Satellite Radio Reviews

Satellite radio is a service that is available through subscription that will give you access to music, talk shows, sports games, and many more. This service is commercial free and is only available with a monthly fee to a provider.

This service is available world wide in many different countries. In the United States, there are two companies that provide this service to people. Each company transmits their signal at a different frequency. Therefore, receivers are usually configured to accept only the specific frequency the company transits. If you wish to switch companies, or wish to continue your satellite radio service in another country you will either need to purchase another unit for that specific provider, or modify your current unit to accept other frequencies.

Customer complaints

Customers of satellite radio are generally happy with their service. Their main complaint is the high price of service. In the United States, it can cost you $12-$15 a month to enjoy satellite music on one receiver. Many people are unhappy with the fact that they must pay extra in order to enjoy the service in their units.

This extra cost has prompted people to abandon satellite radio receivers which are not portable, and opt for the smaller units so that they will be able to listen in different rooms in their home, take it to their car, as well as take it to their work place.

The pros of satellite radio

Despite the high cost of satellite radio, customers still enjoy the product for many reasons. The top reason people are happy with satellite radio is the fact that it is commercial free. Most people hate the fact that there are so many commercials on regular radio.

Another pro satellite radio argument is the radio's abilities to maintain a high level of signal anywhere you go, unlike regular radio where signal strength is limited to your distance to the source. Satellite radio signals are sent directly to your receiver from a commercial satellite. Anywhere you go where you have unobstructed line of sight you will have a clear signal.

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What Are The Features Of Satellite Radio?

The best thing about the satellite radio is that you get about seventy channels of music, commercial free. The consumers keep the radio on air not commercials and the range of channels varies from opera to rap, from blues to dance music and much more.

Another great feature of this radio is the absence of static. From East coast to West Coast and all over the US, you will get a clear signal where ever you are.

In addition, if you have just heard a song and you want to know the name of it, simply look at the receiver display. It will tell you the name, the artist, what channel you are listening to, and what program it is.

Satellite radio is completely free from censors. Howard Stern can put a program on air as is, without interference. You can hear music like hip hop without any interruptions.

The radio service provides local weather and traffic conditions. In big cities, there are more detailed forecasts. In addition, if there is a national crisis, unlike regular radio stations that go blank, satellite radio will be able to provide information. You may listen to the radio on your computer.

Most people mistakenly think regular radio is free, but it isn?t. You are forced to listen to sections of annoying commercials in exchange for music. With a satellite radio subscription, of about thirteen dollars, you get a clear reception, you get channels of music you can listen to no matter where you are and you can listen to exactly what you want.

This is perfect for a person who travels throughout the US. You don?t have to worry about static and you don?t have to fiddle around with the radio every time you leave a specific area. Soon XM and Sirrus will provide the same service for Video Channels. Their subscribers would be able to enjoy great quality, a clear reception and commercial and censor free viewing.

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

RIAA Kills Sirius Satellite Radio, Destroys Value of Consumer Product

Since the beginning of Radio's inception, no one has dared to arrest people who copy songs from the radio.

RIAA, the Recording Industry Association of America, now dares. They have banned Sirius from allowing more than one downloadable song per download. The only reason for this is because the Satellite radio songs are just as good quality as MP3, thereby eliminating the need to buy the MP3's.

RIAA has now pushed legislation through the house "to protect content delivered through high-definition (HD) radio receivers". What that means, is anyone using a HIGH QUALITY method to copy a song is in violation of the law. But if you use a low-quality method; say, a cassette, then it's okay.

Where is the logic in that? Aren't laws a reflection of moral values? So it's moral to copy a song onto cassette, but immoral to copy it onto a MP3 player?

Something is insanely illogical about that concept. RIAA claims musicians can't make money if their songs are all downloaded illegally.

Only a century ago, there wasn't a police force that prevented anyone but the original composer from playing their music in the streets. If Beethoven wanted to make money, he had to play in a concert for the people. He couldn't just kick back and earn money every time a fiddler in the street played a tune from his concerto.

So what holds water about the RIAA argument? Very little in terms of historical legitimacy, and even in modern times, musicians are pulling in record numbers from concerts. The Rolling Stones pulled in over $162 million in 2005 from tours. Green Day pulled in $39 million, and Dave Matthews raked $31 million, with significantly less touring than the Stones. Is that not enough?

Even Paul McGuinness the manager of U2 said, "Our recording income is not insignificant, but it's less than we make from touring. The figures used to be closer together." U2's 2005 tour pulled in $139 million.

So with concert income rising grotesquely, does the RIAA even have the right to push its legalistic agenda? Ironically, the spread of free music has encouraged music listening far beyond paid music: the increased availability of music has lead to increased concert-going fans as the record-breaking tours indicate.

With concert rates rising, and the income disparity from concerts and recording sales, perhaps RIAA should consider their nefarious designs at deciding what is Right and Wrong. Like a master teaching his dog manners, RIAA tells the consumers: Record radio on a cassette, good. Record radio onto MP3, bad dog, Sirius gets a time-out, and the critically acclaimed S50 is the first casualty in the war for consumer rights against RIAA.

In so doing, since the Sirius S50 was owned by hundreds of thousands, the RIAA has essentially destroyed the value of a product that did not belong to them. Without a moral basis for doing so, that is where the true immorality lies.

Maybe if the public starts downloading satellite radio music onto CD, then RIAA will help get CD recording of radio will be banned too.

Jonathan Baldwin, is the creator of a XM vs Sirius comparison website. You can find a copy of the article here: RIAA Kills Sirius S50

How Does Satellite Radio Work

It looks like satellite radio is here to stay. With the availability of equipment and the benefits the service has to offer, it seems more and more people are choosing to use satellite radio. If you are wondering how satellite radio works, read on.

Satellite radio offers you commercial free radio. No more static, no more interrupted broadcasts; just hour after hour of uninterrupted music. And you won?t lose your favorite radio station as you cross the state. But you will have to pay for all this convenience.

Your dependable traditional radio won?t work for satellite radio, so you?ll need to purchase a new radio and you will need to have it installed (unless you are purchase a portable system). The price of the new radio varies depending on the model you choose. You?ll also need to pay an activation fee and a monthly fee.

Think of satellite radio as an extension of cable. For your monthly fee you?ll get edgier and less censored programming, innovative programming, more channels, and specialty channels. As an added convenience, while you?re listening to the music you?ll see the name of the song and the artist name displayed which means no more confusion about whose song is playing.

Back in 1992 the FCC allocated the 2.3 GHz or S band for nationwide broadcasting of satellite based DARS. Four companies applied for licensing and two were granted licenses. The two that were granted licenses were Sirius and XM. Both already had satellites in orbit.

They operate by beaming their programming to their satellite, which then transmits the signal to the ground. Your satellite radio then picks up the channel you have selected to listen to.

For listeners that live in urban areas satellite signals can become interrupted, so the satellite providers also beam the signal to ground repeaters to ensure that doesn?t happen.

Sirius was the first to offer commercial free programming on its music channels, but both Siruis and XM now have commercial free programming. Both are competitively priced. Currently, XM offers over 160 commercial free channels. Sirius has over 125 commercial free channels.

The special programming that Siruis and XM carry is the deciding factor of which service to choose for many people. Sirius carries NFL football games; XM carries college games. XM carries NASCAR races; Siruis has a Playboy channel. Sirius carries Howard Stern; XM carries Oprah.

Satellite radio is no longer the radio of the future. It?s the radio of today, and is being chosen over traditional radio programming by more and more people every day.

Gray Rollins is a featured writer for SatelliteCritique.com. For our satellite radio guide and for satellite radio reviews, visit us.

Satellite Radio: The Waves Of The Future?

Satellite Radio Its here! Satellite radio is a new service being offered by two companies, XM Satellite Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio. Both companies are offering over 100 channels of streaming music and entertainment. High quality sound is achieved through the use of satellites orbiting high above. Satellite radio is commercial free and free from regulations by federal committees. The impossible, is now possible, hearing the same radio station across North America and from coast to coast. All made possible by XM satellite radio and Sirius satellite radio.

Normal radio has been around for decades and is part of many peoples lifestyle. This is changing. Regular radio is monitored and regulated by the Federal Communications Commission, whom has fined several radio stations and media companies within the last 3-4 years. The FCC has only fined radio stations a maximum of $27,500 per show no matter how man profanities were aired.

Recently the FCC has been upping the ante and in conjunction with Congress has decided to raise the fine up to $500,000 per incident per station (Potter). A slap on the wrist has turned into a business-changing event. Sexually explicit comments by Bubba the Love Sponge and Howard Stern could get a station in trouble no doubt about it. Clear Channel Radio dropped both shock jocks this year after being hit with record fines.(Potter) Recently Howard Stern has made a move to Sirius Satellite Radio in an effort to preserve his career and free speech. Consumers are reaching towards satellite radio as a way to hear unregulated news and content.

Recently XM Satellite Radio has claimed to have over 3 million subscribers paying $9.99 per month and Sirius claims to have over 1.3 million customers paying $12.95 per month. Many of those customers pay an additional $2.99 per month for premium content such as the upcoming Howard Stern Show. Several normal radio stations and media outlets are realizing the potential to get their message across in a broad fashion. XM has launched a morning show, which is hosted by Bob Edwards, whom was fired earlier this year by National Public Radio. "The Bob Edwards Show" will air on a public satellite radio channel that also features news and programs from Public Radio International, among others. Sirius has its own public radio channel carrying NPR programs. Consumers and companies are demanding free speech and it seems that satellite radio is the vehicle.

XM Satellite Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio have designed satellite broadcast systems that differ but they achieve the same high quality of satellite radio. A milestone of this success is the fact that satellite radio signals that are available across the United States and into Mexico and Canada. Rock and Roll No its not a genre any more! XM Satellite Radio has two satellites named Rock and Roll, which remain in parallel geostationary orbit to provide radio coverage throughout the United States. Sirius Satellite Radio has chose to use three satellites in an inclined elliptical orbit. This configuration provides 16 hours per satellite of signal, which gives a great redundancy if any satellite were to fail. Playing it smart, Sirius and XM both have spare satellites, which can be called on in a moments notice if needed.

XM satellite radio and Sirius satellite radio have Earth based broadcast stations that are used to send up information to the satellites, which is then dispersed through out the globe. Sirius and XM both have disk jockeys that manage, create and program music which is then sent up to the satellites. The information is then taken in by the satellites and sent through a rebroadcast of the streams to earth. The Major advantage of this is that, unlike earth-based radio stations whose signals reach listeners 150 miles away, satellite radio signals have a huge reach, and are receivable anywhere within the continental United States and hundreds of miles in each direction of the borders. Satellite Radio is growing to become a worldwide network and offerings are growing throughout the world. XM satellite radio and Sirius satellite radio are making it happen.

Unregulated Satellite Radio is the answer for free speech in a government regulated airwaves arena. Not only can listeners hear unbiased information but also they can listen to it anywhere in the United States. Media giants are jumping to get the piece of the pie regarding satellite radio, as the new wave of the future is satellite radio.
Scott fish is the Owner of http://www.TopSatelliteRadio.com

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