Slashdot Mirror

There are incentives to compress dynamic range of digital audio... Sirius and XM both use DRC as part of their audio processing (Sirius uses Orban Opticodecs, XM uses Neural Audio), with the major reason being that listeners complain if The Boneyard is noticeably quieter than Symphony Hall (or vice versa) (also on XM, the processing regime theoretically makes the audio more compressible by an HE-AAC encoder).

There are incentives to compress dynamic range of digital audio... Sirius and XM both use DRC as part of their audio processing (Sirius uses Orban Opticodecs, XM uses Neural Audio), with the major reason being that listeners complain if The Boneyard is noticeably quieter than Symphony Hall (or vice versa) (also on XM, the processing regime theoretically makes the audio more compressible by an HE-AAC encoder).

I liked Sirius Disorder, seems it wasn't more than a few weeks ago that dissapeared. Anyway, try "the loft" apparently that's their new disorder.

New Lineup

The companies might have a valid case about 'not being able to survive without each other' if they didn't make almost suicidally bad business decisions like paying Howard Stern 300 million dollars only to find out he can't bring in enough subscribers to even break even on his paycheck.

What are you talking about? The big talking point when the new broke that Sirius had signed Stern was that "Oh, Stern has to bring in one million subscribers for them to break even."

Sirius gained 1 million subscribers, going from 1 million to 2 million subscribers, in the year between the time Stern signed and the show started broadcasting. 2.5 years later, they are over 8 million subscribers.

So, to recap -- Sirius had 1.1 million subscribers on Dec. 31st, 2004. They are now over 8 million. Could they have done that without Stern? No. Without Stern, they would be out of business. Stern has paid off in spades. Well worth the investment.

Sirius works just fine on my phone. I listen to Stern all the time! I have also heard that Sirius steams just fine to IPhones using the regular web streaming. http://tinyurl.com/2hv4ns http://www.emulamer.com/SiriuCE.html http://www.sirius.com/sirius/servlet/MediaPlayer?stream=&

My almost ad free life

I use

• Adblock Plus for web ads
• Sirius satellite radio to get rid of radio ads.
• fast forward/skip the ads for tv.

"And how did you find out about Zeppelin, exactly?
Why don't you just keep doing that?"

I heard them on the RADIO....

What are you talking about? $12.95/mo will not buy you a NEW CD. Sure, you might get ONE used one, or some piece of crap from the bargain bin. But suggesting that you have more variety than Sirius is just ridiculous. By all means, if you don't want to subscribe, then don't. But don't pretend that it's expensive or that the music selection isn't fantastic as the reason that you don't subscribe.

Actually, there's really not a lot of exclusivity between the two services.

Actually, you don't know what the heck you're talking about (not that this is surprising in a slashdot post, but still). Aside from the fact that they both have "music", "sports", "news", and "talk", the two services are quite distinct. Take a look at the sport offerings, for example. Sirius has exclusive rights to NFL and NBA. XM has exclusive rights to MLB and (starting next season) the NHL.

For talk, XM has Oprah, Sirius has Stern. For news, XM has the BBC, Sirius has NPR. Even the music offerings are different, check these links for the "only on" XM and Sirius pages, where the two companies brag about what their competitor lacks: http://www.sirius.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagena me=Sirius/Page&c=Page&cid=1107787275024& and http://www.xmradio.com/onlyonxm/index.xmc.

I see nothing in the article that actually supports any claims of actual signal interference. Maybe that was not the real intent of the article but based on the author claiming interference and disruptions, something technical should have been mentioned. The only interference I see XM and Sirius causing is with the business model of the companies that NAB represents. NAB's goal seems to be to restrict the satellite broadcasters anyway they can to gain their own edge or to prevent further acceptance of satellite providers. The complaining about Howard Sterm also being simulcast via web pretty much shows that motivation.

My experience in relation to the topic..
I have a SIRIUS Sportster(TM) Replay (SP-TK2) radio and use its built in FM modulator. IMHO, it is pretty powerful and more so then my friends that has a different model. I can pick up its FM signal for at least 100ft and probably 200ft away in some environments. If I set the modulator to a local "in use" frequency, the two duke it out but normally the official radio station wins. In another car 10 ft away does not seem to get any interference from the Sirius radio (I tried this in my own driveway). Now the point is, who the hell is going to actually have the Sirius tuned to a populated frequency? That does not make sense. There is not some conspiracy going where all satellite users are trying to disrupt the local NPR frequency. Being from the DC area, there is not much choice of free stations to choose from though and I've heard other users iPods over my Sirius before at red lights. At least the Sirius radio I have allows you to choose ANY frequency in the FM band and not just a few selections down at the lower end like some of the portable modulators.

"suspect that NPR is invovled here because NPR isn't being broadcast on XM/Sirius because they can't pay or won't make enough revenue for the satellite providers."

Both Sirius and XM carry NPR programming. And both XM/Sirius pay NPR to carry NPR's programming. Why would NPR pay satellite companies to have their programming played? That doesn't make sense.

"suspect that NPR is invovled here because NPR isn't being broadcast on XM/Sirius because they can't pay or won't make enough revenue for the satellite providers."

Both Sirius and XM carry NPR programming. And both XM/Sirius pay NPR to carry NPR's programming. Why would NPR pay satellite companies to have their programming played? That doesn't make sense.

• Yahoo! Music Jukebox(TM) provides a simple and easy way for you to purchase, download your favorite SIRIUS songs

• Yahoo! Music Jukebox(TM) provides a simple and easy way for you to purchase, download your favorite SIRIUS songs

You don't get all of the Siruis channels online when you buy a subscription to Sirius. They only offer a few channels online - mostly music. In fact, I don't think there is a single talk channel available.

From here:
Both Stern channels
Football
Playboy (pretty lame if you ask me)
Sirius Left (liberal talk channel)
Raw Dog comedy
Maxim
BBC

and others... So there's a smattering of Sirius talk channels. Not all of them, but enough to keep you interested.

They have. http://www.sirius.com/stiletto

...the options that will soon be available will make XM look like a pretty silly business model...

http://www.sirius.com/nprnow and http://www.sirius.com/NPRTalk

http://www.sirius.com/nprnow and http://www.sirius.com/NPRTalk

I thought the same way before I tried a three-day trial streaming sirius. It's not the greatest quality stream, or even really a good quality stream, but they played a lot of music I didn't know. I liked it so much that I listened to it pretty much straight through the trial, even though my mp3 collection is ripped at a much-higher quality 192kbps vbr.

That's the appeal of Sirius for me. They play a lot of music I'd never hear anywhere else, and they have a lot of good stations from many different genres. It helps me find a lot of new music to add to my iPod.

I have 67 channels of commercial-free music, plus tons of non-music entertainment channels, comedy, sports and other channels at my fingertips. I trust them to provide worthwhile content much more than I trust Clear Channel.

What the hell are you talking about? I don't know what kind of crappy satellite radio YOU listen to, but MY satellite radio is assuredly almost CD-quality sound.

As long as Music Choice has their near-monopoly among the digital cable providers, they'll do OK.

Of course, nothing precludes (XM|Sirius) from displacing Music Choice there as well (except I have a niggling suspicion that Comcast owns a major piece of Music Choice, though nothing on either's site that I've seen indicates this). The sat providers can justify paying carriage fees to cable/sat TV providers as a marketing expense; the hope would be to get somebody hooked on Sirius 19//Buzzsaw and decide to get Sirius for their car. MusicChoice can't claim that; their revenue is entirely from being part of the menu of various providers.

Of course, Sirius has a similar deal with Sprint (a subset of their music offerings is available through that outlet).

Actually, I'm a fan of listening to lugradio on my drive to work. If not that I usually just randomly switch through the Podcast Directory.
A couple more to wet your tongue would be to dig through archive and legal torrents.
Alternatively, I know you said you wish to save a bit of dough by doing it the freebie way, but I've gotta tell you Sirius is one hell of an offering.

People still have them? I thought they went out years ago once satellite radios came into being.

http://www.sirius.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagena me=Sirius/CachedPage&c=Page&cid=1065475754115

Oh hey that's some nice consolidation you did for XM's offerings

http://www.xmradio.com/cars/
http://www.sirius.com/Partners/Vehicle

I thought the Clear Channel connection would be dissapointing if true. (I got a satellite radio to get away from the Clear Channel and Infinity stations) so I looked it up:
http://www.xmradio.com/newsroom/screen/press_relea se_1999_06_08.html
I also looked at the history of Mel Karmazin:
http://www.sirius.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagena me=Sirius/CachedPage&c=BioAsset&cid=1100707192159& flash=flash

It seems to me that the small percentage investment that Clear Channel has in XM is nothing compared to the direct leadership of Mel.

While Clear Channel has an investment in XM, I would chose it over Sirius due to the direct direction Sirius receives from Karmazin.

They should really use some of your money to employ a spellchecker.

http://cdn.sirius.com/servlet/BlobServer?blobtable =ImageAsset&blobcol=urlimage&blobkey=id&blobwhere= 1115038984753

FYI: Adam Curry's "Pod Show"
is already ON Sirius everyday.

Anywhere in the US with satellite coverage from here or here.

You can listen to most of the Sirius stations online at sirius.com. This is free for subscribers, and non-subscribers can get a free trial.

Sirius is really just better than XM. Better music, no commercials, and free internet streams for when I'm at work or in a hotel on the road. Also, Howard Stern will be exclusive to Sirius in Jan 2006. Like him or not (I do,) he's a huge draw....

My solution.

Not only does it bypass local pledge drives, but the two flavors of NPR they carry that I listen to are all talk; classical music is reserved for the classical music streams.

They'd sell some, but I don't know about tons.

A combo unit would have horrible battery life and require a monthly fee.

Not to mention that this couldn't be like their plug 'n play radios where you can take the radio part out of the boom box and stick it in the living room reciever, etc. This would have to be a completely seperate radio or the iPod wouldn't have to get bloated. Also if you already have Sirius radio, say, in your car, you'll have to pay $7/mo on top of your current fee to get something like this, and you can't have more than 4 of these on one bill.

Join the conga

They'd sell some, but I don't know about tons.

A combo unit would have horrible battery life and require a monthly fee.

Not to mention that this couldn't be like their plug 'n play radios where you can take the radio part out of the boom box and stick it in the living room reciever, etc. This would have to be a completely seperate radio or the iPod wouldn't have to get bloated. Also if you already have Sirius radio, say, in your car, you'll have to pay $7/mo on top of your current fee to get something like this, and you can't have more than 4 of these on one bill.

Join the conga

Current iPod buyers are part of the young "hip" crowd, and they have just the type of personality that would be attracted to a Stern radio show. So, too, the current middle-aged crowd who grew up with Stern would likely buy an iPod to tune into the "King of All Media".

Jobs really blew this one. If you are a Stern fan and want Stern to succeed at his new home on Sirius radio, then send an e-mail note to Steve Jobs and tell that arrogant CEO to work with Sirius.

Sometimes, Jobs acts like ... well ... a "Carly Fiorina".

That was the last straw for me, I went out the next day and picked up a Sirius Satellite receiver, and have been much, much happier ever since -- big fan of Buzzsaw (Sirius 19).

Actually there are a lot more than just Ford http://sirius.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=S irius/CachedPage&c=Gateway&cid=10668573982 86

Election coverage, including CNN, is another good reason to get an XM-Radio. Sirius is also good.

Sirius already has a product like this, minus the stream capturing (which I don't have a use for anyway). Anyway, it's a unit called the XAct. Go Here

That's probably why Audiovox just released their third generation receiver. Too bad it's a different form factor from their earlier tuners; otherwise, getting it wouldn't mean getting new docking stations and such.

Stern isn't the first big name that has joined with Sirius: Eminem and Shady Records signed a deal with Sirius earlier this year.. I guess they'll be playing a lot of exclusive stuff from the bands on that label. Also, Vincent Pastore (of The Sopranos), Tony Hawk, Bam Margera, and Grandmaster Flash all host shows on Sirius.

Sirius and XM Radio are not the same company. They're competitors.

Sirius is the one that Stern will be on, which I presume is quite a victory for them.

Sure. Grab one of the Plug&Play units. It can go to aux-in's on your head unit (if you've got any), or there's some new FM transmitters out there that people have had good success with.

Here's some of the FM transmitters on Sirius' website.

Here's the Plug-n-play units.

Kenwood has some sort of a universal connector unit coming out in the near future.

I'm not so good a Sirius tech, but some of the people on the forums on SiriusBackstage can help you out.

Sure. Grab one of the Plug&Play units. It can go to aux-in's on your head unit (if you've got any), or there's some new FM transmitters out there that people have had good success with.

Here's some of the FM transmitters on Sirius' website.

Here's the Plug-n-play units.

Kenwood has some sort of a universal connector unit coming out in the near future.

I'm not so good a Sirius tech, but some of the people on the forums on SiriusBackstage can help you out.

1. The number of auto manufacturers that have Sirius as factory installed is increasing.

SIRIUS' exclusive automotive partners DaimlerChrysler, Ford and BMW represent over 40% of new cars and light trucks sold annually in the United States. Automotive brands currently offering SIRIUS radios in select new car models include BMW, MINI, Chrysler, Dodge, Jeepâ, Nissan, Infiniti, Mazda, Audi, Ford, Lincoln-Mercury, Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen. Automotive brands that have announced plans to offer SIRIUS radios in select models include Jaguar, Volvo, Land Rover and Aston Martin. In 2004, SIRIUS radios are expected to be available in nearly 80 different car models, with over 50 of them factory programs. Also Hertz currently offers SIRIUS in 29 vehicle models at 53 major locations around the country. In addition, Penske Companies - Penske Auto Group, United Auto Group and Penske Trucking - are offering SIRIUS radios as a factory installed option, where available, in their cars and trucks through their dealerships.

2. The safe answer is "yes" because of Sirius' advertising slogan: "Censorship_OFF"

XM beat Sirius to the starting gate, but Sirius is gaining ground quickly. According to their CEO, Sirius is slated to hit 1 million subscribers before years' end. This announcement was made well before Howard Stern was signed.

Sirius is the better value, IMHO (Note: Biased, I'm a subscriber)

Sirius: $12.95/Month
Includes:
65+ Commercial Free music channels.
Sports, Talk, Weather
Free on-line music streaming
All NFL games
NBA (up to 40 games/week)
NHL (up to 40 games/week, if they get off their asses.)
Some college sports
Starting Jan 2, 2006, Howard Stern

XM: Base $9.95/month
Includes:
68 Music Channels (up to 2 minutes commercials/hour)
Sports/Talk/Weather
NASCAR

Extras:
Opie & Anthony (additional $1.99/month)
Playboy Radio (Additional $1.99/month)
On-Line streaming music (Additional $3.99/month)

Seriously. I'd love to have a Tivo-like recorder for *any* audio setup. Just line in and line out. I want a way to pause shows on satellite radio, skip commercials during talk shows, and hear instant replays of parts that I missed.

All Sirius Sat Radio subsribers can listen to all their audio streams online for free (as in beer) for the past several months, how can XM possible claim this type of service is 'new and special' and charge for it???

consider your options