msims

Yup, and at the monthly price of - what - $12.99 compared to XMs $9.99, you can't replace that receiver for over three years before you break even. With XM, you'd have to keep it over 4 years.

I do the monthly subscription because I know in a year or two I'm going to want to upgrade to a better receiver. I just got the XM SKIFI 2 - which has 30 minutes of record time built in. Wanna hear that song again? No problem, jut hit rewind!

XM Rocks!

jj1814

Not sure what you were asking....but if you are asking what "lifetime of the receiver" means... it means that even if you happen to sell the reciever, transfer to another car or whatever.... you (or the new buyer) will not have to pay subscription fees ever again. Like a Tivo w/ lifetime.


Oh yea....I prefer Sirius.

xxlbeerZ

iTrader: (8)

This is gonna be like Coke vs Pepsi someday.

Like I said, I had both, and I prefer sirius.

The reason I choose sirius is because they simply play more **** I wanna hear, and that's the most important thing IMO!

mhnr

XM is comming out with the MYFI handheld portable unit with an internal and external antenna for about $350 seems to sove all installation issues it comes with a car docking head and home docking head and has a five hour internal tivo and many other outstanding features..check into it before you make a decision the plus out weigh all the minus

msims

The SkiFi2 ($129) already has 30 minutes of record time, and it doesn't have a hard drive. It's an extremely impressive receiver IMO.

davez

Sirius has a new antenna that will be avaliable that mounts inside and attaches to the glass by the rear view mirror with two sided tape. A deffinate plus for sirius.

fanatic6711

XM.... because Stern blows.... (how many times can I listen to an old Jewish guy complain about his exwife and look at boring strippers everyday? Same **** over and over). Opie and Anthony are far beyond Howie.

And at Sirus's stock price, and users compared to XM, you have to wonder if they will be around in a few years.

SvR350z

iTrader: (1)

Two things to say about the above comments.
How long can you listen to a gewish guy talk about his exwife and look at boring strippers all day.
Well, As ONE of his 12 MILLION listeners Id say I can listen to it forever. Most im sure would agree.
Now thats not to say Opie and Anthony arent good.
They are. They are not stern nor do they carry the 12 million listener fanbase that stern carries.
Stern is radio. Period.
The next thing I would like to point out is the stock price of sirius that you mention.
Just because a companys stock is low doesnt mean it will go away.
You need to look at the income of the company and the cash the company has.
Just so youll know. Sirius has more cash banked than xm does.
They wont be going anywhere. Sirius expects 1 million of the 12 million of sterns listeners to move to their prodcut.
I say they get 2 or more million from it.
In closing, It does boil down to what you like in terms of music.
Ive heard xm and sirius and ill have to say that imo sirius does offer better music.

Ps, Yes this will be a coke vs pepsi thing one day.
These two companies when its all said and done will rule radio.
Fm and Am radio will be a thing of the past with in 5 to 10 years.

msims

While this is true, stock value is a very good pulse of how well a company is doing. Having more liquid cash is not really a plus either. It tells me (as an investor) that they may not be doing everything they can to spurr on more growth.

A recent article I read indicated that both companys are in serious need of more subscribers, or they face the path of the dinasaur. Sirius has two things going for it, the NFL and Stern.

And Stern flat out gave up. Yeah, so 1 or MAYBE 1.5 million fans will switch to Sirius - he pissed on the remaining 10.5 to 11 million fans he had, because he is a sniveling baby who couldn't handle the political scrutiny which comes with mass fame. He would have done a better service to his fans, simply by biting the bullet for a while, until all the steam goes away from the recent run of FCC violations by himself, CBS etc. Eventually, things would have calmed down, and it would have been business as usual.

BUT - thats what happens when you put uneducated, unprofessional people on the airwaves. Frankly, I'm glad he's leaving, because he is only demonstrating what a true coward he is. Something I have known for years.

chalupaZ

sirius
-subscribers can listen over internet for free

xm (this is what i have)
-a little cheaper
-more subscribers
-i've heard that their receiver technology is a step ahead of sirius

SvR350z

iTrader: (1)

I can agree with you on some points msims.
Stock can give you a sign of how a company is doing.
You will notice that sirius while no where near xm in price is increasing in price. They went up over 30 cent per share just friday.
I know thats not setting the world on fire but it is an increase.
I dont think that either of these companies will ever become dinasaurs.
In fact, I believe that howard stern said it best when he said when he left fm radio it would mark its death.
While you seem to believe that howard pissed his fans off you couldnt be anymore incorrect.
Let me tell you something about stern and his fans. His fans are the most loyal people youll ever come across. Where he goes they will go. There is no question. You call him a coward but my question to you is how many people could withstand the blast of negativity he has faced and still over come it.
This man has been attacked by everyone you can think of and is still going strong. He is worth some 100 million dollars to the company he is currently with.
I firmly believe that once he goes to sirius youll see two things.
One, The subscribers they need they will have.
Two, Stocks in sirius will sooner or later climb to that of Xm.
Ive heard anylist time and time again make this statement about sirius and i do firmly believe they are correct.
All of this still has nothing to do with the question ask which was who has the better service and the answer to that still remains sirius.

msims

The cost delta between XM and Sirius happens to be the cost delta for having an internet subscription or not (plus $1). Sirius charges $12.95 for their service, but gives you free Internet listening (at an even poorer audio quality then their receivers). XM only charges $9.99, while charging an extra $3.99 for Internet listening - if you want that. I love the fact that I am not forced to pay for something that I don't want.

msims

We'll see how many of those 12 million fans run out and drop two hundie and $13 a month on Sirius. I think you'll be surprised at the actual number of "fans" who are willing to pony up the cash to listen the same crap day in and day out.

He hasn't overcome it. He tucked his tail between his legs and ran the other way. Which was my point in the first place. A true professional would have taken his licks, modified his format while riding out the storm of censorship, and stayed loyal to his fans in the mean time.

Ummmm .... no he's not. He is quitting.

And we all know that Clear Channel cares about nothing except the dollars.

There is no way to know if your right until we ... see if your right <grin>

There are a lot more NFL fans than Stern fans, and the NFL programming didn't make that big a dent in Sirius subscriptions. True many people would rather WATCH the NFL than listen to it, but I would venture to say there is (at a conservative estimate) at LEAST 12 million people who like to listen to the NFL, and who would have a good reason to do so, and yet - where is the 10% who joined Sirius?

I actually agree with this, and if Sirius didn't have some seriously **** poor audio quality in their music, I would have chosen them over XM. Until they improve that digital mess they call music, I'm staying far away from them. Fortunately for them, people like me are in the minority of people who can actually hear the digital artifacts in poor digital compression. The other thing that sold me on XM is the XMSkifi2 receiver, which has 30 minutes of record time built in, at the same price as the Sirius Sportster. Then theres the XM on the go recorder with a hard drive built in for hours of record time, and many PVR style functions. I would never pay the money for that unit ($350 I think), but the hardware is there, and it is superior to the hardware available in the Sirius market.

SvR350z

iTrader: (1)

msims
You cannot compare the nfl to howard stern.
Youve already given the reason. We are all at home sundays in front of a tv watching it. There is no need to listen.
Futher, howard sterns on during work. So lets see, Work or listen to stern. Hmm No brainer.
Other thing that you seem to not understand is that more and more cars, trucks and suvs are satelite ready.
This is one reason satelite radio will work. If a listener simply has to order the product and then start listening they will be in.
I do agree that alot of people wont pay a boatload for it but you might be surprised.
You say howard has tucked tail again. I might not be able to change your mind but you act as if he wasnt on the radio all these years. He has taken abuse from everyone and still had the best show on radio for what 20 years or so. Thats not running my friend. Futher, If you had a contract as fat as his then you would leave as well.
I think i seen that sirius has lowerd cost for subscribers now to.
Ill have to look that up to make sure im right but i think the 13 you quoted was their old price.
Anyways, Its fun debating this issue with you.
Just understand that we neither one can be right or at least know that we were right for some time to come.

Beaker02

I've heard you can mount the ant on the dash or strut bar. I would't put mine on the roof.

Deceit

Sirius has some nice talk stations, news, nfl/sport scores and the likes with pretty much the same overall music content as XM. The cool thing about Sirius is that you can listen to your subscription on the internet. XM seems to have SLIGHTLY better reception simply because they have more relay points and the quality is seemingly better also

mcduck

This has been a very entertaining debate and I think both sides have valid points. But, as a business major specializing in finance and markets, and being employed in the banking industry, I have to point out how wrong this statement is...

This, theoretically true, but the real world statement for the above is... While this is true, stock value is a very good pulse of how well investors think a company is doing.

The best indicators of how well a company is doing are financial reports and understanding how they tie to one another, as well as reading up on recent company news, their SEC filings, and annual reports (for indications of the company's intentions for the future). The stock market often will reflect this, but more often is a reflection of the latest buzz in the street related to the company.

There are many differing opinions on what is best to key in on regarding a company's longevity and profitability, which is why you see varying predictions of how a company will perform in the future. Regardless, two very good indicators are Working Capital (the financial resources the company has to grow) and Cash Flow (how much business the company is doing and is it profitable).

I think it's safe to say both Sirius and XM will be around for quite a while and yes, it will be a Coke vs Pepsi preference. For my money, I like Sirius. Better music selection, Howard Stern (this was ultimately why I picked it over XM), NFL, etc.

Maybe the quality on XM is a little better, but I couldn't tell the difference. Of course, I'm also not the type of person that would pull my car over immediately to wipe the splattered bug off my windshield because it makes my car look 0.01% less clean.

Z-INCOGNITO

iTrader: (9)

i think i'll go the Sirius route

msims

This is certainly true, and while stock value is certainly not conclusive, I was talking about taking a pulse vs. what you are suggesting, which is doing a full medical work-up including blood work, **** probes, vision tests etc. etc.

BUT - there is no question that XM is doing better than Sirius, despite their best efforts.

I did read that Sirius spent $500M to get Stern. This is extreme, considering they gave something like $850M to the NFL.

Know how many subscriptions they will need to make up that $500M loss? More than they will ever get in 5 years, thats for sure. You know what that means? YUP! Advertising, advertising, advertising! So you will not only fork over $200+ for hardware, and $13 a month for service, but you will get COMMERCIALS for that money. Enjoy!

mcduck

But the problem is, you are taking a pulse by looking at the patient and seeing how flush they look rather than putting your thumb on their wrist. "Ah, the patient looks a little red in the face... the pulse must be around 80bpm" Of course, it could just as easily be that the patient is drunk, sunburned, or embarrassed. Not very conclusive.

The pulse I suggested are the Cash Flow or Working Capital figures. Quick easy to obtain facts. The full work up is getting into the financial details and SEC reports.


BTW, for the record, when comparing XM and Sirius based on Opie & Anthony vs Howard Stern, it should be noted that XM charges an additional $1.99 for O&A where Howard will be at no extra charge on Sirius. This in addition to if you want XM Radio online (internet access) for $3.99 a month where Sirius online access is no extra charge. I'm not trying to assess which is better, just providing some additional facts for those shopping.