XM or Sirius

[Majik]

Who has it 'em and why. Are you happy? Thanks guys.

[POS Racing]

Which one will be getting the Russ Martin Show?

[Majik]

True, I guess it is worth the wait for that. I can always switch. XM has opie and anthony and I liked them before they got kicked off. I am not a huge fan of Howard, so he doesnt really sway me to sirius. Which ever Russ goes to is the one I will get at the time though.

[tailchaser]

Uhhh... I think that's just a bit, but XM is what they say.

[fwMiata]

XM, its on quite a few of the bimmers at the dealership.

[sammm]

Here's a link to some good info.

http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-6466_7-5068442.html

[OzCop]

I have factory XM on my Chebby truck, liked it so much I bought a portable unit to use in the RV and spouses car...Sirius may be just as good, but I like XM programming...

[Kags1969]

I have Sirius, but they are about 1 year behind XM on technology. I like the DFW Traffic and Weather updates every 4 minutes and I love the Bluegrass Channel. Sad I know. I wish they would have like a learn spanish/french/italian channels. That would be cool.

[Titus]

I have been thinging about this too. I like the fact that Sirius gives you everything for one price... XM ends up costing more if you want all the channels. XM has MLB though, and I sure would like to get all the A's games.

[bigDstars]

I have both: My Chevy truck has XM and Dish Network has Sirius (music only) channels. I like the music on Sirius channels better, but that's personal taste. Both are commercial free on music channels. XM has NASCAR channel (big whoop), Sirius has NFL..

One tip, I let the Chevy truck's XM expire after the initial free 3 months, and they contacted me and let me get a whole year for $60 (half price).

[OzCop]

Damn, wish they had done that for me!

[ccage]

I picked up an Alpine with built-in XM for my truck a while back, and I love it.

My biggest concern in choosing a service was which one would be around longer as they both looked (and still look) a bit shakey.

As of 2004, XM reports 3.2 million subscribers and expects to hit 5.5 million this year. Three companies have released new portables, and one company is even producing a dedicated home unit. They expanded into offering online streams this year.

Sirius had approximately 700,000 subscribers as of 2004, but notes that they've narrowed the 3 to 1 XM lead in subscribership from 11 to 1 last year. Sirius has a portable out now (though only from one manufacturer). They've also announced this week that they've entered a deal to use Microsoft streaming video technology to provide mobile satellite video through their service.

Both have made numerous deals with automakers to provide OEM service.

As programming goes, the war is on. The thread has already pointed out the Stern/Opie/Etc. differences. Next year Sirius has NFL, XM has MLB. If I read correctly, XM has lots of college sports coverage.

As far as financial info goes, it looks to me like Sirius is putting up a mean fight and taking some risks. The NFL and Stern deals cost them more $$ than you and I will see in a couple of lifetimes, at they're reporting massive losses. This will either pull them through or put them out.

Anyway, sorry for the massive post, but I know what you're going through. I wanted satellite radio but didn't want to end up with a useless box in a couple of years, so I did a lot of research and did my best. For what it's worth, I'm very pleased with XM, but then again I'm not a shock jock fan or a sports fan. I spend most of my time listening to music or news.

Chuck

[Treibenschnell]

I too have an Alpine head unit with built in XM... however, I've found myself using the MP3 playback the most. With seven CD with over 700Mb each...well, it makes for a lot of music to choose from.

[Kestrel]

I picked up an Alpine with built-in XM for my truck a while back, and I love it....<snip>... Anyway, sorry for the massive post...

Great post ccage...