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Satellite Radio

The TVClubHouse: General Discussions ARCHIVES: 2005 Mar. ~ 2005 May: Buyers Banter (ARCHIVES): Satellite Radio users admin

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Jedisan
Member

01-11-2002

Friday, December 10, 2004 - 6:12 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
I am interested in getting satellite radio, but I have some questions/concerns.
Does anyone out there already HAVE it so I might get some info?
Thanks bunches!

Tishala
Member

08-01-2000

Friday, December 10, 2004 - 7:49 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
I have had Sirius since April. I love it. I got it to listen to Air America Radio and now they have Howard Stern coming. I listen to the jazz, r&b, and hip hop stations all the time, too. Besides that, I get to listen to my beloved Philadelphia Eagles in L.A. In SoCal, we spend too much time in our cars, so it is invaluable to me.

Besides my cable modem, it is my favorite technology.

Froggiegirl621
Member

02-14-2003

Friday, December 10, 2004 - 8:58 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
My fiance' has had XM for about three months now. He drives about an hour to and from work each day so he thought it would be a great investment. I hated the idea at first. Why would someone PAY for music they could get from the radio for FREE? Seemed crazy to me. But now I LOVE it! It's the best thing ever! So much to choose from, too.

Right now he just has it in his car, but he hopes to install an antenna in my car soon, as well as buy the home system.

If you have any questions, let me know...I'm sure he'll have an answer for you!


Jedisan
Member

01-11-2002

Saturday, December 11, 2004 - 9:44 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Thanks guys for the info.

Tishala, by reading your posts here, I find you to a woman of variable and exquisite tastes.
That you are outing yourself as a Stern fan comes as no surprise to me.
Howard is THE reason we are going to satellite, and Sirius in particular.

That said, the technology is basically the same, so Froggie, your offer for a Q&A is greatly appreciated.

Some things off the top of my head:
Since most of the music channels are computerized, how often do songs "loop"? In other words, how often do they change up the library? If i were to have a most favored status for a particular station (DH and I look forward to the all blues agenda), how long would it be before I heard the same song over and over again?

Also, and this probably sunds stupid, but, since there are plans to have a portable device for this, would it still work if I were to go underground on a train? I know the cell phones don;t work down there.

Similarly, DH wants to know if the car device works in a tunnel? or do you get "snow" like an AM radio? (probably a silly question - don't laught at him, he makes a great belini!)

Your post brought up another question: Since you have the radio in his car, will your antenna feed from his box? You don;'t imply that you need to get another docking device.
Is that the case?
Is seems it could be pretty costly for us to get all of our needs met. We want to have it in the house, the car, and ideally, the portable so I can listen in the AM.
Are we looking at three separate docking stations?

On a side - is it true that XM charges extra for "premium" channels, unlike Sirius that has one flat rate for all programming?

so many questions - I appreciate your responses.



Froggiegirl621
Member

02-14-2003

Monday, December 13, 2004 - 11:09 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Sorry to keep you hanging...

My fiance' is in bed by now, so I'll try to answer as best I can.

My favorite channel on XM is the Top 20 on 20. I always have it on when I'm in his car. That channel basically plays the same 20 or so songs over and over, in a different order each round. I prefer it since it plays the most popular, current songs...ones that I can sing along to. But there are tons of other channels, and on the rare occasion that I actually listen to them, they play quite a variety. Steve listens to more of the other channels and he's never complained about hearing the same couple songs repeated.

I'm not too into all the technology, but the device that we have is the Delphi Roady 2. It is not built into his car, it is a portable device. We can transfer it between cars as long as each car is equipped with an XM antenna. There is a home kit that you can buy so you can get the service in your home, and they also sell boomboxes that you can slap the device in and basically take the music anywhere. XM has just started offering the Delphi XM MyFi which looks a bit like an iPod...probably what you'd be looking for as far as a portable personal device.

Now for reception...I can't speak for the personal device, only on the car system. I must tell you that we live in a very mountainous area, lots of hills, valleys, and tons of trees. This can block reception, and we tend to experience it alot. However, Steve does not encounter any of these blocked areas during his long commutes,, so he's happy. Tunnels, I'd most definitely say would block reception. We've yet to go through a tunnel with it, but just seeing how we lose reception in the mountains I'm sure we'd lose it there too. Same thing with being underground...my guess is you would lose it.

Like I said previously, the device we have is portable. To be able to use it in my car we'd have to purchase and install another car kit, and then switch out the device. XM does, however, offer a family plan and you pay extra per month to have up to 5 different devices. I don't drive nearly as much as Steve, so it would be cheaper for us to just purchase another car kit and transfer the device as needed. It sounds to me that you and your husband would want seperate devices, so the family plan would be the way to go.

It can get pretty costly to get all the different devices. We want to purchase the home kit and that will be it. I think just to have the portable device in his car, Steve spent over $200. The home kit will be another $70+.

We just have the basic package at $9.99 a month for 128 channels. They have premium channels that you pay extra for, but there are only three: High Voltage which has the Opie & Anthony show, Playboy, and XM online. They also offer discounts with a multi-year package or the family plans.

Ok, I think I got through all your questions. I know I'm the best at explaining things, so if you have any more questions please don't hesitate to ask!


Jedisan
Member

01-11-2002

Thursday, December 16, 2004 - 5:59 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Froggie: You rock, and the wait was worth it.
Your responses were very informative.
Thank you, thank you for taking time to get back to me.

I will check in periodically for any updates.
Happy holidays!

Froggiegirl621
Member

02-14-2003

Thursday, December 16, 2004 - 10:24 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Same to you! I'm glad you thought my responses were informative. I tend to ramble at times so I was a bit worried.

If there are any more questions you can think of, please don't hesitate to ask them here. I'd be more than happy to help you out.

And on a side note...on another message board I frequent, a lot of the women were asking about the difference between XM and Sirius, and which people prefered. Most people responded by saying Sirius had the better variety although at a higher monthly fee, but hands down XM has the better equipment and technology. Just thought you'd like to hear what other people are thinking.

Definitely keep me posted. I'd love to know what you and your husband decide to go with!


Tishala
Member

08-01-2000

Tuesday, April 12, 2005 - 1:10 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Well now I'm irritated. Sirius is going to carry Howard Stern starting next year and, beginning in a few months Air America Radio, the progressive station, is going to be exclusively XM. I know Sirius has Talk Left, but still...I want to be able to listen to the Eagles during football season too and XM doesn't have that.

I'm not sure what to do now. Thank goodness I rarely take long trips like I used to so I can just listen to Air America on a regular radio. But I think these business buyouts etc are for the birds.