<p>fundingfather -</p>
<p>You made reference to returning from dropping your kid off at college and listening to your XM radio on the way home. How do you like XM? I’ve been thinking about it, but now I can’t decide between Sirius and XM. The NFL contract that Sirius has put really makes me think they’re the one to get (I can listen to EVERY Steelers game). Anyway, does it work as advertised? Did you need a special antenna?</p>
<p>Anyone else with thoughts, suggestions, recommendations?</p>
<p>I love it. It is especially good for long trips through areas that have very few radio stations. One minor technical issue - it has to have a line of sight view of the sky. 99.9 % of the time this is no problem. However, if you drive a lot along narrow roads with heavy wooded or rocky areas that obstruct the view of the sky you can have a problem. So far, I have only had this problem twice - once on the road into Yosemite National Park and also a short stretch of the road into Ithaca. It has never been a problem with any Interstates.</p>
<p>Yes, there is a special antenna that they install on the roof of your car. it appears as a small black “bump” and is quite unobtrusive. </p>
<p>My car radio is not XM ready, so they use an FM modulator to essentially re-broadcast the signal over an unused FM frequency. It works great and has excellent quality. If you get a radio that is XM ready, then you have some added benefits of being able to control your XM radio directly from your normal car car as if it is just another choice in addition to AM and FM. Without an XM-ready radio (like most cars) they will install another control device at the place of your chosing on your dashboard. Mine was done in such a way that you can not see any wires, but yet they didn’t have to do any drilling either. They now have portable units that allow you to use XM in the house as well. Note that you still will need a view of the sky for this to work (I believe that it is the southern sky that is important).</p>
<p>As to XM versus Sirius, it probably depends on the stations that you prefer. I suggest that you go to their respective websites and see which line-up you would listen to the most. Being a liberal, XM offers you Air America. I listen to it for some laughs. You could probably get comparable laughs by listening to the corresponding XM offer called America - Right.</p>
<p>dig,</p>
<p>I used to work at XM and have some pretty good knowledge of both operations. </p>
<p>Of course the main advantage of either service is the extremely wide variety of niche music choices. Do you spend a lot of time in the car? Do you like to listen to music, news, sports, etc? What music genres do you mostly listen to? Answers to these questions may help you zero in on which would be better for you. Both are great for music to fit whatever mood you are in. </p>
<p>Regarding reception, you will experience fading from time in time in large cities because of the obstructions from tall buildings, under bridges, in tunnels, etc. Or, maybe you are planning to listen mostly at home?</p>
<p>I would say both services perform basically as advertised. </p>
<p>I’m a big NASCAR fan and will be getting Sirius when they pick up the NASCAR franchise in 2007. Though it is rumored they might negotiate with XM to take over the NASCAR service earlier.</p>
<p>Be happy to try to help you with any questions about either.</p>
<p>From my perspective:</p>
<p>XM
Main advantage = No DJs
Main drawback = No NPR</p>
<p>Sirius
Main advantage = Has NPR
Main drawback = Has DJs</p>
<p>Actually, some of the XM stations have DJs, but they are very low key and spend very little time talking and when they do talk it is more of the “that was such and such as performed by so and so” interlude. I do not find it objectionable at all - at least not on the stations that I listen to.</p>
<p>XM has what they call the equivalent of NPR and have one of NPR’s more famous ex-hosts on it (who’s name I can’t recall because I’m not much of an NPR person.) Could it be Bob Franklin?</p>
<p>Recently dropped Sirius in favor of XM for 2 reasons:</p>
<p>XM has Major League Baseball-- gnu, don’t you know that baseball is the ultimate radio sport? :D</p>
<p>XM does not have Howard Stern. I just can’t stand the idea that my money would wind up in his pocket. Yuck.</p>
<p>ditto the Howard Stern comment.</p>
<p>A sampling of only a few channels at each might leave someone with the impression expressed above that XM=no DJ’S,SIRIUS=DJ’s. However, it may be more accurate to say that that impression depends on the channels you listen to most. There are approximately 200 on-air in-house programming people scattered among the various channels at XM. Some music channels, for example, “AudioVisions”, would leave a listener with the impression there were no on-air programming people. However, listeners of XM’s “60’s on 6” would be left with quite a different impression.</p>
<p>Generally, you could say that XM is very music focused, but some of the channels will most definitely leave the listener with the impression that there are dj’s there (even though in most cases the channel might only have two on air employees and they fill all the dayparts by doing a live shift and lots of voice tracking, etc).</p>
<p>Wyogal, there is nothing like baseball on radio! Some of my earliest memories are listening to Ernie Harwell announcing Detroit Tiger baseball. I can hear that beautiful resonance of his voice right now! But being a certified NASCAR freak, I will be forced to make the switch to Sirius when they pick up the NASCAR Radio channel. (Hopefully not too much of my subscription fee will end up lining the pockets of Howard Stern).</p>
<p>Directv=NFL
Sirius=NFL</p>
<p>End of discussion</p>
<p>c-dad,</p>
<p>We also have DirecTv. My hs junior son is crazy about football. So, when he got all A’s on his last report card, I started singing, “You’ve got the Sunday Ticket”…Ha! :)</p>
<p>(You will have to be a DirecTV subscriber to understand this message.)</p>
<p>OK, as long as the discussion has morphed to include DirecTV, I have briefly explored it but always gave up since we are cursed with too many TVs (6). I’m not sure if that many can be handled from a technical or wiring perspective, but it seems like even if they could, the cost would become prohibitive. I can’t see equipping only some of the TVs with satellite service because that would mean keeping BOTH cable and the dish. Anyone else dealing with the issue of too many TVs?</p>
<p>FF:</p>
<p>It may not be as bad as you think.</p>
<p>From the DirecTv website </p>
<p><a href=“http://www.directv.com/DTVAPP/get_directv/get_directv_whatsmycost.dsp[/url]”>http://www.directv.com/DTVAPP/get_directv/get_directv_whatsmycost.dsp</a></p>
<p>Basic 4-room system 56.96 per month, 4.99 per month for each additional room…so approximately 66.94 per month.</p>
<p>If you need an HD setup, a little more. If you want more channels, they’ll get you for a little more.</p>
<br>
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<p>Bob Edwards. And Bob Edwards is great, but has XM’s faux NPR developed the sort of far-flung network of reporters, news offices, correspondents, and commentators that NPR offers? Or does Bob just read the wire copy?</p>
<p>I have 4 sets hooked up to Directv and dropped cable once local stations became available in my area. The picture clarity is far superior to cable. And, yes, NFL Sunday Ticket – come on, sing-a-long, NFL Sunday Ticket – only 70 more days to kick-off!!!</p>
<p>coureur,</p>
<p>Sadly, XM has virtually nothing in the way of resources that you ask about. They had a very small news department doing their locally produced “USA Today” News channel, but that news channel and all those people are gone. XM is seriously understaffed, which is one of the main reasons I left their employment. News was my background, but I worked there on their NASCAR Radio channel. We had 2 fulltime on air people, 1 part-time reporter in Charlotte and 2 producers…woefully inadequate to get the job done properly, so we all worked 80 hours per week. I no longer work there, so I dont know exactly what they have devoted to Bob Edwards, but from what I hear on the air, it is no comparison to the facilities and human resources of what you hear on NPR. Bob Edwards, though, is a strong, well respected talent and I am sure many people enjoy maintaining the connection to him through XM.</p>
<p>Anyone seen the ads for the little portable XM radio? Kind of like an ipod, but a radio? That looks neat But the main reason I want one is that our family travels extensively by car (approx 50K miles/yr) and you just cannot keep a station on for very long, especially in the mountains.</p>
<p>But there are two problems as I see it: (1) no local stations - I’m always turning to some AM station when I’m stuck in traffic; and (2) line-of-sight - I understand that I will lose the signal in tunnels, etc., but I live in a very wooded area. The only line-of-sight would be straight up. Does that mean I won’t get the signal around my neighborhood?</p>
<p>If the trees are very dense, that could be a problem. Are all 50K of your miles in that type of terrain? If only a portion of them are, you may want to consider it for use when you are in the clear. Every person’s idea of “cheap” is different, but at $10-12 per month (about the price of a couple of meals at McDonalds) it is worth it to me even though the preponderance of my car radio time is on local AM/FM radio stations.</p>
<p>Sirius offers a lifetime contract for approximately $500. Here’s the catch, its for the life of the equipment you purchased and not for your life. </p>
<p>I am glad Stern is moving to Sirius. That means he won’t be on the public airwaves.</p>
<p>ID, I don’t think it i possible to have too many TVs. If you have cable and Satellite and TVs with picture in picture, you can watch both at the same time on the same TV. If you invite all the neighborhood kids to your house and encourage them to fight over the remote controls, you are assured of a quicker trip to the rest home.</p>