XM vs. SIRIUS
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Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 108
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Yes XM just added internet XM (for an added cost) of about $3.99. Sirius already has that feature and it is free.
As far as my experience, I canceled my Sirius subscription after 1 week back in July. I prepaid for 1 year of service over the phone not knowing that there is a $150 cancellation fee and there was no refund. The customer rep I spoke to when I made the purchase did not inform me of this. The folks there gave me such a hard time with that. I tried to point out that when I signed up I was not told such a policy. They told me it was stated in my Welcome Package (which I did not receive yet). After that, they pointed me out to a very small disclaimer on the bottom of their site. I offered to pay for 1 week of service (since I already returned my equipment) and still they refused. After speaking to them for an hour I finally persuaded them to cancel my subscription.
It took them 2 months to finally refund my money. I did not have a good experience with their customer service 
, and instead switched to XM (already installed on my new Honda Accord). In their website, XM makes it apparent that if you wish to cancel, you will only be charged with the number of days you used the service. You could cancel at anytime.
"No Obligation
Cancel any time and receive a prorated refund of the balance of your remaining subscription."
As far as the sports, I was glad XM got MLB baseball only b/c baseball is probably the only sport made for the radio. You feel more drama with every pitch and there is time between pitches for the color commentator to add in his 2 cents. I don't see that with the NFL or the NBA. Overall, I am glad I switched to XM.
As far as my experience, I canceled my Sirius subscription after 1 week back in July. I prepaid for 1 year of service over the phone not knowing that there is a $150 cancellation fee and there was no refund. The customer rep I spoke to when I made the purchase did not inform me of this. The folks there gave me such a hard time with that. I tried to point out that when I signed up I was not told such a policy. They told me it was stated in my Welcome Package (which I did not receive yet). After that, they pointed me out to a very small disclaimer on the bottom of their site. I offered to pay for 1 week of service (since I already returned my equipment) and still they refused. After speaking to them for an hour I finally persuaded them to cancel my subscription.
It took them 2 months to finally refund my money. I did not have a good experience with their customer service , and instead switched to XM (already installed on my new Honda Accord). In their website, XM makes it apparent that if you wish to cancel, you will only be charged with the number of days you used the service. You could cancel at anytime."No Obligation
Cancel any time and receive a prorated refund of the balance of your remaining subscription."
As far as the sports, I was glad XM got MLB baseball only b/c baseball is probably the only sport made for the radio. You feel more drama with every pitch and there is time between pitches for the color commentator to add in his 2 cents. I don't see that with the NFL or the NBA. Overall, I am glad I switched to XM.
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 2,160
Likes: 35
From: Decatur, GA
Yeah, Sirius internet is free. I've listened to both and now have Sirius in both of my cars and my work truck. The programming on Octane, Alt Nation, Hard Attack, and Faction is hard to beat. The Lamb of God interview on Hard Attack was great. It seems like they have an interview/live performance once a week with a great band. I also listen to the talk stations quite a bit. There is a LARGE variety of talk from PBS, Talk Left, Talk Right, Air America, BBC, PRI and others. I've travelled 30k miles so far this year in my vehicles and I've never been bored with Sirius. Their programming really is fantastic.
The biggest difference between the two historically(IMO) is that XM has had MUCH nicer equipment than Sirius. Last week, I was at Best Buy and a few car audio stores. It seems that Sirius has finally cought up. There now are a large number of excellent looking plug and play receivers. I have the old Audiovox plug and play and the Kenwood add on system. If you check out http://www.crutchfield.com you can probably compare XM and Sirius receivers side by side. Both now have companies making HU's which can take advantage of an add-on box to receive XM or sirius.
I know this is a biased comparison, but I'm sure someone will post one from the XM site.
http://www.sirius.com/servlet/ContentServe...d=1065475754125
Tim
The biggest difference between the two historically(IMO) is that XM has had MUCH nicer equipment than Sirius. Last week, I was at Best Buy and a few car audio stores. It seems that Sirius has finally cought up. There now are a large number of excellent looking plug and play receivers. I have the old Audiovox plug and play and the Kenwood add on system. If you check out http://www.crutchfield.com you can probably compare XM and Sirius receivers side by side. Both now have companies making HU's which can take advantage of an add-on box to receive XM or sirius.
I know this is a biased comparison, but I'm sure someone will post one from the XM site.
http://www.sirius.com/servlet/ContentServe...d=1065475754125
Tim
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 46
Likes: 0
From: Stockton
XM gets another jump on the competition with the portable unit announced Tuesday. There wasn't much buzz about it, but maybe when it actually hits the shelves it will catch on.
Also, something interesting I read today is that both XM and Sirius have to pay royalties on the music they play (while land radio doesn't). That could explain why some of the channels resemble a repeating 10 disk CD changer (i.e., some of the same songs every day).
cw
Also, something interesting I read today is that both XM and Sirius have to pay royalties on the music they play (while land radio doesn't). That could explain why some of the channels resemble a repeating 10 disk CD changer (i.e., some of the same songs every day).
cw
Registered User
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 613
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From: Seattle
Originally Posted by 2thdr,Oct 28 2004, 10:45 AM
How about coverage area in northwestern states (ie. WA, OR, ID) and Canada?
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Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 229
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From: Alexandria
XM is vastly.... VASTLY superior in music.
They have very different programming philosophies.... XM goes broad and deep. There are a few teeny bopper stations but they are clearly marked out. Sirius has repetition issues even on their more niche music stations.
Here are just a few of the MANY threads complaining about repetition on the Sirius fan website.
http://www.siriusbackstage.com/forum/viewt...e3e22e88c36d880
http://www.siriusbackstage.com/forum/viewt...e3e22e88c36d880
http://www.siriusbackstage.com/forum/viewt...e3e22e88c36d880
http://www.siriusbackstage.com/forum/viewt...e3e22e88c36d880
http://www.siriusbackstage.com/forum/viewt...e3e22e88c36d880
For comparison, here's reports from two of the complainers who switched to XM:
http://www.xm411.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t...er=asc&start=30
They have very different programming philosophies.... XM goes broad and deep. There are a few teeny bopper stations but they are clearly marked out. Sirius has repetition issues even on their more niche music stations.
Here are just a few of the MANY threads complaining about repetition on the Sirius fan website.
http://www.siriusbackstage.com/forum/viewt...e3e22e88c36d880
http://www.siriusbackstage.com/forum/viewt...e3e22e88c36d880
http://www.siriusbackstage.com/forum/viewt...e3e22e88c36d880
http://www.siriusbackstage.com/forum/viewt...e3e22e88c36d880
http://www.siriusbackstage.com/forum/viewt...e3e22e88c36d880
For comparison, here's reports from two of the complainers who switched to XM:
http://www.xm411.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t...er=asc&start=30
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 2,160
Likes: 35
From: Decatur, GA
Sirius has had a portable unit on the shelves for at least two weeks now. Last time I was at Best Buy I saw a very small receiver that has an optional battery pack/portable mount kit designed for you to wear.
Sirius does have satellites in higher orbit (further North) than XM, but I believe XM has more ground-based repeaters. I have had very little trouble with reception(CA, MT, ND- all northern states and I've been within 50 miles of Canada). I remember that one had more satellites than the other at launch, but I'm pretty sure that they've both launched new ones since then and I don't know where they stand now.
I'd HIGHLY suggest listening to them as much as possible before buying. IMO, that's the best way to make your decision.
Tim
Sirius does have satellites in higher orbit (further North) than XM, but I believe XM has more ground-based repeaters. I have had very little trouble with reception(CA, MT, ND- all northern states and I've been within 50 miles of Canada). I remember that one had more satellites than the other at launch, but I'm pretty sure that they've both launched new ones since then and I don't know where they stand now.
I'd HIGHLY suggest listening to them as much as possible before buying. IMO, that's the best way to make your decision.
Tim
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Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 229
Likes: 0
From: Alexandria
timg
the "portable" sirius receiver of which you speak is the XACT stream jockey. It is hardly a true wearable/portable. It's very fisher-pricey and has, max, 3 hrs. battery life with its battery pack:
the only true satellite wearable is the XM MyFi:
www.xmradio.com/myfi
There should also soon be a portable battery sleeve thingie for the Roady2. This was demo'd in April at the New York Home Electronics show:
Neither XM nor Sirius have launched any new satellites recently, although XM is planning to launch its first replacement early next year. The XM constellation consists of two geostationary satellites, each with two beams aimed at both coasts. The Sirius constellation consists of three satellites that run a soviet "polar" orbit, that is, they do a figure-8 over the western hemisphere, with a higher, slower apogee over the north end of North America and a faster, lower perigee over the tip of South America. Only two at a time are over the U.S. and operating while the third one is away.
The XM satellites are lower in the sky, but are also quite a bit more powerful. I've had no problem getting a signal on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, except for being under thick trees or on the wrong side of a canyon wall. The Sirius satellites have a higher angle of attack and in theory would do better with tree obstructions in northern latitudes, but because they are not geostationary, it is almost impossible to get a reliable signal in a fixed location (such as a home, office) unless the antenna is mounted outdoors. There are also more dropout due to satellite "hand-offs." Indeed, Sirius leases space on a 4th, geostationary satellite, to provide the signal for its terrestrial repeaters.
The odd sirius constellation is part of what has kept them in the dark ages, chip-set wise, compared to XM. That accounts for the continuing gulf in hardware quality. Sirius actually launched their satellites well before XM, but had difficulties getting working chipsets to decode the signal, hence XM started service 8 months ahead of them.
the "portable" sirius receiver of which you speak is the XACT stream jockey. It is hardly a true wearable/portable. It's very fisher-pricey and has, max, 3 hrs. battery life with its battery pack:
the only true satellite wearable is the XM MyFi:
www.xmradio.com/myfi
There should also soon be a portable battery sleeve thingie for the Roady2. This was demo'd in April at the New York Home Electronics show:
Neither XM nor Sirius have launched any new satellites recently, although XM is planning to launch its first replacement early next year. The XM constellation consists of two geostationary satellites, each with two beams aimed at both coasts. The Sirius constellation consists of three satellites that run a soviet "polar" orbit, that is, they do a figure-8 over the western hemisphere, with a higher, slower apogee over the north end of North America and a faster, lower perigee over the tip of South America. Only two at a time are over the U.S. and operating while the third one is away.
The XM satellites are lower in the sky, but are also quite a bit more powerful. I've had no problem getting a signal on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, except for being under thick trees or on the wrong side of a canyon wall. The Sirius satellites have a higher angle of attack and in theory would do better with tree obstructions in northern latitudes, but because they are not geostationary, it is almost impossible to get a reliable signal in a fixed location (such as a home, office) unless the antenna is mounted outdoors. There are also more dropout due to satellite "hand-offs." Indeed, Sirius leases space on a 4th, geostationary satellite, to provide the signal for its terrestrial repeaters.
The odd sirius constellation is part of what has kept them in the dark ages, chip-set wise, compared to XM. That accounts for the continuing gulf in hardware quality. Sirius actually launched their satellites well before XM, but had difficulties getting working chipsets to decode the signal, hence XM started service 8 months ahead of them.