Sirius or XM

[exav8tr]

I'm tired of searching for stations as I travel and want to install sat radio in TV. Not familiar with either Sirus or XM.
advice or suggestions requested............ THANKS......

[rogue]

Phil, Check out both web sites for their programming (www.sirius.com and www.xmradio.com). We have had Sirius for about 3 years, and XM in our new chevy truck. Both have a good selection of music, talk, sports. Both come in loud and clear when the antena can see the salilite, and both go quiet when they can not (trees, mountains or when you are in canyons with steep sides). At least thats been our experiance up here in Oregon.

[stiles watson]

We have Sirius factory installed in the New King Ranch and you are right, it is nice not to be looking for stations all the time. I kept it on the same 2 or 3 channels all the way from New york to Texas. All I can say is look at the menu and see if you are going to find what you prefer to hear. I think the quality is about the same. You can look them both up online and compare the programming. Having done that, I think I will stick with Sirius.

[Ozz]

I like my Sirius in my Ford truck, have had it for 4 vehicles, it has worked super, but XM would probably be fine. I have the XM on our Direct Tv.

[mtpocket2]

I have had both. It comes down to programming. They both work and sound good. I would give a slight edge to Sirius on equipment. Their portable boom box is better quality and I have had both. You can listen to both on-line. I prefer Sirius because of programming. Nascar and the Patriot channel to name a couple. If it's already installed in your vehicle your choice is probably made unless you want to spend some money.

[vickir]

Sirius came in our new truck as well and, since I'm the designated "station finder," I absolutely love not having to search ... and "oldies" stations are getting harder and harder to find! We love Sirius so much, we bought a "boombox" and antenna/tuner thingy so we can listen to it in the Montana.

We had heard that Sirius and XM might merge and offer a "cafeteria" style choice for channels for $6.99/mo. I recently heard an announcement on Sirius reminding the shareholders to vote on the merger and I can only assume that the XM shareholders are voting as well. So, the merger sounds like it may really happen. We're hoping the cafeteria thing happens as well since we only listen to a small number of channels and don't really want to pay for those we don't want.

But now we can listen to KU basketball no matter where we are!

[Tincup703]

I've had both and prefer Sirius over XM because of available programming. Depending on your musical taste you will find either one a huge improvement over conventional radio and if talk radio is your thing they are second to none.

[mail2us]

Sirius and XM will soon merge as indicated already. XM comes in most GM products or can be installed in some GM existing radio setups. Check with dealer. This could eliminate another item stuck to your window or dash if you can build in. Sirius would have to be a separate item in GM products but they have some great small ones that don't seem cumbersome.

Also both XM and Sirius have boombox or radio styled units that many portable satellite radios hook to to play at your sight, in your sight removed from your vehicle.

Sirius seems to have Excellent NASCAR whereas XM has little or none. That's one item that gets many Sirius subscribers. College Football and NHL and Baseball is XM. Sirius also has college football.

One radio is usually about 13 bucks a month and the next one is 6.99 month. They're both more radio than you will ever need or want. My son has Sirius and seems to get signal where I can't with XM but not sure how big an offset that is. Good Luck on your selection. Dennis

[Wiarton William]

I have had the Canadian version of Sirius for two years....I am happy with it as far as reception goes and the music is what I like....my complaint is that I would love to hear about home when I am away...I bought the system to do that..it has 6 CBC stations...some in French,, some in English..some in Multicultural languages...it does not give the Canadian news as per region or by province, it gives basic National news and not much of it at that..in the end it was a waste of money to buy it for that reason..

[exav8tr]

Just got back from Best Buy today to schedule and appointment to have Sirius radio installed in my stock 05 Chevy Silverado. The tech informed me that I had to go to the Chevy dealer to have this done to the stock radio as they are the only ones that have the connectors required. IF I bought a new radio and had it installed, they could install Sirius with it. DOES THIS SOUND CORRECT??????

[Leaseit]

Phil. consider this idea. Save some moeny and buy one of the XM external radios that use a FM modulator like the RoadieXT or the ExpressXT and you won't have to have any install done on your truck. We put one in the wifes 1994 Blazer with the remote controller and it works great. Then, when you buy a new TV you can get Sirus or XM built in and move the XM radio inside the Monty to use with your surround sound. All you need is 12 volts to run it and you'll have all the music or other channels for the montie sterio.

[exav8tr]

Thanks to everyone for your advice. We had a new Kenwood, Sat ready, deck installed at Fry's. They also did the Sirius radio install. We opted for the hidden controller head and the sat ready deck as we wanted a more permanent install and one that worked through the radio. Have XM radio thru sat dish inside Monty

As a result I now have a GM factory radio as a spare. Anyone need one? Cheap!!!!

[mail2us]

You'll be happy with the sat radio installed. It's just one less item on the dash or window and one greater safety issue.

GM unfortunately has XM only. Dennis

[simonsrf]

Phil,

You'll be happy with your choice of Sirius. We have had it for 4+ years, and can't imagine having to listen to commercials or searching for our favorite music.

With having a DVR, we can watch TV without commercials, and with Sirius and no commercials,....gee we save all kinds of money!

[Montana Sky]

Phil,
Enjoy your new Sat radio! While I prefer XM, I am sure you will enjoy the nonstop music coverage as you make your way across the country.

[sreigle]

I've never had XM so can't and won't try to compare. I will say, as Vicki did earlier, we're very happy with Sirius, especially since it has so much college basketball and football as well as music, weather, news, etc.

Sirius and a free year came with our Dodge. We figured we'd use it for that year and not renew. After all, why on earth would we want to pay for something we can get for free over the air. Well, those Sirius and XM folks are pretty smart marketing people. They sure hooked us. We're now spoiled and have decided we'll extend the contract when the free year is up next May. And, as Vicki said, we went out and bought a portable with boombox base for the Montana, both for music and to listen to our beloved Kansas University teams when they don't happen to be on one of the major networks and we're outside the "Jayhawk TV" network area.

What I'm trying to say is if you buy a new vehicle and it comes with satellite radio, don't even try it unless you're willing to pay for it when the free period is up. It'll hook you sure as headwinds when we hitch up our Montana.

[ChuckD]

Phil, Go to radio Shack and buy a Sirus plug and play for less than $100.00. It too is an external that takes only minutes to hook up and works like a champ. So the choice is yours XM or Sirus, people are happy with both. I just wouldn't invest in having a dealer install a whole new radio, you don't need the additional expence for SaT Radio. and you can also my a home kit for the plug and play and use it in the Monty right throuh your FM radio reciever.