroying the XM music stations, XM isn't particularly "fun" for me to listen to. There is a part of me that feels guilty since it was a birthday present from my parents back in the day. But hey, it was a good run.

Slacker does have that early days feeling again-- I don't think the hardware is quite where it needs to be (my G1 portable definitely has some weird flakiness I am willing to live with)-- but the service and SQ is fun to listen to. I wish their bitrate was a little higher, but in general it is totally acceptable (with a few weird encodes here and there) and as long as it doesn't get any worse I am fine with it.

I don't know how much I long for the "glory days" of XM because it was just new, or because it really isn't the same thing. I suspect it's a little of both. That said, I don't see much XM would be able to do to keep me a subscriber once my 5 year subscription runs out, assuming they are still around as a company! It seems like every time they've made a decision they have turned the service away from why I originally listened so much. (dropping SQ to add a bunch of non-music channels, and/or very shallow channels)

That said, I don't see much XM would be able to do to keep me a subscriber once my 5 year subscription runs out, assuming they are still around as a company!

They'll do what they always do, offer you free months or cheaper rates.

Well, being as I was completely happy with the service in early 2005 and there was no sign things would deteriorate the way they did, I was happy to sign up for 5 years. That decision has been sort of a mistake although not entirely-- I still like some aspects of what XM could be. All the merger talk had me alternately fretting and hoping of what would come of it and sadly it's worse than I ever imagined it would be.

So basically... why I subscribed for 5 years was because I loved the service and wanted to lock in the $9.95/mo rate... but it's gotten to the point that I don't see any bribe keeping me around for how things are now.

I can barely justify the $77 per year rate that I've had for the past three years. Not sure about my next renewal, but even $78 per year would be pushing it at this point.

I have a question about this lock in rate.
I just got the email but it wasn't clear.
Right now I have one subscription with the best of XM that expires at the end of February.
If I renew before then, will I get the upgraded internet for free?
They seem to imply that the 32k stream was going away.

I saw the press release that you need to lock in for like 3 years but that wasn't mentioned in the email.

I have a question about this lock in rate.
I just got the email but it wasn't clear.
Right now I have one subscription with the best of XM that expires at the end of February.
If I renew before then, will I get the upgraded internet for free?
They seem to imply that the 32k stream was going away.

I saw the press release that you need to lock in for like 3 years but that wasn't mentioned in the email.

I got the same email. The basic XM service for the primary unit does not change in value. Locking in the primary unit only locks in the internet stream. The streaming will go away for renewals after the March cut-off date. I'm not sure that the 32k stream will go away since they already have a 32k and 64k stream as it is. It will probably be renamed Low (32k), Medium (64k), and High (128k).

If you want to keep your streaming and don't want to pay extra then you need to lock in before the cut-off date. If you have a second radio then you need to lock it in before the cut-off date as well to avoid the $2 increase. Saying that reminds me to turn off my second radio's auto-renewal.

EDIT: Just called about my second radio and got it reduced to $4.99 per month for three months instead of an increase to $8.99. So now I have one radio at $77/year and another at $4.99/month.

I just got the rate hike e-mail this evening. What a crock... The economy is in the dumps, but hey, that sounds like a good time to make people's bills a little higher to try to make up for their ENORMOUS debt. Would the rake hike kill me? No, it's just the principle.

I am seriously tempted to cancel both radios or at least one. I am adding an aux-in to my truck's radio so I can enjoy Pandora instead...

I canceled today out of principal. My fiance and I are very big Stern fans but honestly I can't justify the price to just listen to his show. The rate hike kind of reminded me what we are paying to listen to just his show. Then throw in that the internet package isn't included anymore? No thanks.

yeah, i'm locking in 1 radio and cancelling the other. i believe they would have more cancellations than people signing up for the $2 increase, and it would end up being a very bad idea...

Yeah, the timing of this price hike leaves me shaking my head.

There's hundreds of FREE Internet music stations on-line, so what does SiriusXm do? They start charging a fee for their Internet feed?!

And a recession has officially hit full force, so they choose now to hike their rates?!

I know the company is in serious trouble, and we don't know what's going on behind the scenes. But on the surface these moves seem foolish right now, and they smell of desperation too.

Shoutcast alone has 28,000 streams! I think they claim like 22,00 unique streams.

I haven't been able to stream XM for a while now and when I called them up to fix it, they told me they were going to start charging in march. I just laughed at them. Make me pay for what I consider to be pretty poor programing these days as apposed to get much better content for free. I have been an XM sub since the first year and am going to cancel when they raise my rates.

I've never been one to bitch and moan about the SQ of XM. It is what it is.

So far I still have XM in my car BUT on some trips I take my Slacker G2 radio and plug that in instead of the Roadie.

The SQ difference is astounding. The Slacker sounds soooo much better, and much better separation too.

This made my day!
What great music.
I must have E-mailed 15 people telling them about Slacker,
so many great tunes. (Metal)
I'll check out Pandora next.
Thanks
Finn

not really sure about this, but once the usirius app gets approved for the iphone, would it be any cheaper to do it that way as opposed to over the radio?

I got the email last night (first I'd heard about this) and that is it. No more. I've had an XM SkyFi in my car since June 2004. I streamed a lot when it became available. I loved being able to drive for hours and hours without ever losing a signal. I signed up as soon as I could for the Best of Sirius package when it became available. But no more. The complete loss of everything I liked about the XM music programming, the continually-increasing costs and gouging ($2 a month to send me a bill, what the hell is that?), and the fact that I can find a better use for $240 a year, means XM is gone and dead to me. I'm going to look into Slacker. If I'm not happy with what I see there, I'll take the money I was going to spend on satellite radio and buy myself a shiny new iPod.

I got the email last night (first I'd heard about this) and that is it. No more. I've had an XM SkyFi in my car since June 2004. I streamed a lot when it became available. I loved being able to drive for hours and hours without ever losing a signal. I signed up as soon as I could for the Best of Sirius package when it became available. But no more. The complete loss of everything I liked about the XM music programming, the continually-increasing costs and gouging ($2 a month to send me a bill, what the hell is that?), and the fact that I can find a better use for $240 a year, means XM is gone and dead to me. I'm going to look into Slacker. If I'm not happy with what I see there, I'll take the money I was going to spend on satellite radio and buy myself a shiny new iPod.


:cool:Ipod:cool:

Love my Ipod. go get one as you can find all the music you want:p

:cool:Ipod:cool:

Love my Ipod. go get one as you can find all the music you want:p

That'll be my third iPod. I've been wanting an iPod Touch and now that I see that there's a Slacker app for it, I just might spring for the 32-gig once the tax refund from Uncle Sam gets here in two weeks. It's either that or a new 120-gig classic, though I've never managed to completely fill my 80-gig. I might also try replacing the hard drive in my old 40-gig 4g or even go flash, since that will work fine for in the car (seriously, who needs video in the car?) and won't be as big a deal if I lose it. (Despite its audio jack problems, I'm still wary of loss or damage to my 80-gig 5g.)

These Sirius folks have got to think us subscribers are dumb.
I have three subscriptions, and also listen on line.
I'm a road warrior and stay in hotels many nights per month. I have just purchased some very expensive Bose lap top speakers to enhance my "on-line" experience. I've been tuning in on Pandora off and on for several months.
After my subscriptions lapse, I'll NOT RENEW with Sirius, or who ever they become after their financial collapse.
I wrote the FCC prior to the XM deal. I told them that the level of servce would deminish, the programing would decline, and the rates somehow would increase. All the above has come though.
Shame to Sirius, it's been a long ride since the begining when I was a charter subscriber.

I have a Zune.....

I have a G2 Slacker....

And I still have one XM sub left. It's a portable unit so it can go anywhere with me.

I'm all set. Let the chips all where they may now. If SiriusXM folds, or ceases to exist for one reason or another between my Zune and my G2 I will be happy. If XM folds I will miss baseball. When I travel in the summer I do like to keep up on the MLB, and XM is great for that. But now I can get an MLB sub and listen too all the games online, that's not as convenient but it's serviceable.

boy that mel k sure is a genius.

serious.

ATTENTION alll techies, I need some technical advice about a new after market Sirius radio tuner and interface that I had installed in my new 2008 Totota Highlander.
The factory installed radio has the "SAT" button on the radio. It's ready for satilitte but it was not part of the factory installed radio. I purchased the "add-on" equipment as suggested by Toyota. The new equipment works just fine for a few days, but it doesn't always find the satilite interface. The dealer had changed the entire package and I still have the same package. I called Sirius tech support, and you all know what a problem that is. After 65 minuites on the phone and on "hold" they informed me they had no clue. The after market units have the official "Sirius" logo all over it, but Sirius shrugs their shoulders.
Has any of you experienced a similar problem?

Has anyone received a cheaper rate for renewal with Stern and Computer access then the $142.45 for one year the postcard they sent me offered?

PKinSFLA

I got the email about the rate hike etc. and am wondering now...I just got a subscription for the second radio only a few months ago, and it was paid for a year (since that's how we pay for the main subscription). Since that's already paid for, then the rate hike won't take effect on the second subscription until it's up for renewal, right?

As for the Internet stream I really don't use it, so that's not much of a loss for me.

TIA,
DGK

ATTENTION alll techies, I need some technical advice about a new after market Sirius radio tuner and interface that I had installed in my new 2008 Totota Highlander.
The factory installed radio has the "SAT" button on the radio. It's ready for satilitte but it was not part of the factory installed radio. I purchased the "add-on" equipment as suggested by Toyota. The new equipment works just fine for a few days, but it doesn't always find the satilite interface. The dealer had changed the entire package and I still have the same package. I called Sirius tech support, and you all know what a problem that is. After 65 minuites on the phone and on "hold" they informed me they had no clue. The after market units have the official "Sirius" logo all over it, but Sirius shrugs their shoulders.
Has any of you experienced a similar problem?

I don't have any knowledge of your hardware, but I suspect you'll do better if you post a new thread instead of posting in an unrelated existing thread.

I'm new to this site.
I'm not sure what path to take to gather some feedback from other Sirius users who may have experienced problems such as mine.
Any suggestions?
Thanks for the heads up.
I may just go to slacker with my Blackberry and go wireless to my radio.

With S-XM on the verge of going broke, they should investigate some new ideas....

Many cars have sat radio as standard equipment, so what if S-XM put up a few ad-supported channels for people who don't sub anymore?
I'm sure you could entice new signups by giving away a few channels that are ad-supported, and at the same time that would allow sub prices to remain low.

You basically pay extra (get a sub) to kill ads and get a few more channels.

I'm sure people who listen to S-XM because they drive cross-country (like truckers), or live in the middle of nowhere (no local stations exist) would have no problem with the ads-only and be happy to listen to it. And for everyone else it would be a come-on to get a sub.

S-XM would sell more receivers if they did this too.

I suspect it would also make the FCC happy if they did this.