XM or Sirius Radio??

I chose XM for one reason. It seemed like the company more likely to succeed (it lost less money than Sirius).

Based on a conversation with a a friend of mine who designed one of the integrated circuits that is used in Sirius receivers, here's what I gather:

1. Sound quality is in-part determined by the compression/decompression algorithms used to limit bandwidth, so don't expect the sound quality to be the same between XM and Sirius.

2. One company may have significantly more on-air advertising than does the other (Of course, my buddy's claim is that Sirius has less)... probably worthwhile to check into that.

3. Sirius has more coverage via satellite, whereas XM relies more on ground-based transmitters. (Understand, both companies use ground-based transmitters, especially in urban areas.) I gather that Sirius' initial investment was greater, but they expect their operational cost to be lower.

Me, I have no plans to subscribe to either service.

my girlfriend just had it installed in her car.

it really boils down to the few channels that one service offers that the other one doesnt. Most channels are the same, its 4-5 that are sort of exclusive.

She went with Sirius, it cost $3 mo more, but it had a LOT more Commercial free stations, which was one of the main reasons why she wanted to drop Regualar radio.

plus IMO, i liked the Sirius logo better....

I bought XM radio because it was out first. I will second the thought that XM has a leg up for being succesful. They had a jump on subscribers, and have an agreement with GM for putting the hardware in some of their cars as an option.

As far as sound quality, I have never heard Sirius, but XM is a few steps down from CD, but I dont listen to it in places conducive to serious listening (ie boat and cars), so its not that important to me.

I do know I love the programming on XM, but can't say anything about Sirius.

Justin

Sirius is commercial free for all 60 music channels- and they say they are committed to staying commercial free on music channels.

XM has commercials.

XM has like 1100 repeters because they have two satellites.

Sirius has 3 satellites and only needs around 100-200 repeters.

I have Sirius because I am not going to PAY for a music service that has commercials.

Sirius is considered a premium service and has more bandwidth streams and fewer commercials. Sirius also had professional DJ’s that seem to play better mixes from my experience with both services. Sirius has had some financial trouble, however, has made arrangements that will keep them up and going until subscriptions catch on.

For those of you who have no experience with satellite radio, you do not know what you are missing. Commercial radio is just that, full of commercials and very little good content. The music categories on Sirius radio are excellent and I can always find what I am looking for on my favorite channels.

Everyone that rides in my car comments on the quality and music selections that are coming not stop from the many stations available. Throw in the fact that it is uncensored, you get a 24hr comedy, News, entertainment, and some very good classic radio stories for long rides, and you have a great product.

Michael