The Bobcat Nation

Sirius or XM Radio
I'm in the market for either one (i.e., Father's Day weekend).
Does anyone out there have either??? Do you like it?? Which is better??

I have the XM, and I like it a lot. I've had rental cars that have had Sirius, and the two seem to be pretty much the same. The biggest difference is that Sirius carries all of the NFL game (XM does not) and XM has the contract for MLB games.

I also read somewhere that XM has A LOT more subscribers, which may lead to better service.

Overall, I would say they're pretty equal.

HelenaCat95 wrote:Sirius or XM Radio
I'm in the market for either one (i.e., Father's Day weekend).
Does anyone out there have either??? Do you like it?? Which is better??

I would go XM for othing else than it has The Tony Korhieser Show, on it from 9:00 to 11:00.

BTW I believe both have the Playboy Radio channel! What is the point of an audio only Playboy channel. Is this for all those guy's who buy Playboy for the Interviews.

Or does Playboy radio work on the same theory as 900 number phone sex? I don't honestly have any idea myself, but I hope people aren't listening to that station while driving.

Sirius will also have Howard Stern at some point. He gets a little old after awhile, but I am curious to hear what his show is like when it is no longer subject to censors. It might just ruin it, actually.

Bay Area Cat wrote:Or does Playboy radio work on the same theory as 900 number phone sex? I don't honestly have any idea myself, but I hope people aren't listening to that station while driving.

Sirius will also have Howard Stern at some point. He gets a little old after awhile, but I am curious to hear what his show is like when it is no longer subject to censors. It might just ruin it, actually.

I find Stern's show as an interesting conundrum. On one hand by content Howard’s show
is strictly adult oriented. On the other hand the format is very highschool. I just wonder
how anyone over the age of 21 can listen to the show on a consistent basis with out
getting bored! To each his own though!

I have XM and it is great. Never used Sirius - but I don't think you could miss with either. NFL didn't matter to me because in ND and Eastern MT it isn't hard to find a radio station with the Vikings game (and really isn't that the only team anyone wants to hear anyway!) but XM lets me get the Yankees games. The FM Modulater is great for work, but I would guess they both have that.

Sirius for NFL is the reason I would pick that over XM, but overall XM has more subscibers and is the industry leader. In Montana you will get a little better coverage with Sirius in the way their satellites are positioned, but coverage should be a none issue with both services soon as they add more repeaters on the ground.

Overall, I like the general programming on XM a little more, but I think Sirius takes the cake with the NFL. Now we just need to get XL Country to broadcast Bobcat football on Sirius!!!

I have XM and I can't imagine not having Sat radio. I got XM because they have NASCAR, but NASCAR will be moving to Sirius in 2007 so I will probably be moving to Sirius then.

It is well worth the $12.95/month to be able to listen to a station wherever you drive - regardless if it is a Mariner's baseball game or a Nascar race, a music channel or ESPN, whatever, I just like not having to search for a station and static.

XM also has Opie and Anthony, which I find hilarious - sure it is mostly junior high school, but I can't help but laugh - you have to take it all tongue in cheek though!

I have heard that the Sirius equipment is larger and bulkier, but that might just be XM talking. XM does have a nice personal unit you can take around with you (My-Fi), and can be used with a car kit. We have SkyFi with the car kit, boom box, and home kit - I use the boom-box at work and camping, and it works great. XM also includes an on-line version of their music and original programing as well.

I don't think you can go wrong either way, it mostly comes down to what kind of sports programing you are looking for.

I have Sirius and really like it. Costco at the moment has a great set up. For about $140 you get a boom box that you can take anywhere plus the car set up. I ordered an extra antenna for $20 and use it in my cabin via the sterio system. One reciever covers the boom box, cabin and car. Maybe they will start carring the Cats.

I have Sirius and my co-worker has XM. We compared the channels and there isn't a lot of differance as far as music stations go. Sirius has NFL witch is nice but not MLB. 6 to on half dozen to the other for me on that one. Sirius is 38.85 every three months. As someone mentioned about the Costco set up is great with the Boom Box and car adapter.

I can't remember is XM gets all these but Sirius gets Fox News, CNN, MSNBC, ESPNews, ESPN Radio, and Maxim Radio.

If this counts for anything. I have a friend who sells both out of the store she owns and she has been on XM, for years. She just recently re-upgraded all of her equipment and went XM again.

HelenaCat95 wrote:Sirius or XM Radio
I'm in the market for either one (i.e., Father's Day weekend).
Does anyone out there have either??? Do you like it?? Which is better??

I would love to go for either one--but neither one have coverage in Hawaii!

Ponycat wrote: Sirius is 38.85 every three months. As someone mentioned about the Costco set up is great with the Boom Box and car adapter.

I can't remember is XM gets all these but Sirius gets Fox News, CNN, MSNBC, ESPNews, ESPN Radio, and Maxim Radio.

Both also have discounted long-term rates to discount your monthly rates, and various special offers with XM right now you can buy a XM system and get a Roady2 for free.

XM doesn't have Maxim, but does have the rest. I think they both also have Radio Classics (radio shows from the 30's and 40's) which are great for night time listening.

One thing to consider is that Sirius just announced that they will be upgrading their equipment to add 50% more capacity from the same spectrum. This will allow them to add digital information services like live scores, stock quotes, news, etc. The existing equipment isn't equipped to handle the new technology (it will work fine for the regular broadcast), but in a couple years you will probably want to upgrade to take advantage of the new features.

However, the FCC has asked Sirius and XM to work together to develop receivers that can receive either service, and as soon as automakers think that choosing the alternative service has cost them sales they will demand universal receivers, so in a couple years you could probably upgrade equipment and be able to choose either service.

Link to XM
http://www.xmradio.com

Link to Sirius
http://www.sirius.com

'93HonoluluCat wrote:

HelenaCat95 wrote:Sirius or XM Radio
I'm in the market for either one (i.e., Father's Day weekend).
Does anyone out there have either??? Do you like it?? Which is better??

I would love to go for either one--but neither one have coverage in Hawaii!

Yeah, but you live in Hawaii. I think living in paradise is a fair trade.