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XM on DirecTV!!

post #1 of 11
9/30/05 at 9:09am
Thread Starter 
XM on Directv!!!
Satellite Entertainment Pioneers DIRECTV and XM Satellite Radio
Join Forces to Deliver 72 Channels of XM's Acclaimed Programming
to DIRECTV Customers Nationwide

Number of Audio Channels Available on DIRECTV Will Nearly Double
at No Additional Cost

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. and WASHINGTON, Sept. 29 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- An
agreement between DIRECTV and XM Satellite Radio, the nation's leading
providers of digital satellite entertainment programming, will be much more
than just music to the ears of more than 14.6 million DIRECTV customers
nationwide.
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20000724/XMSATLOGO )
As part of DIRECTV's dedication to offering the best in entertainment to
its customers, beginning Nov. 15, 2005, 72 channels of XM's quality music,
children's, and talk programming will be available via DIRECTV, nearly
doubling its current audio programming lineup at no additional cost. In
addition to music channels and children's programming, XM will provide XM's
Major League Baseball "Home Plate" talk radio channel, and its High Voltage
channel, featuring talk radio stars Opie and Anthony.
"DIRECTV is making a major commitment in the world of music, and this
alliance with XM Satellite Radio will leave a lasting imprint on not only our
more than 14.6 million customers nationwide, but on the pay television
industry as a whole," said Dan Fawcett, executive vice president, Programming
Acquisitions, DIRECTV, Inc. "By partnering with fellow satellite innovator XM
to deliver an unrivaled lineup of quality audio channels, we will continue to
provide our customers with more entertainment choices, more value and the best
service available."
"This marks the beginning of a natural partnership between the nation's
leading satellite radio company and the leading satellite television company,"
said Patricia Kesling, senior vice president, Marketing and Operations, XM
Satellite Radio. "DIRECTV offers a fantastic platform for people to
experience some of the amazing content we offer on XM. We know from
experience that when people get to sample XM, they want to become XM
subscribers. Part of XM's appeal is that we have an extraordinary group of
music experts who handpick the songs from XM's enormous music library, and
they work directly with artists to create original music specials and live
performances. Our talk radio programmers share that same spirit of creativity
and freedom. It's what separates XM Satellite Radio from everyone else."
Customers subscribing to the DIRECTV TOTAL CHOICE(R) programming package
will have access to 50 XM Satellite Radio music channels and customers
subscribing to the DIRECTV TOTAL CHOICE(R) Plus programming package and above
will have access to more than 65 channels. DIRECTV PARA TODOS(R) customers
will also have access to the same XM channels, as well as five additional
Latin music channels.
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post #2 of 11
9/30/05 at 12:50pm
I posted on this yesterday in the "Questions on XM" thread (http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htfo...hreadid=238036), but I would have to say this does deserve its own thread!

Being an XM subscriber for several years, this is great news. But I do wonder what the sound quality will be like.

In my experience with the music channels I most often frequent, the sound quality on XM varies from good MP3 to really bad MP3. Putting aside the marketing hype, near CD quality it isn't.

So, how is D* getting the feed? I sure hope they are getting it before it gets all compressed to hell. Otherwise, I don't see how their having to take a heavily compressed feed, and compress it again is going to be helpful from a sound quality perspective.

Brian
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post #3 of 11
9/30/05 at 1:31pm
Thread Starter 
Brian,

Additionally, I always thought the music feeds
DirecTV have been carrying all these years were
sonically superior to XM.
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post #4 of 11
10/2/05 at 6:35am
Quote:
Additionally, I always thought the music feeds
DirecTV have been carrying all these years were
sonically superior to XM


Ron,

That is what is really scaring me about this change. I pipe Music Choice via D* out on my pool deck during the summer with an old retired Kenwood pro-logic receiver and some Stereostone speakers (best outdoor speakers,IMHO). I have had both Sirius and XM users rave about the sound quality and ask what service I'm using.

I hope XM and D* do this right!

Jim
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post #5 of 11
10/2/05 at 8:54am
Thread Starter 
Jim,

I hate to be the bearer of bad news.

XM and Sirius offer compressed music at
MP3 quality.

What they broadcast is what they broadcast
and it will sound inferior to what you have
now.
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post #6 of 11
10/2/05 at 10:23am
Plus, I can dump my XM subscription and sell my hardware because I mainly have been using XM in the house anyway.

I'm fairly disappointed by this news. To my mind, it indicates that XM identifies in-car installations as its primary cash source -- since I'm sure that they aren't getting THAT much from DirecTV for the deal and with this arrangement they seem to be pretty much "giving away" the home audio market.

As such, I would guess that those of us who have been hoping for an improvement in audio quality can forget it. As long as it works for the car, I assume that the XM management believes their product is good enough.

I also hope this doesn't mean the end of MusicChoice on DTV, which has significantly superior sound -- though significantly inferior programming.
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post #7 of 11
10/3/05 at 8:45am
Ron,

Do we know for sure how D* will get their feed?

I can't imagine that D* will be pulling a feed off of a SkyFi! Surely there are mechanisms in place that will allow for a better quality signal. I would have to think that somehow XM can get an uncompressed feed over to D*.

Well, I would HOPE that were the case anyway. Otherwise, this is going to sound like crapola.

Brian
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post #8 of 11
10/3/05 at 9:19am
Thread Starter 
Brian,

I can't give you a 100% accurate answer
in this situation.

However....

Because both XM and Sirius operate on limited
bandwidth, their music and talk channels are
compressed. It is actually compressed at the
source before leaving the studios and broadcast
through a dish antenna.

It seems obvious that this is the signal that
DirecTV will be downloading through their antenna,
into their system, for broadcast to subscribers.

I can't see any sort of direct feed that would
improve overall sound quality significantly. In
fact, it would not be to XM or Sirius' advantage
to even attempt to improve quality through a
FREE TO SUBSCRIBER DirecTV/Dish Network feed,
as it would only entice listeners to cancel
their normal subscriptions as you can see is
already being discussed in this thread.
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post #9 of 11
10/3/05 at 1:50pm
Thanks Ron.

I guess at the end of the day, the ears will have to be the final arbiter of XM's sound quality via D*, but it sure doesn't bode well if all they have to work with is the same signal we all have to use.

FWIW, the music that they are playing on channel 800 (the XM overview channel) sounded pretty good when I had it on yesterday, but I am pretty sure it's NOT XM.

Brian
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post #10 of 11
10/3/05 at 3:23pm
The feed on 800 confirms that XM Radio will be replacing MusicChoice.
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post #11 of 11
10/9/05 at 5:54pm
Interesting move, especially since all the AVR manufacturers are marketing receivers XM Ready (with subscription).
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