Are you listening to XM or Sirius? I can't honestly judge audio quality right now seeings how I have it jury-rigged anyway. But it seems as though it shouldn't be terrible.
XM via DirecTV these days. Wired into a home audio system. The levels and fidelity are woefully lacking.
I haven't heard any promos other than live reads on Sirius. Most of the talk shows are live at least at the beginning of the day or whenever they being their original programming. Yes, they rerun, but it works out because many folks can't just listen non-stop for hours to a time. And how does this differ from about 70% of a small to medium market station anywhere anyway?
And again, I've said that terrestrial's being done poorly in parts of America as well. But, those companies are not charging a premium subscription rate for access to their content.
I'm happy they are satisfied. But for me, it's a novelty to be able to listen to any format at my fingertips anywhere I am, except for maybe under a bridge or heavily wooded area.
Or on the backside of a concrete building in midday. I personally witnessed the Sirius sales reps have to put a CD of their programming on during a remote at a Best Buy in Sacramento CA. Because they were unable to get a signal at that time of day where the display was located.
I can't sign off on it yet. CB didn't work well because it focused on essentially unregulated airwaves and low broadcast power (for those who wished to remain legal).
And Satellite radio does?...
Plus, comparing the two seems to be apples and oranges. CB is designed specifically for PTT voice comms, while the other is a continual one-way listening music service. As far as companies not merging when competition is strong...
I don't understand. Competition seems to be very strong or else they could charge a higher premium for their service I would imagine. However, I do think they put a lot more money into it than they thought they would, and they're just getting off the ground. Back when AM and FM stations were a new concept, do you think these stations made money out of the gate? Admittedly, it may not have taken them as long to get into the black, but what competition did THEY have then?
Ten years is an inordinate amount of time. They've not delivered on the several promises. Not the least of which is the ability to broadcast all over America without the FCC approved use of terrestrial repeaters, which they violated. Those repeaters were not placed where they said they would, and the fact that the FCC hasn't acted upon these violations speaks to a very well-connected lobbying interest who's covering someone's behind. Plus, in order to get the consumer to buy in, you have to actually offer a superior product. Satellite has yet to do that. A thorough monitoring of their programming will show the same finite playlists, and repetition that's found on terrestrial radio.
Again, I wish it were what it promised to be. But somewhere along the line, someone realized it would cost a lot of money to deliver. And Wall St. has never been known for its patience. So, they cut costs before establishing the product.
I don't think it's about just listening to music on Sirius. There seems to be jocks (albeit cleverly VT'ed) on every channel that the format demands it. The novelty is to have it all at your fingertips all the time and on the same channels wherever you are. And there is room for growth and improvement. I'm willing to stick it out.
But there's nothing unique there that's worth
paying for. If I want it all at my fingertips an IPOD with 10,000 songs can be had for one price, and I control it completely. No subscriptions. No dropout. No bad processing.
The only thing Satellite offers is the ability to swear on the air without delay. That gets old real quick.
The dropout sucks.
I'm guessing you mean whenever you're traveling in an underpass or something. Satellite radio probably isn't for Boston and other cities like it. But out in the vast open land, there isn't anything better.
Which is not worth the multi-billions they're losing. No company would say "Hey...I know the most populated cities in America are not topographically friendly. Our product is for that strip of nowhere between Salt Lake City, and Green River Junction, Wyoming. Where less than a million people can hear it"
My point is made. And supported by your response.
And I reiterate...I LOVE my XM. But it's not a real alternative to real radio. Not yet. And probably never.
