Anything new coming with sat radio?

There will be a SIRUS tuner released in Feb. that is TOYOTA branded. No word yet, but it should work with the Prius. Press release here:

http://sirius.com/servlet/ContentServer?pa...d=1101254447546

 

I have heard nothing new since that release came out... but then again it seems the consumers find out all the good stuff before I do

 

I've been bugging my dealer for a week now, but haven't gotten a response yet.

Bruce
2005 BC Silver

 

Supposedly CoastalDave is going to be coming out with a cheaper XM unit sometime soon. I hope it allows for more than 10 characters for the song title and artist display like the current one does.

 

Since I'm an NPR freak, XM doesn't do it for me. And I want to get the Redskins local guys for football, to listen to while I watch them on my NFL Sunday Ticket.

To be honest, if XM and Sirius were to merge, like USSB and DirectTV did back in the day, I'd be a happy camper, as then I could get both the Redskins and the Orioles out here on the west coast

Bruce
2005 BC Silver

 

Over at siriusbackstage it was reported that the "southeast" dealers got a demo plus training session on the sirius stuff. So it is coming, but the exact date will probably vary from dealer to dealer. I'm curious as to how many characters the Sirius unit can show, as one of Sirius' selling points was the 32(?) characters for artist and song title over XM's shorter limit.

I'm guessing that Dave's lower cost XM unit will be a XM tuner hooked up via a serial port to send the song info to the MFD. These XM direct tuners are MUCH cheaper than the dealer "branded" tuners.

 

I've found that XM's "Public Radio" channel (sorry, the number escapes me) is pretty good. I was listening to This American Life on the way home yesterday, plus you get The Bob Edwards Show in the morning since NPR canned him.

 

Sounds interesting, certainly. If only they'd carry Thistle and Shamrock....but then again I haven't been able to listen to that since I left DC...

Anyway, back on topic, my dealer just emailed me back, and said "Hello ther,I have done some checking around and can find no info on sirius radio and prius,at this time it is only available for land cruiser,solara,avalon and the scion line of vehicles. Thank you for your interest.D.R.M."

Sigh.

I'm seriously considering XM now. I'd prefer to have the football games over the baseball, but what the hey.

Bruce
2005 BC Silver

 

The XM unit is also only "listed" for the above models, There is no guarantee the the Sirius unit will work, but I'm guessing it will.

 

Yea, if I could actually look at the unit, I suspect I'd have a better idea as to compatibility. I guess I have little confidence in my local dealership's knowledge about electronics. Hopefully someone will be able to locate one of these things, and post the model number, so I can look into it further.

Life is always a bowl of cherries, and I don't like pits.

Bruce
2005 BC Silver

 

Bruce,

You're on the Internet, man! Check out the Thistle and Shamrock website at http://www.npr.org/programs/thistle/ for a listing of streaming options. Additionally, check out http://www.publicradiofan.com/ for more shows and options you might have missed. That said, I do wish XM would replace one of the techno-channels (do we really NEED so many?) with more world-music. World Music, Ngoma, and the others are okay, but there's certainly more to listen to in the world outside of the warmer climates.

 

Michael,

Good point. In fact, the internet is my business (I run a rather large on-line game). And I used to record it from my old radio station in DC, WAMU...but the fidelity of the signal ain't so good.

Here's where I get on my soapbox and push for the ability to download it as a full rez subscription based service. At some point in the near future, people like me want to pay a subscription fee for particular content that is downloaded (say Thistle and Shamrock, or Enterprise) and watch/listen to it at our leisure, without requiring it to be on a local media outlet.

Or maybe I'm just crazy. I'll reinstall that recording software on my new PC at home and start recording the stream again. Poor fidelity is better than no fidelity.

Bruce

 

Although it would be nice if Toyota came out with a Sirius tuner for the Prius, I would probably get something like the the Xact XTR1 Stream Jockey tuner with the pod to make it portable.

For the price of Sat radio, I can't see just listening for an hour each day. After I get to work, I want to continue to listen. When I get home from work, I want to be able to listen for a bit each night.

 

I understand the inclination to want a "go anywhere" XM or Sirius satellite tuner. I'm personally using the Delphi SkyFi2 (with built-in FM transmitter) in the Prius, with a boombox at home (so-so sound quality, but it's by the bedside, not attached to my component system). I would most-recommend the same system with the home audio setup to your normal home system, which is cheaper, and avoids the whole silly-looking, bad-sounding boombox issue. The alternative "everywhere capability" with the SkyFi2 is a new boombox from Delphi with AM/FM/CD/MP3 capabilities, but it sounds horrible, is built cheaply, and looks stupid. Haven't used a MyFi yet, but I have yet to hear any good things about it other than its playlist capability.

A new reference tuner is available now for your component system, plus there's another boombox with built-in XM out there, but even with XM's "family plan" for extra tuners, the cost seems a bit steep compared to the initial investment.

 

You want something good about the MIFY - I love it, love it, ..... Especially its ability to send to other FM radios in the house. I have it setup in the middle of a 2 level ranch style house, and the signal reaches all parts of both floors. I can receive XM in my basement workshop (which has no windows). I presently have it, temporarily, in my new Prius -- until my integrated XM can be installed. I'm taking it on a cruise next week to see how it does in Panama.

I have one each of all of the models made by Delphi and I like it, by far, the best.

 

I've heard plenty of good things about MiFi. This is good for XM users, but is like rubbing salt into an open wound for Sirius users (present and future).

I read a review of Sirius' Xact XTR1, and they said that they believe that Sirius will eventually come out with a better portable.

I sure hope so.

 

Here is the info on Sirius' wearable unit.

http://www.orbitcast.com/archives/2005/01/..._rego_xtr5.html

Sirius is still a "generation" behind XM in hardware, but I expect that gap to be closed by the end of the year.

 

Geez. It still looks lame compared to the Delphi MiFi.

 

Yes, my toughts too. But it may be more "functional" in regards to it's MP3 capabilities. Like I said before it will be a bit before Sirius catches up to XM in the hardware department. They have hired the same company that produces the satellite chip for XM so that should greatly improve things in the next generation of devices. I'm not sure if this new unit is a gen 2.5 or gen 3.0 chipset from Sirius. I'm guessing it is still the 2.5 series.