By now, you've probably heard about the roll-out of satellite radio, as XM and Sirius have come to market after nearly a decade of preparation and an investment approaching $1.4 billion each. But maybe you've been thinking it's only for people who live in the middle of Nebraska, where the airwaves are clogged with reports of pork belly futures. The truth is, satellite radio is for everybody, even people in the middle of major radio markets like Chicago, Los Angeles and New York. It's the music you'll care about, not the technology.
This is not to say the technology isn't pretty interesting. XM has 80 studios in a 150,000 square-foot complex in Washington, D.C. Programs are recorded on computer hard drives, then beamed through a couple of dishes to two Boeing 702 satellites (one nicknamed "Rock" and the other nicknamed "Roll"). The satellites transmit the digital signal across the country, where a network of 1,000 repeaters ensures the signal reaches every corner of the country. Through a special antenna, XM-ready radios receive the signal. The radio owner pays a monthly fee and there you have it, cable-style radio.
Satellite radio has some pretty serious investment partners. General Motors, Honda and Porsche are investors in XM, while Sirius has signed up BMW, Chrysler, Ford, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan and Volkswagen. Some 23 GM car and truck models are already being equipped with XM-ready receivers. You might not realize, but there's also a huge investment by aftermarket radio manufacturers, as virtually every premium brand has XM-ready hardware, and retail chains like Best Buy, Crutchfield, Good Guys and even Sears are in the business.
A typical car radio receiver is priced at about $300, and a complete installation, including antenna, runs about $500. This said, there are a bunch of different alternatives for upgrading current radios with receivers, tuners and antennas. A simple adapter can get the price as low as $199.
The deal here is variety. XM offers 71 music channels and 29 news/talk stations, while Sirius has 60 music channels and 40 news/talk stations. The fee is $9.95 per month for XM and $12.95 for Sirius. XM is able to offer a slightly cheaper fee because 37 of its stations carry commercials, although XM executives are quick to point out that these commercials make up only six minutes of every hour instead of the nearly 15 minutes of commerce that clog the hourly air-time at major radio stations.XM separates its music stations into sub-groups: Classical, Country, Dance, Decades, Hits, Jazz & Blues, Kids, Latin, Rock, Urban and World. News/Talk falls into these categories: Comedy, News, Sports, and Talk & Variety. Sirius is broadly similar. One switch on the radio allows you to change categories, while another lets you change from station to station. Pre-set buttons lock in your favorites just as they do with a conventional radio.
But there's more to satellite radio than just sheer variety.
The biggest advantage of satellite radio is the quality of the sound. The music is broadcast in a digital signal, so it has the same brightness across the frequency range you'd expect from a CD. Conventional radio music sounds muddy in comparison.
There's a downside to satellite radio, of course. The DJs sometimes sound lonely and barely human, and it makes you think you're listening to Radio Moscow. There are infrequent dropouts in the music because of broadcast anomalies, as if a CD skipped. There's also a momentary delay in the broadcast when you switch channels, which makes channel surfing a tortuous experience and it won't play in basement parking structures or tunnels. And finally, although there are several kinds of antennas available, all are large and ugly.
When you come right down to it, satellite radio is really about the music, not the technology. There's more of it, and it sounds better. Overall, it reminds you just how few formats there are for conventional broadcast radio, and that's a situation that won't improve as audiophiles continue to drift away to CDs, MP3s and satellite music. Satellite radio isn't just better; it's the future.
Things we like about satellite radio:*Greater variety, better sound*Spontaneity of listening experience*Speed Channel Radio on Sirius Things we don't like about satellite radio:*Specialized hardware for aftermarket upgrades*Channel surfing leads to spousal abuse*NASCAR Radio on XM