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Satellite Radio

Advantages of Satellite Radio

* No guessing the track's title, artist, or album. All are displayed on the receiver. * No annoying ads interrupting music tracks. * A clear quality signal across the United States. * More station choices than on FM radio. * More music variety and genres to choose from. * Easy to find genres. Music, news, and sports are broken down into easy to find categories. * Same stations coast to coast. If you drive long distances on a regular basis, you don't have to worry about losing the signal every 50 miles or so.

What's Not to Like About Satellite?

* It's not free. * Many of the devices are proprietary to one service or another, meaning that like when you buy a cell phone, say an phone. The same goes for satellite unless the device specifically states that it supports both providers.

Satellite Radio Types

The Basics

Choosing a satellite radio style is not brain surgery. Some features to look for on all models are the file format support capabilities. Some models play only one type or another of satellite radio, while others support AM/FM, WMAs, and MP3s. Other than that, the only question is where do you listen to radio most? At home? In your car? Or on the go? (''Recommendations Compiled from C-Net and About.com'') !

Surround Sound Broadcast

Sound & Vision's June 2006 issue outlined XM's breakthrough Surround Sound broadcasting capability. The high definition broadcasts are currently offered on certain channels, and only through AV receivers with satellite radio capabilities.

Pricing

* Three cheers for satellite radio! Due to high sales in '05/'06, prices are dropping! * Both companies charge about the same for subscriptions, although they have some differences in the diversity of plans available. ** Click here to see all of Sirius' rates. ** Click here to see all of XM's rates. * Each subscription is for one receiver, although you may also be able to tune in online. * Both companies offer family plans that have a lower rate for additional receivers in a household. * Both companies offer corporate subscriptions.

XM or Sirius?

What's the same... * '''Price'''. Since the prices are pretty much the same for both networks, how do you choose? * '''Easy Listening'''. The music channels are commercial-free, although the sports channels may have some commercials. * '''Variety'''. Most reviewers agree: whether you choose XM or Sirius, you'll get clear, high-quality broadcasts with lots of choices. ** '''Music''' - dozens of channels mean something for everyone. ** '''Talk''' - uncensored, with programming for everyone, regardless of age, sex, political views, or interest. Both services have comedy channel as well. ** '''Sports''' play coverage of almost all games. What's different... ! * '''Programs'''. The differences between the networks are almost entirely about programming. * '''XM''' has a larger subscriber base and there is a greater diversity of receivers available for XM. * '''Sirius '''has been growing rapidly and there may soon be a greater number of Sirius-enabled devices as well. * Like cell phones, satellite radios will only work within the designated network. An XM radio cannot be converted to a Sirius radio; if you subscribe to both, you will need two receivers. Here is a brief comparison of what you'll find on each network.