Satellite Radio Companies

The introduction of satellite radio has been one of the biggest innovations in recent FM broadcasting history. This radio signal can be heard at a distances of thirty five thousand kilometers and beyond. That is more that twenty two miles with a clear reception, no static and more than one hundred stations to listen to. The inception of this concept was 1992 when the Federal Communications Commissions gave up the S band on the radio wave spectrum (2.3 GHz) to Digital Audio Radio Service. The companies that were initially given a license to broadcast on this spectrum were XM Satellite Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio. Currently, there are three satellite radio services broadcasting around the world: XM and Sirius in North America and WorldSpace in Europe, Asia and Africa.

The three satellite radio companies each have a different system for broadcasting their signals. This means that a customer would end up buying specific equipment depending on what company they subscribe to. There are three parts to a satellite radio system: the ground repeaters, the satellites and the radio receivers. The XM satellite radio has satellites that are geographically located above the equator at all times. To combat the issue of obstacles such as hills, bridges and buildings, the XM radio service has a network of repeaters. These are antennas that get the signal from the satellites and transmit it to the subscriber?s radio. The Sirrus radio service is set up a little differently. The satellites are elliptical in structure and they orbit the Earth. Because these satellites are on a higher level, the signal is usually clear and there is no need to have quite as many repeaters.

The satellite radio programmers are able to choose what music or program to fill air time. Many use CD?s or have musicians come in to perform live. This sound is transmitted via a digital format. The signal is encoded by the satellite and then sent to the repeater antennae. The repeater moves it along to the subscriber?s radio which decodes the signal and plays the sound. Satellite radio also utilizes digital compression which is a method of reducing a set amount of information into a bandwidth using complex algorithms. If you are a subscriber, you will have to purchase the correct equipment to get the signal.

The amount of people who subscribe to satellite radio has grown due to the improvements made to the technology. The appeal of the radio station has always been the fact that the radio doesn?t depend on advertising to pay the bills, therefore the programs available are commercial free.

Jason Allen is a staff writer at Wireless Times and is an occasional contributor to several other websites, including Entertainment Digest.

Is Sirius Satellite Radio Better Than XM Radio?

Many years ago, people didn?t have televisions. Many read the papers to get the news or listened to the radio. Just as satellite television has entered American homes, another thing has also been developed that is called satellite radio.

What is satellite radio? This piece of hardware allows the individual to listen to favorite recording artists and shows instead of watching it on television. Given that the United States is a vast place and there are various stations in each state, this also allows the user to listen to one back home hundreds of miles away.

Currently, there are two main players competing head on in the market. The first is called Sirius while the other is XM radio. Which of the two is better? This question depends on whom the individual will ask but both are doing quite well and more customers are signing up.

Sirius is the first to ever provide commercial free programming on all its music channels and has a wide array of accessories for customers to buy. This is despite that fact that XM radio launched a few months in advance.

The subscription fee of Sirius a little pricey compared to XM radio. When people want the best things in life, money maybe an obstacle. So the deciding factor will be what the hardware has to offer.

Satellite radio has been around for almost 5 years. Since this is considered to be the ?in thing? in the market, both companies have tied up with the major car manufacturers to have this installed in their vehicles. This is the same thing Ipod is doing so the owner can listen to the favorite tunes while on the road.

Sirius has 65 channels that feature sports, news and other programs aside from music. This includes exclusive coverage of special events such as the NFL. XM radio on the other hand has NASCAR and Fox news. It has 68 channels which is 3 more than what the other is offering to the consumer.

The accessories used by Sirius satellite radio allows the person to listen to this at home or in the car. One of the basic accessories it uses is the Sanyo CRSR-10 Plug and Play system that will cost about $149.99. Those who are not satisfied can have this upgraded-which will cost from $250 to $2,000.

XM radio on the other hand uses the Delphi XM Roady Receiver. This will cost an individual somewhere between $30 to $400, but those who choose to get a monthly subscription will only have to pay $12.95 per month.

Both the models being offered by Sirius and XM radio are easy to install. The person will just have to pay a small fee as a service charge when enlisting the help of a customer representative when this is being done.

Customers can buy the unit in a store or order this online. It is not only ordinary individuals who are very interested in this product since there are also other models for commercial use that are being broadcasted in public access systems of hotels and other retail establishments

Is Sirius satellite radio better then that XM radio? Given that both companies have different things to offer, this really depends on the tastes of the customer.

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What is satellite radio?

What is satellite radio?

Satellite radio is often considered one of the biggest improvements in broadcasting since the introduction of the FM band. Satellite radio is also called subscription radio or pay-radio because it is only available trough subscription to one of the satellite radio providing companies. Satellite radio follows a concept similar to cable television by providing a very wide range of programs which are not available in the traditional FM or AM format for a fee.

Satellite radio uses satellites to deliver radio programs to subscribers. The radio signal is broadcasted from Earth based stations to communicational satellites, which then redirect the signal to satellite radio receivers. The radio signal is broadcasted by communication satellites to a much larger area than traditional terrestrial radio antennas. For example, satellite radio is available al across the continental area of the United States. Satellite radio is available now in most parts of the world trough services provided by companies like WorldSpace (in Europe, Asia and Africa), Sirius and XM Radio (in North America). The radio signal you receive using satellite radio is digital, which means that it is always clear and static-free, which is one of the great advantages of satellite radio. Another great thing about satellite radio is that it is almost completely commercial-free.

To begin listening to satellite radio you will need the actual satellite radio (also known as tuner or receiver), a satellite radio antenna (which is often incorporated in the satellite radio) and a subscription to the service you choose. There are several types of satellite radio from which you can choose. One of them is the dedicated car or home radio, which play trough your car or home stereo. A second option is the plug-and-play radio, which can be used in your car, as well as in your home by paying a single subscription. Your third option is the portable radio, which has rechargeable battery, a built-in antenna and you can listen to it wherever you go using headphones. The radio signals offered by different satellite radio companies are proprietary, which means that you will need different hardware for receiving, decoding and playback, depending on your subscription. Each satellite radio receiver has its own serial number called Radio ID. When you get your subscription, you will also get an activation code for your receiver. Besides the actual radio programs, satellite radio transmits metadata that contains the name of the artist, the title of the song or program, as well as the name of the channel. This makes it easier for you to decide which channel to listen to and which program to choose.

Satellite radio services provide the subscriber with more than 100 programs that vary in content from rock and jazz to rap and classical music. But satellite radio's utility reaches far beyond listening to your favorite music without the interruption of those annoying commercials. Satellite radio also offers exclusive sports programs, cultural and educational shows, news and talk-shows. Some of the celebrities that have moved their shows from free radio to satellite radio include Howard Stern, Opie and Anthony, Bob Edwards and Martha Stewart. Unlike terrestrial radio, satellite radio is not affected by bad weather or even calamities.

At first, many people wondered why they should pay for radio if they can get it free. However, satellite radio attracts more and more people every year due to its great advantages: no commercials, extensive reach, theme programs and exceptional quality of sound.

Debra Goh is an internet entrepreneur and a freelance writer. Her blogs are at http://free--downloads.blogspot.com and http://air--purifier.blogspot.com