Satellite Radio Question

[Steve4192]

I'm thinking of subscribing to a Satellite radio provider and have noticed that a number of Redzoner's already use such services. I was wondering if you guys could answer a few questions for me.

My primary reason for going with satellite radio would be to give me something to listen to while I am working out. Broadcast radio doesn't do it for me and I've pretty much grown tired of my entire library of MP3s. When working out, I spend some time outside doing cardio, but the majority of the time I would be in the gym lifting. With that bit of background, here are my questions:

PORTABLE RECEPTION

What kind of reception can I expect to get inside the gym with a portable receiver? Currently, my walkman gets pretty spotty reception of broadcast radio in the gym. Should I expect satellite reception to be better or worse? Do I have to deploy a satellite antenna in order to get reception, or can I just use it like walkman witout any external antennnas?

SERVICES / CONTENT

Is there a major difference in content with the two big providers (Sirius, XM)? What about equipment?

Any information you all can provide to help me make a decision would be appreciated.

[GoReds]

Steve - a couple of answers and a couple of dunno's.

I have XM radio with a Delphi receiver and a home kit. The receiver transmits through an FM station on the radio (88.7 for me, but is configurable to a degree). A provided antenna attaches magnetically to the outside of the car and requires a cord from the antenna to the receiver in the car. To take it out of the car and bring it into the house requires an AC adapter and a satellite antenna, which is not too portable, due to the long cord. The satellite does require access to a window in order to pick up a signal.

There are portable receivers that are out. Most of what I have seen indicates that the receivers are nice, but the quality of the signal varies. I don't think it would work inside the gym.

XM and Sirius are about the same. XM has MLB whereas Sirius carries the NFL. Price now is about the same $12.99/month.

[Reds Fanatic]

I'm an XM susbscriber and from a music standpoint I think it is a lot better than Sirius. I like it because the stations on XM have a very large playlist. They play pretty much any song an artist does not just the hits over and over. From what I have heard Sirius playlist is not as large. They tend to play the hits more but if you are like me and like the variety XM is better. As far as reception inside a gym that might be a problem unless your gym has windows. You may want to get an XM Myfi which is a portable XM receiver and also includes car kits and kits for home. The nice thing about the MYFi is you can record 5 or 6 hours of XM programming on it and then if you are in a situation where your satellite signal won't work like in your gym you could listen to the music you recorded from XM. Anyway I hope that helped if you have other questions let me know.