Fired XM today

xm is almost totally useless as a music medium. if you have a smartphone you can stream pandora. its basically a radio station you set up to play music that you like and music that sounds similiar to your tastes.

 

I have never subscribed to XM. I've scanned it a bit since picking up my Prius, only because it's a 90 day free trial. With options of CD and Bluetooth iPhone/iPod, and iTunes downloads of 'books on tape' I can not justify spending $9.95 to $16.95, plus $1.98 license fee, plus tax every month for XM. If I get desperate there is always AM/FM. --TK

 

I've been listening to XM and haven't been impressed with the sound quality at all. I'm not an audiophile, but half the time it sounds like an old transistor radio. Might it be the hills of WV killing the signal? Maybe, but I dind't think digital signals suffered like that. I thought digital signals were either there or not. Is it analog?

I figure, once it's run out, consider the ipod interface since I have a nano already.

 

Since I plan on owning the car until it will not roll another inch, and I was a fan Sirius, I opted for the $500 one timelife fee membership. I figured if the car lasts 10 years, that is only $50 per year on the subscription.

That said, I love the wide range of programming, including NFL, NHL, MLB, I can get NPR, CBS, FOX, and dozens of 100% commercial free music, not to mention Howard Stern! This was too good to pass up.

FM radio stations are dying across the country. Long Live Satellite.

 

Ditto! And on long drives, it's a pleasure not losing the NPR talk show you were closely listening too. Howard Stern? Definitely a guilty pleasure. Much as I discount his show, I can't help but laugh when I tune it in.

I still get a chuckle out of one of his classic bits: Calling the phone company information operator to get the number for 1-800-FLOWERS. Ranks right up there with the old TAXI TV show bit when Christopher Lloyd was sitting for his hack license.

"What does a yellow light mean?" he asked. When told "slow down", he repeated (slowly) What does a yellow llight mean?" After the third iteration, I fell on the floor laughing.

And where else can you listen to Fibber McGee and Molly?

Stu - lifetime subscriber.

 

I give Sat radio another five years at best. There is no reason why you can't stream music from the many APPs on the iPhone (or other smart phones) via bluetooth or USB. When WiMAX (G4/G5) is deployed over the next few years I envision internet radios built into cars that will supercede Satellite. I still have XM in my car but it works and I haven't paid for it for three years after I let my subscription lapse. No idea why it still works, but I'm not complaining.

 

I agree that the XM compression algorithms leave much to be desired. When I first subscribed back in 2002, they had fewer channels and the quality was far better. Now, it's nothing to crow about.

The music channels are OK, but the lower priority channels get less bandwidth as the demand goes up. So some of the lesser channels aren't very good at all. The worst are the traffic and weather channels. They are nearly inaudible for someone with mid range hearing loss like me.

But there are other strengths in my opinion, which is why I have kept it all this time.

 

you said it best hands down... the only reason i see xm/sirius in cars now is because xm pays for the privilege. hell I would love to get hd radio (more channels and better quality) but bmw seems to be the only company that offers it across the board.

satellite radio is dying just as fast a terrestrial radio (maybe slightly slower). I used to have xm when it first started for free and kept it until 2007 and i must say that the quality did hit a nose dive at the end. very tin can sounding at points.

 

Bob - you hit the nail on the head. Self-selecting news and tunes is the thing I dread most about the iPod-ing of the world. We rarely hear or consider anything that makes us a little uncomfortable or that we don't already agree with. Dems won't listen to Limbaugh and Reps won't listen to NPR so we all just get more polarized. We listen to the music we know and don't venture off to learn about or discover artists or composers we don't know. Sigh. What a boring bunch we've become.

 

So . . . Should we sign up for iPod accountability groups? It probably would be a very healthy thing for someone whose tastes differ from mine to take a look at my podcast selections and music selections and offer a few "suggestions" about new or different selections.

Overall, I probably still listen to AM radio more than anything else. After that, I listen to XM music stations, iPod music (including Pandora in 3G areas), iPod podcasts, FM music and XM sports. I'm enjoying XM, though sometimes the sound is a bit iffy. What I really like is being able to go anywhere and continue listening to a particular XM station. I also like the traffic tie-in with the Nav system. I've put on 5,200 miles in two months of ownership, so I do like to have the radio on!

Interesting look at it, Maggie! Thanks.

 

I definitly include myself in my use of 'we'!! I love to see what's on other folks iPods - usually I'm surprised that it is all the same sort of music. (Don't they get tired of listening to the same thing?) I do have one odd policy - I listen to NPR and classical or traditional jazz in the fall and winter months and NPR and rock/pop in the spring summer months. I do not listen to Rush. Ever. It's bad for my blood pressure.

 

There is something about the change of seasons that brings out the classical music lover in me. I listen to classical music more during late Sept./early Oct., but also in April and May. Hmmm. . .

Rush!?!? I know there are Rush lovers on PC, so I'll keep my comments in gray tones. My wife used to come home every day complaining about what Rush had said that afternoon. At first I'd try to talk her down. Later, I started to simply ignore the comments or try to change the subject, but you can all guess where that got me. Finally, I just told her to do one of two things: 1) Change the radio station; or 2) Don't talk to me about it. I really suggested #1 more heavily, because I was concerned with her physical and mental health.

 

I'm too big of a BPM fan to let Sirius/XM go. Though BPM, NPR, and the traffic channels are pretty much all that I listen to.

I am loving my Bluetooth streaming audio with my iPhone, and friends keep urging me to try Pandora.

MaggieMay, I see the point, but it's not just "iPoding." Many Americans live in communities that are increasingly either Blue or Red. For example, you almost have to hunt for an R in DC, Arlington (VA), and Suburban Maryland. Also, many people go to churches that are either packed with Ds or Rs and watch either CNN or FOX, but not both. So, the iPod is but one manifestation of the larger social trend. It's likley the most beautifully designed manifestation, too.

 

Well said. I enjoy my own company more than most but I get terribly bored with myself as well. Open ears, open heart and open mind make a well rounded and reasonable person. I listen to Limbaugh, Dr. Laura and such on occasion and my blood will boil, my jaw drops but sometimes I have to agree with them on certain topics.
It is wonderful to live in a country where we have the choices and can afford to indulge our wants.

 

Ok Guys, can you help me solve one of the mystery's of life???

With the basic problems of satellite radio (recurring cost to the user), why hasn't HD Radio taken off in this country ?

Keith

 

The reccuring problem with 'free' radio is that 'terrestrial radio' programming sucks. But only now with HD radio, you can hear it suck more much more clearly!

Commercial free radio (satellite) is worth paying for. Still cheaper than trying to buy all those CDs.

 

Now if you are just downloading it could be environmentally sound but could we consider XM radio to be a Green option?? After all there are battery issues with any hand held devices.......

 

Problem is, once the U.S. starts getting the Gen III with HD NAV's ... it'll be a necessary evil ... right? At least if you want to take full advantage of the downloading of traffic / new POI's etc?

.

 

I am downloading the music to the factory xm nav, not to a portable unit. I have never given thought as to whether they are Green or not. But have to assume that it is 'greener' to have on channel heard across the country, then to have to have different radio stations around the counrty each have employees commuting to their local stations, as opposed to their just needing to commute to XM studios to be broadcast nationwide.