So you want to switch to satellite radio, but you aren’t sure with which service to go with? Two of the biggest names in satellite radio today, XM and Sirius, both offer a large variety of music stations that you would never hear on regular commercial radio. And most of the music channels, for both services, are commercial free. Of course, nothing is truely free. Both Sirius and XM charge you a service fee to listen to their music channels – someone has to pay for those satellites!

So what is the difference between Sirius and XM?

First of all, Sirius and XM both offer the same commercial-free music service broadcasted via satellites. Sirius offers 120 channels, or feeds, of music, sports, and entertainment programming. For this service, Sirius charges a flat monthly subscription fee of $12.95 for residents of the continental US. XM currently charges, on the other hand, has 122 channels broadcasting similar content (68 of which are music channels), and charge a slightly smaller monthly fee: $9.95. XM currently has the largest share in the satellite marked with 2 million customers.

So why does Sirius charge more? Sirius claims to have superior sound quality thanks to their statistical multiplexing technology, which provides additional bandwidth across all SIRIUS streams. This is supposed to increase overall sound quality and resolution. There has been little feedback however, to verify whether or not this system really enhances sound quality to a noticeable degree. In addition, Sirius is offering free audio feeds through the internet to its paying customers, something XM charges a couple dollars a month extra for. So if you plan on listening to the radio via the net often, you can expect to pay about the same no matter which company you go with. Sirius also claims to have 24 hour customer service – something XM radio has yet to fully achieve. Oh, and one more thing. Sirius has 2 NPR channels, for you NPR fans out there: NPR Now and NPR Talk. Pretty cool.

So does that mean Sirius is better? Well, that depends. XM has some neat stuff too, like a bunch of cool XM Satellite Radio receivers and displays. They also have the biggest broadcasting network right now, and are probably the most likely to expand services significantly in the near future. Overall, they are just about equal, and you are better off going with either of these services than any other.

This Sirius vs XM satellite radio review was brought to you by SciNet Science and Technology Search Engine. SciNet is not affiliated with or specifically endorses Sirius or XM satellite radio. Please consult the XM and Sirius product information and configurations before you purchase either device or service. It is also a good idea to seek other product review and information as necessary.
About the Author

Bradley James is a senior editor at SciNet.cc, a website containing many helpful consumer electronics review articles. For more information on XM and Sirius satellite radio technology, please visit our XM vs Sirius satellite radio webpage.

Written By: bradley james

Satellite radio has become more and more popular these last few years and one of the reasons is the quite and static free reception enjoyed by the listener even in remote locations. If you have ever been on a road trip in a car and trying to tune the radio, you know how frustrating it can be to try to keep the radio tuned.

As soon as you find a good station,you will drive out of the area and it will become static and then fade away
completely. It was a pain to travel from one area to another constantly fiddling with the tuner to get a working station. And it seems that as soon as you find one that picks up properly, you have driven out of the area and cant pick it up anymore. But now technology has advanced and with satellite radio, you can now pick up any station from the satellite.

Radio signals can travel only about 30 to 40 miles past the transmitter. This is why when you are travelling and you
drive too far away from the radio transmitter, it becomes static and eventually you lose the signal completely. The good news is that technology has come a long way and just like we have satellites for television, we also have them for radio. Satellite radio lets you hear your station from anywhere you go in the country. It has never been easier to have great radio.

What you might not know is that automobile manufacturers have been installing satellite receivers in cars for many years now. This is helping technology advance and makes it easier for you to keep up with the changing trends. In fact, the FCC has given out around $80 million dollars to different companies that are researching this technology. All of this research means better radio for you.

You may have already heard that there are three main companies that are involved in satellite radio technology. There is a lot of competition between these companies which can only be expected. Worldspace and XM Radio are two of these three companies and they have signed an agreement with each other. They have agreed to share any technology so this is a huge benefit to you the consumer. The more these companies can work together, the better the benefits to the consumer will be.
About the Author

Corbin Mathieson is the owner of Ask Satellite, Inc. which is a premier source of information about Satellite. For more information, go to: http://asksatellite.com

Written By: Corbin Mathieson