Help for Sirius noob? (1 Viewer)

[DarrenAlan]

Hey guys (and gals, if there any reading),

Right now I get Sirius satellite radio via my subscription to DishNet. And I have enjoyed it immensely, especially the classic jazz station and Les Davis.

However, for a number of reasons, the most critical being DishNet's lack of HD programming and my inability to get OTA due to topography, I'm thinking of switching to cable.

I have satellite dishes (two), HDTV OTA antennas, etc., as well as exterior cabling running right to where my two systems (one music only, the other dedicated HT) reside -- what else do I need, specifically, to continue receiving Sirius satellite radio?

Besides a subscription, that is.

Thanks in advance for the help!

 

[Brent T]

I have DirecTV with HDTV and I have my sportser plugged right into my Integra. Sounds great. As long as you can get the antenna outside you shouldnt have any problems. I just ran mine along the wall. I did buy the extension for it though.

 

[DarrenAlan]

Thanks, Brent. Just to clarify for any future readers, I don't care too much about mobile audio; this is just for my home systems. The clarity I get right now is outstanding -- does anyone know what Sirius uses for a source ... CDs? DVD-Audio? -- and I don't want to lose that.

Additional specific recommendations welcomed!

 

[Jeff Gatie]

Sirius uses a proprietary compression technique to broadcast. They probably use computers for sources, PCM or high bitrate MP3. In order to get Sirius without your Dish, you need the following:

A Sirius Radio - There are plug and play (go from car to home, need a dock of some sort in each location) which broadcast via FM mod or mini-plug cable to existing receivers, Car only (usually a box that cables into a head unit) and Home only (Kenwood makes one for use with a stereo/HT and Tivoli makes a real nice table radio)

An antenna - You need to place this in a window or mount it to the side/roof of the house. There are different pointing recommendations according to your geographic location. Every radio comes with a basic antenna and there are home specific antennas available if the standard one is not sufficient (mine is a standard car antenna in a north facing window sill and I get 2 out of 3 bars and a full terrestrial signal). Terrestrial signals are from land based sat repeaters and are located around major cities.

A subscription - Monthly is 12.99, Buying multiple months/years give you a discount.

You can read this all on the WWW.sirius.com under the "How to get it" tab.

 

[DarrenAlan]

Jeff, you da man.

'Nuff said.

Many thanks.