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.
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.