Discussion on XM vs. SIRIUS article (1 Viewer)

[TheLongshot]

One thing I've noticed on XM is that sometimes there isn't an "Artist" or "Song" tag on some of the songs. Some of the abbriviations that they make to some titles are strange as well..

I also find the 16 character limit on XM annoying, because more often than not, a song or an artist will be affected by it.

Jason

 

[Chris]

Like I said, I know nothing of the decades channels; but I know that tonight, on the "Backspin" channel they played the complete, album version 6:42 cut of "Do Watcha Like" (Digital Underground) which kept my toes tapping for a while

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Ron, why do you keep insisting that it's certain XM hardware that has a text limit?

Joshua,

Why do you keep going from board to board misreading
and taking me to task on everything I post?!

You have become like a tag-a-long that has to
argue with me at every turn. Once again you have
misread my words.

WHERE in my post ABOVE does it say certain
equipment? I state: XM Radio does not
display the full text of ARTIST and SONG. Their
character display cuts off after so many line(s)
of text.

I also go on to explain that this is not a big
issue for Delphi SkyFi units that have a larger
display, but a problem for smaller units.

Look, I greatly welcome debate and disagreement
on things that I may say here. I may make
mistakes from time to time and I certainly
appreciate corrections. However, please don't
misquote me and then accuse me of stating the
facts wrongly.

 

[Joshua Clinard]

Ron,

It seems I misread your post, and for that I apologize. It can happen to anyone, and I was not intentionally looking for something to disagree with. The way you worded one sentence in your post is what gave me trouble. "The character display cuts out after so many lines of text." The "lines of text" part is what I had an issue with. The 16 character limit really has nothing to do with lines of text. I now see that you were pointing out that some radio's have one line of text, and others have two lines. But even the ones with two lines have the 16 character limit, and that's all I was trying to say.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Joshua,

When I originally got XM radio, I blamed by
Alpine head unit for the character display
flaw. I had no idea (at the time) that XM Radio
transmitted limited text. In fact, it was easy to
get fooled because the Delphi SkyFi is a
much larger display and shows more text all on
screen.

It wasn't until I started reading the forums that
I found out about the limited character display.

This is a major flaw for XM radio. I actually
prefer my Kenwood unit for both sound quality
and the fact that Sirius displays FULL scrolling
text.

It's sort of late in the game for XM to correct
this flaw, but hey, would love to see it happen.

 

[Joshua Clinard]

Ron,

I'm sorry for the misunderstanding.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Joshua,

No problem, my friend.

We have just been down a rocky road
together across a few different forums
on this XM vs. Sirius issue.

I know how much you care about Sirius
radio. I need you to understand that
I equally care. The thing is, there
are many listeners including myself that
feel there needs to be some important
programming changes made over on that
service. It seems that our complaints
have been heard and that programming is
starting to change in our favor.

If I am doing a lot of negative press
about Sirius as of late it is only because
there are so many of us that want changes
to be made. If and when changes are in
place, I think you'll find that the service
will be getting better word-of-mouth all
around.

 

[Joshua Clinard]

Ron, I agree, there are many important programming changes that need to be made at Sirius. I pointed out on Sirius Backstage that I am very dissatisfied with their Christmas Music. It is very repetitive, and I pointed out about 15 songs that are being played ad nauseum. I have almost stopped listening to it completely, even though Christmas music is my favorite type of music during this time of year. I am also disapointed with their constant playing of gay/lesbian comedy. I rarely hear anything else on Sirius Comedy. But I am almost sure they will rectify that with their upcoming programming changes. My point in all of this has been that Sirius is not alone in the fact that they have programming issues. Both providers have their programming strengths and weaknesses, and I am sure you are aware of some of them. It just seemed that you didn't point out the other provider's problems as you did with Sirius. But I have no hard feelings about that. I am glad that Sirius is making their needed programming changes, and I do hope they come sooner rather than later.

Are you any more satisfied with the 70's channel now that they have added some songs? Or does it still need a lot of work. I'm just curious.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Joshua,

The Totally '70s channel is not any
better despite the fact they have added a few
more songs to the line-up. The channel is still
primarily classic rock, they have added very
little of the contemporary artists from that era
and absolutely none of the more popular country
hits.

In addition, they are still playing the same songs
over and over again --- with some of them being
heavily edited versions.

There has been promise that the channel will go
back to the way it was originally, but in these
past two weeks there has been little progress.

I then switch over to Movin' Easy and
Soul Revue to find the same stuff being
played again and again and again.

It's sort of the same problem you have with the
Christmas channel. It seems everything on Sirius
radio is on a VERY limited playlist -- the HITS
and ONLY the HITS.

It just seemed that you didn't point out the other provider's problems as you did with Sirius.

Understand Joshua, the average satellite radio
listener will probably pick a handful of channels
that he or she will frequent. I compared the
channels I most frequented on XM against
those on Sirius. It's the same sort of
comparance that any reviewer would do because
there is just so much music that one would have
to be familiar with it all in order to review it
all -- and that's not normally possible.

First impressions are important to anyone. Simply
put, my first impression of Sirius is
that they have serious programming problems on
the channels I frequent. It's sort of sad to say
that despite all the complaints from listeners
it hasn't changed much in the past two weeks.

For now I still recommend XM to those
looking for less repeats -- but my heart tells
me that next year I'll be recommending Sirius.

 

[TheLongshot]

The Totally '70s channel is not any
better despite the fact they have added a few
more songs to the line-up. The channel is still
primarily classic rock, they have added very
little of the contemporary artists from that era
and absolutely none of the more popular country
hits.

And I don't think you will find country on that station, since it doesn't really fit with their philosiphy, which is mostly staying with pop hits.

On the other hand, XM can get too obscure sometimes in their musical selections. While I don't mind, there have been a lot of people who have gone to Sirius for that reason.

One of my other complaints about XM is the seemingly lack of DJs on their stations. I listen to XM Music Lab, Boneyard, Special X, Cinemagic, Deep Tracks, 80s on 8, and Fine Tuning on a regular basis, and it is rare to hear a DJ on any of those stations other than 80s on 8. Course, if Heidi Selexa is a good examples of their DJs, maybe I'm not missing much..

As I said before, I like Sirius's equipment better (even if it is a generation behind), the way they display artists and songs, the DJs and the no comercials. Problem is, they fail in content for me, and they probably won't ever serve the genres that I'd like them to. Sad that the only fault that they have will cause me not to listen to them.

Jason

 

[Ronald Epstein]

And I don't think you will find country on that station, since it doesn't really fit with their philosiphy, which is mostly staying with pop hits.

Jason,

The only semi-country that I would expect are hits like....

Here You come again - Dolly Parton
The Gambler - Kenny Rogers

That sort of stuff. Just the small amount
of country that made it into mainstream AM.

 

[DaveGTP]

I've eyed up Sat radio quite a few times. I would probably have it already, but my OEM POS Delphi radio is routed up through my heads-up display - giving me radio station, CD track, etc up in the windshield (Heads-up display is the greatest auto invention since anti-lock brakes!!). Makes it really hard to do a head-unit upgrade - there's no adapter for the heads-up, and only a few adapters for the in-wheel radio controls (another wonderful thing).

I'm not big on the FM modulator idea, but I would probably end up doing it to keep my stock radio.

And currently I have the POS Bose *cough*Premium*cough* system that some poor sap paid way too much for when she bought the car new from the dealer. So I guess I can't expect much on the audio fidelity side anyway - too poor for a good car audio upgrade.



Quick question to those of you with the services -

We have one local rock station - your typical mix of classic hits and modern rock hits, and the typical top40 rock that is popular. Ever since a ClearChannel buyout some years back, it's the same songs over and over and over again. I can't stand the repetition.

I would gladly pay the subscription fee just for one good modern rock station that plays something besides top hits. I know there is other music out there, but I never get to hear it. I could pull down mp3s to sample (thank you, I do buy CDs that I like!), but I don't even know what to look for, I'm so isolated from anything non-popularist!!

How's the rock stations compare on either station? I like pansy rock (my favorite band is Collective Soul), stuff like Alice in Chains, Live, Godsmack and Disturbed are good too. Not into hip-hop styled rock, but I can tolerate it. I would enjoy a good 90's rock station, or a modern rock station, or in fact, any rock station that plays something besides the incredibly repetitive top40 rock of ClearChannel.

The other stations I am interested in is the aforementioned Cinemagic station (since I like classical music too), classical stations, and maybe some jazz stations once in a great while. I would never ever ever tune in to hip-hip, electronica, or country (unless it's the aforementioned Kenny Rogers Gambler ).

So I guess I'm asking - what's the modern rock selection like on either one - can I hear bands that I wouldn't ever hear on the radio or TV? And how's the 90's and modern rock selection?

 

[TheLongshot]

So I guess I'm asking - what's the modern rock selection like on either one - can I hear bands that I wouldn't ever hear on the radio or TV? And how's the 90's and modern rock selection?

On Sirius, you'd be looking for Octane and on XM it would be Squizz. I can't speak for Squizz, since I haven't listened to it much yet, but I can speak for Octane. They've changed it up a bit lately, mixing in some older stuff (Metallica, Guns n Roses) in with the new stuff. I'm not sure they go much beyond what is played on regular radio stations.

You also might want to take a look at "Left Of Center" on Sirius. They tend to play some of the more eclectic and obscure. (Lately, they've been mixing in stuff that is a bit more well known, like The White Stripes. It is an improvement.)

Jason

 

[Ronald Epstein]

XM '70s Decade plays those songs once in a while.

Remember, during that decade, AM radio played a
lot of hits that crossed many genres. Country wasn't
very big on mega-stations like WABC (NYC), but they
did play those songs.

 

[Jed M]

I couldn't imagine a "70's" channel ever playing that stuff. They aren't considered "pop" tunes. They would be appropriately placed on a "classic country" channel.

I think anybody can cross over into pop. Should Shania Twain, Garth Brooks, or the Dixie Chicks's biggest hits that everybody knows be left out of the 90's Decade channel because they don't primarily play rock and roll? I think a Decade channel should cover everything that was popular in that decade, unless the name is 70's Rock Decade (which it isn't on XM).

 

[Mark Bendiksen]

...couldn't imagine a "70's" channel ever playing that stuff. They aren't considered "pop" tunes.

That's not true. Many of Kenny Rogers' and Dolly Parton's songs from the late 70's were big hits on pop radio stations of the time. "Coward of the County", "Lady", and "9 to 5" to just name a few. I know I'm dating myself, but I distinctly remember hearing those songs on the pop radio stations in Dallas where I grew up in the 70's.

 

[Diallo B]

As for Sirius.....

Things will get better on that service.

Can't say much now, but expect some MAJOR
changes in the next 3 weeks and by around February.

I assume that you were referencing the NFL announcement Ron. This is great news!

Hey, give me a hint about FEB.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Actually, what I heard has nothing to do with
the NFL.

 

[Diallo B]

Actually, what I heard has nothing to do with the NFL

hint. hint. hint......

 

[Ronald Epstein]

There are a lot of programming changes
about to happen over on Sirius.

I don't want to talk about it because I have
been asked not to. I do think the news is good.
If what I hear is true, the addition of a certain
music channel will put Sirius that much closer to
what XM already has an exclusive on.

If that's not a hint, I don't know what is.