XM versus SIRIUS

XM versus SIRIUS

The idea of America’s biggest two satellite-radio joining forces has been up in the air for almost four years. Although XM had a year’s start, Sirius came back on the market, eventually with both companies sharing the market in half. So, what’s to choose? XM or Sirius?
First thing’s first. XM and Sirius are based on the same principle, each of them providing music, news, sports, etc. on their channels, but, every service has its ups and downs so we will try to discuss it in this present article. A careful analysis shows that XM Satellite Radio provides a total of 136 streams, where two are premium channels (Playboy and High Voltage, twenty-one are traffic and weather based channels and nine are sport-dedicated ones. On the other hand, Sirius offers a total of 119 streams, the premium streams not being available. Let’s take a closer look now on two – music and news - of the categories that the two major satellites are battling.

Music streams comparison

The number of music streams that both services offer is pretty much the same: 65 on Sirius and 68 on XM Satellite Radio but the difference is not in the number, but in the music genres that the radios offer.

Music – Decades

XM is the absolute champion in providing the music by decades because you can listen to the 40’s music, service not available on Sirius. Still, you can listen to the 90’s hits together with the current hits on Sirius Satellite Radio, which is an interesting feature.

Music – Country

“Ride’ em cowboy!”. Even if you’re not a cowboy, you can listen to country-related songs on both Satellites. Classic country or country hits are to be heard as well as alternative country or country mixes, the last two features being available only on Sirius Satellite Radio. Regarding the number of streams that both Satellites offer, XM offers a total of five streams and Sirius offers four, the champion in this category being XM due to the quality and the quantity of music being played.

Music – Rock

If you are looking for sex, drogs, and rock and roll, Sirius and XM Satellite Radios can only offer you rock and roll, on a number of 14 streams on XM and 15 streams on Sirius. The rock subgenres are to be found in a large number on the stations, overall each service being very strong in this category.

Music - Dance and Latin

If you want to boogie, you can do that on both Satellites, listening to one of the six streams provided by Sirius or four streams provided by XM. Be careful though, because you can become a clubber maniac! And if you’re strong enough, the Latin pop stream, Mexicana and tropical music streams can really drive you crazy. XM Satellite Radio as well as Sirius Satellite Radio offer three streams.

Music – Other genres

Regarding other genres, both satellites really look up to their prestige, offering hours of hours of music, from Classical to Jazz, even Urban (Sirius feature. Both stations offer high quality tunes, making it worth all the money.

News Streams Comparison

Let’s skip to another interesting topic, news. CNN, FOX, CNBC, Bloomberg, MSNBC and many more news stations are being offered for listening in different languages. The number of streams is again near-by, XM offering a number of 11 news streams, not like Sirius, which offers 13.

Bottom line

It’s pretty hard to say which station is better, XM and Sirius being tied musically but in news and sports, Sirius holding the edge. To make a little joke, if you are a fan of Stern go with Sirius, if you like Q&A go XM. Anyway, it’s hard to say which one is better, but, what can I say is that both Satellites are worth paying for.

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XM Radio Information

XM Radio Information

XM Satellite Radio Inc. is one of the major players in the satellite radio industry, with over 2 million subscribers and spreading all over the American territory. XM Satellite Radio Inc. deliver over 120 channels of radio to an ever expanding customer number. Here are some of the characteristics of XM Radio:
Corporate headquarters: Washington, D.C.
Date of launch: November 12, 2001
Satellites in service: 3
Available satellite radio channels:150
Monthly subscription cost:$12.95

XM Satellite Radio Inc. is the owner of one of the 2 FCC approved licenses for delivering digital radio in the United States. Since it only shares the field of Satellite Digital Audio Radio Services (SDARS with Sirius Radio, XM Satellite Radio Inc. has plenty of room to develop and expand. 2001 was the year when XM Satellite Radio Inc. began broadcasting – progress was slow at first, but soon after satellite radio began skyrocketing as a social and economical phenomenon. Since it was the first national digital satellite radio service provider, XM Satellite Radio Inc. captured an important share of the market and started offering music programs and other types of shows and channels like talk shows, sports, comedy, science and news. XM Satellite Radio Inc. owns the most impressive digital radio equipment and facilities, boasting over 82 end to end broadcasting studios. The digital radio used by XM Satellite Radio Inc. is encoded using the complex CT-aacPlus technology which is broadcast in 128kb/sec format – very close to CD quality. The signal produced by using this technology makes the transmission much clearer and more accurate than any analog radio provider could ever offer. There are no noise disturbances that were often present with FM and AM broadcasts and the transmission is crystal clear. The fact that the signal is received in digital form solves many noise disturbance problems and the output is close in fidelity to the original track.

The XM Satellite Radio Rock and Roll satellites

XM Satellite Radio uses two of the most potent commercial satellites, which are constantly orbiting the Earth at a height of 22 300 miles. The two Boeing HS-702 satellites have some inspired names - “Rock” and “Roll”. The first of the two satellites, Rock, was launched in orbit on March 18, 2001 and is currently positioned at 85 degrees West Longitude. It services the western half of the United States and complements the range and area of coverage of its younger “brother” – Roll. Roll was launched on May 8, 2001 and it currently positioned at 115 degrees West Longitude, and it services the eastern part of the United States. The combined coverage of the two satellites spreads beyond US borders and reaches areas like Canada or Mexico. This is an interesting feature of satellite radio, as it further points out the benefit of not having to switch radio stations during long trips or while moving over the border. For emergency purposes, the company has third redundant HS-702 satellite on the ground, ready to replace Rock or Roll if any of them fails. Both satellites use different transmission frequencies which prevents interference.

Using the XM radio transmission

The powerful broadcast signal used in satellite radio means that you only need a small receiver in order to be able to listen to digital radio. These small omni-directional antennas are similar to GPS devices and do not require mechanical pointing in order to receive the signal. Some of the new features of satellite radio refer to the extended broadcast information abilities. XM offers information about the broadcast type, and includes the song title, artist, and genre of music. As a recent improvement, XM radio also started broadcasting weather related news and traffic statuses on their programs. In order to use the XM Radio programming you need a XM Radio receiver, an antenna and a subscription to the XM services. Different music equipment producers have teamed up with XM Radio in order to allow adding XM broadcasting to their already existing devices. Some vehicle manufacturers are also offering XM Radio as a factory installed option.

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XM Radio Categories

XM Radio Categories

Here are the main music categories that you can find on XM satellite radio broadcasts:
The Decades - songs from the 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, and 90s
Country – classic country hits are at home here, but you will also get a good share of new pop country and blue grass country.
Hits – this is for all hit lovers out there. Packed with Top 20 on Channel 20, the hits XM Radio channels also include some FM channels: KISS FM in LA or Houston’s Pop FM station, KMIX. You also get MTV and VH1 stations and if you’re in the mood for some popular love songs you can tune into The Heart and Lite channel. Another interesting channel is Cinemagic, where you will be able to listen to all your favorite movie soundtracks without being bothered by commercials. There are also two Christian rock channels and a classic alternative channel.
Rock – XM Radio features 10 commercial free channels dedicated to rock:
* Deep Tracks: classic and contemporary hits
* Bone Yard and XM Liquid Metal: the first channel goes with classic hard rock while the XM Liquid Metal plays hardcore metal.
* Fred: there is a lot of classic alternative music, some 80s alternative rock and punk music
* Top Tracks: classic rock tracks
* Unsigned: unsigned bands
* XMU, XM Café, the Loft, XM Music Lab: soft rock, eclectic rock and any other rock type that doesn’t fit anywhere else
Urban – rap and hip hop, both modern and from the 80s.
Jazz & Blues – 6 channels altogether out of which four are commercial free
Dance – techno and trance music rules here, but you also get some disco music
Latin – 5 commercial free channels of Latin, Spanish and Mexican hits.
International Music – 5 channels of music from around the world. You might find these five channels a welcomed break from all the music you are used to. Fresh music from around the world is presented daily.
Classical – classical music from both famous and less renown classical musicians. You get the XM Pops, XM Classics, Vox and Fine Tuning. As you would expect, all 4 channels are commercial free.
Kids - Radio Disney and XM for Kids. Excellent programs that will keep your kid busy and happy for a long time.
News – you will get Fox News, CNN Headline News plus other TV related news channels. They feature XM commercials.
Sports – you will get channels like ESPN Radio, ESPN News, Fox Sports Radio, Sporting News, NASCAR Radio. These channels cover most of the important sporting events in the United States but you can also get international sports news here.
Comedy – both family oriented comedy stiles and uncensored comedy bits. These channels are commercial free, which is really enjoyable.
Talk & Variety – there are different talk channels and shows that are really engaging, such as E! Entertainment Radio, ABC News and Talk, Buzz XM, Ask channel, The Power and Family Talk. However, these channels have plenty of commercial time which is a bit of a disappointment from a paid subscription service.
Variation and content

These are the things both XM Radio and Sirius are after. With over 100 channels, each provider is able to identify and target all the important age and social groups in the United States. When it comes to music, there are extremely specialized channels on XM Radio, so the consumer knows exactly what kind of music they will run into on that particular channel. The kids channels are pretty good and the sports channels are also ok. If you like to get your news TV style, XM Radio’s choice of channels is also interesting. The fact that commercials are present is not that bothering, as they are only allowed to play 6 minutes of commercials per hour. However, some of the music channels are kept 100% commercial free, which is good news for music fans who do not want their audition to be interrupted by intrusive commercials.

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What is satellite radio

What is satellite radio

Satellite radio is often considered one of the biggest improvements in broadcasting since the introduction of the FM band. Satellite radio is also called subscription radio or pay-radio because it is only available trough subscription to one of the satellite radio providing companies. Satellite radio follows a concept similar to cable television by providing a very wide range of programs which are not available in the traditional FM or AM format for a fee.

Satellite radio uses satellites to deliver radio programs to subscribers. The radio signal is broadcasted from Earth based stations to communicational satellites, which then redirect the signal to satellite radio receivers. The radio signal is broadcasted by communication satellites to a much larger area than traditional terrestrial radio antennas. For example, satellite radio is available al across the continental area of the United States. Satellite radio is available now in most parts of the world trough services provided by companies like WorldSpace (in Europe, Asia and Africa, Sirius and XM Radio (in North America. The radio signal you receive using satellite radio is digital, which means that it is always clear and static-free, which is one of the great advantages of satellite radio. Another great thing about satellite radio is that it is almost completely commercial-free.

To begin listening to satellite radio you will need the actual satellite radio (also known as tuner or receiver, a satellite radio antenna (which is often incorporated in the satellite radio and a subscription to the service you choose. There are several types of satellite radio from which you can choose. One of them is the dedicated car or home radio, which play trough your car or home stereo. A second option is the plug-and-play radio, which can be used in your car, as well as in your home by paying a single subscription. Your third option is the portable radio, which has rechargeable battery, a built-in antenna and you can listen to it wherever you go using headphones. The radio signals offered by different satellite radio companies are proprietary, which means that you will need different hardware for receiving, decoding and playback, depending on your subscription. Each satellite radio receiver has its own serial number called Radio ID. When you get your subscription, you will also get an activation code for your receiver. Besides the actual radio programs, satellite radio transmits metadata that contains the name of the artist, the title of the song or program, as well as the name of the channel. This makes it easier for you to decide which channel to listen to and which program to choose.

Satellite radio services provide the subscriber with more than 100 programs that vary in content from rock and jazz to rap and classical music. But satellite radio’s utility reaches far beyond listening to your favorite music without the interruption of those annoying commercials. Satellite radio also offers exclusive sports programs, cultural and educational shows, news and talk-shows. Some of the celebrities that have moved their shows from free radio to satellite radio include Howard Stern, Opie and Anthony, Bob Edwards and Martha Stewart. Unlike terrestrial radio, satellite radio is not affected by bad weather or even calamities.

At first, many people wondered why they should pay for radio if they can get it free. However, satellite radio attracts more and more people every year due to its great advantages: no commercials, extensive reach, theme programs and exceptional quality of sound.

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