XM or Sirius?

Wishy washy answers to follow:

-Portable receiver to go from home theater system to XM or Sirius boom box, to car(s).


Both have it

-intenna capable of picking up reception inside house


Both have it - but reception is a funny thing so you can't guarantee a clear signal in your particular house.

-willing to sign into a multi-year contract to save money (As long as there are not cancelation penalty's)


Both have longer/cheaper contracts; don't know about penalties.

-would like to have a coax or optical digital audio output if possible to use with my sound system.


This might be tough. I haven't seen it, but it could be out there. Both have analog outputs for hookup to home systems though.

-I really care about the music the most, and don't want to listen to DJ's overtalking songs or any possible hidden ad's.


All depends upon whatever music you like. The different stations are programmed with varying levels of DJ-ness. But keep in mind that even the most DJ-full stations on satellite radio are *much* better than anything you'll ever hear on commercial radio.

-Would like remote for receiver


Never seen any hardware that didn't have a remote.

-how do I find out if there are any terrestrial repeaters in my area? a website maybe? how would they help my signal level?


I wouldn't worry about repeaters so much as what the signal is like near you. Find people who live near you and drive on the roads you drive and see if they have any problems with signals. If you don't have friends with the services, you can ask at your local car-stereo store.

Quote:
MINIZ,


I gave my answers in the above quote. They are CAPITALIZED.


SAL,


THANX FOR THE EASY SET-UP FOR RESPONSES

MINIZ,


When I signed up for my subscription this past August 1, they had the $9.99/month deal.


It wasn't listed either on the website, but as I went into the process of signing up online(via a Credit Card), they offered that deal(I know they have one now if you sign up for a year you get one free which comes to like $11.87/month).


They list the free month offer on their price sheet, but they may still have the $9.99 offer if you get into the process of signing up. Just don't pull the trigger if they don't(it takes like 4-5 clicks[separate pages] to confirm and finish the process).


If you want to wait you could. They will offer it again(if not now) soon.


EDIT: AT THE BOTTOM OF THE "TIME TO ACTIVATE" SCREEN ON THE WEBSITE, IT STATES THERE IS - Termination of service prior to the end of a prepaid subscription or committed subscription period will result in a $75 cancellation fee. Fee does not apply for monthly plans.


I WOULD CALL SIRIUS AND ASK SOMEONE IF THEY OFFER THE $9.99/MONTH DEAL NOW OR NOT


HERE IS LINK TO THE SUB PAGE:

http://www.sirius.com/servlet/Conten...=1065475754240

I listened to both Sirius' and XM's free online trials and I must say that based entirely on the Rock stations (Rock is my only major concern and by rock I mean: classic, true alternative, mainstream alternative, punk, indie, emo, hardcore ... all styles) XM won hands down.


On Sirius' "First Wave" station which is described as "Alternative rock's pioneering artists and sounds", I heard such great innovative Alternative artists like "Human League" and "Falco". Are they "Sirius"? Human League?!? They played Human league at my Middle School dances, it is hardly what I consider pioneering alternative music. Their "Garage Underground" was nothing more than 60's rock that was by no means "underground" or "garage". Everything that was "punk" was basically just slightly edgy top radio hits. They group Blues and Raggae into their "Rock" catagory. I'm a big fan of Blues and Raggae but I do not consider them rock music. To me, from what I heard Sirius is basically everything that you hear on the radio except with less commercials and they clearly do not have a clue about rock history. There were actually times that I did not like any of the music that was on all of their rock stations.


Meanwhile on XM, their stations were much more diverse. Their music was spot on to what the station described. I heard great music by artists that I had never heard of before as well as obscure stuff that I haven't heard in years. About the only disappointing thing was that their online radio was very poor with constant skips (and I'm on T1), plus the fact that it does not come free with your subscription. But this is all about being in my car or listening from home, XM simply IMO understands rock music much better than Sirius.


I gave Sirius first and major consideration because I am a huge football fan and loved the idea that I could listen to any game, but Sirius' rock music selection was so poor that it simply turned me away, despite my desire to get the NFL stations. To me, the whole purpose of Satellite radio was to no longer be spoon fed by Record labels. Sirius seemed nothing more than the entire FM dial.

Quote:
I don't want the premium channels, nor the online streaming. I for one am glad XM charges me $10 and gives me a choice to pay extra for optional services. That way only the people who use them get charged for them. With Sirius, everyone is charged for everything without the option of saving money by not paying for what you don't use.


I'm glad D* doesn't hold to Sirius' model, because then everyone would be charged $91 a month and be forced to receive HBO, Showtime, etc.

I don't quite see how XM has hidden fees, all prices are clearly shown on their website, and are completely optional.


-$3.99, XM Online

-$2.99, Playboy Radio

-$1.99, High Voltage


If you don't care about internet streaming, don't want aural porn, and don't care for Opie & Anthony, XM is not charging you extra for anything. They’re extra options, XM has elected to charge extra for based on consumers wants and economics. Take your choice, Playboy Radio or High Voltage and you still pay the same price or a buck less then Sirius.


I don’t agree with charging for XM Online, but if I had a use for it, and worked in an office environment and I wanted satellite radio, I’d rather pay for XM the get Sirius’ for free. 65kbps sounds so much better then 34kbps.

Miniz,


You'll find out people fight about XM and Sirius not because one is actually better than the other, but because they have to JUSTIFY to themselves and to others that they have "SATELLITE RADIO" to have.


In other words, they post nasty comments to put down the "other" service because it makes them feel like they are missing out on something. That they did not get "screwed" by getting the wrong service. So they have to put down the other one.


If anyone responds to this part of my post, you are going to find out who those people are immediately. Then you can weed out the ones who are being ASSH*@$#, and who are giving an objective opinion. You'll be able to see and ignore the posts you want.


I've had both services, but eventually settled on Sirius. More to my tastes for now(I like the music, NFL) and in the future(Howard Stern in 2006).


XM just made a major coup and got MLB, which will be nice for those who have the service, or are planning on getting it. I would love to have MLB, but will have to live with local Bcasts of teams(Cleveland[anytime], Pittsburgh[anytime], Detroit[night], NY Yankees[night], NY Mets[night], Philadelphia[night] ).


Also, XM just released a NICE portable unit. There is another thread with a link to it. Sirius should have something similiar, or better(they both will improve their receivers over time), in the near future.


You are going to have to decide for yourself in the end which service is RIGHT for you. And, like me, may change after a year or two. Hell you may get both.





I have a question for XM'ers out there, which will change what this thread is about for now.


What is current subcription # for those who actually GET those premium channels on XM? I know XM currently has 2.6 million listeners(3 million by Jan 2005), BUT HOW MANY OF THOSE ACTUALLY SUBSCRIBE TO ANY OF THESE SERVICES?


Is there a place to find out? I thought I heard that the Playboy Channel on XM was close to being dumped because of poor subcription for it? I don't know if that is true or not.


I would be curious to see how many of those current 2.6 mil people actually have "picked up" the $1.99 O&E channel. What the percentage is, and how many people are actually "listening to the show."


Are those numbers available yet, or is it too soon to get that type of info?