Posts Tagged ‘xm satellite radio’
The basics of Satellite Radio
Broadcasting digital radio via satellite is not something new and concepts of doings this have been with us for a few years. From the early days of satellite radio, companies like Dish Network have offered digital audio channels as part of their programs.
The breakthrough in popularity of satellite radio, however, happened just recently, when the technology became more permissive. Satellite radio was very rare on moving locations, such as boats or cars, mostly because there was the need for some expensive equipment – a tracking dish. This was a strong deterrent which kept satellite radio quite unknown by the general public.
Today, however, one can receive digital audio satellite broadcasts by using a small, GPS-like antenna. This greatly increased the feasibility of the satellite radio systems and more and more vehicle owners began considering satellite radios as a good source of music and news.
The birth of satellite radio in the United States
When the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) allocated a spectrum in the “S” band (2.3 GHz) for the broadcasting of digital radio services in 1992 no one thought the amplitude that the system would take in the future.
From the initial Digital Audio Radio Service (DARS) things progressed until two companies were given licenses to broadcast digital radio in 1997. These two were American Mobile Radio (today known as XM Satellite Radio) and CD Radio (presently called Sirius Satellite Radio).
The fact that satellite radio is nationwide makes it a very attractive media channel, both for commercial and non-profit organizations. The two companies that initiated the development of satellite radio saw the huge potential it had, since it wasn’t confined by the limitations of other terrestrial broadcasters.
Benefits of using satellite radio
Here are some of the most noteworthy benefits of having a satellite radio system:
* No more geographical limitations – since the radio program is broadcast through a satellite you don’t have to switch radio stations every time you leave a certain coverage area.
* The digital quality of the satellite radio has some amazing benefits on its own. There are no noise disturbances that were traditional to FM and AM broadcasts. The transmission is crystal clear and satellite radio receives some valuable points when broadcasting quality is concerned.
* Analog radio stations simply cannot broadcast the full range of sounds available through digital satellite radio.
* Both XM Radio and Sirius Radio can be picked up on all the US territory and they are also available in some parts of Canada and Mexico.
Satellite radio technology
Each of the major satellite radio services uses its own equipment to broadcast the signal to their clients. The competition is tight and customers have to “pick sides” in order to benefit from satellite radio broadcasting. You have to choose your preferred company and purchase adequate receivers for that particular company. Both XM Radio and Sirius Radio provide their clients with different ways of receiving their services.
The field where most competition takes place is in the negotiation with the major automobile manufacturers. Both XM Radio and Sirius Radio have deals with the auto industry giants in order to offer their services and equipment as optional on the car models they produce.
Other partnerships were created with audio equipment manufacturers, who now offer satellite radio transceivers and matching headsets. The most recent shock in the satellite radio universe was caused by the production of portable MP3 player-like satellite radio receivers.
The future development of satellite radio
One of the main problems of satellite radio was addressed by the main satellite radio broadcasters. Since you need to be in the line of sight of the satellite to receive the transmission, different problems appeared with mobile satellite radio receivers, especially when different landscaping objects blocked the direct transmission.
To solve this, land based devices were installed in order to eliminate the lack of direct satellite transmission. Another interesting aspect related to satellite radios is that they approached their service offers from a different perspective than traditional radio broadcasters.
Instead of airing commercials they charge a subscription fee. For many people, this is actually the best alternative, since they get an almost 100% content broadcast (whether it’s music or talk shows) without the 10-12 minutes per hour of annoying commercials. In most cases, the monthly subscription for satellite radio is of around $12.
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Filed under Satellite Radio
Tags:audio satellite, Benefits of using satellite radio, cd radio, digital audio channels, digital audio radio, digital audio radio service, digital radio services, dish network, federal communications commission, geographical limitations, mobile radio, radio broadcasting, radio companies, radio program, radio system, radio systems, radio today, satellite broadcasts, satellite radio system, Satellite radio technology, satellite radios, terrestrial broadcasters, The basics of Satellite Radio, xm satellite radio
XM versus SIRIUS
The idea of America’s biggest two satellite radio joining forces has been up in the air for almost four years. Although XM had a year’s start, Sirius came back on the market, eventually with both companies sharing the market in half. So, what’s to choose? XM or Sirius?
First thing’s first. XM and Sirius are based on the same principle, each of them providing music, news, sports, etc. on their channels, but, every service has its ups and downs so we will try to discuss it in this present article.
A careful analysis shows that XM Satellite Radio provides a total of 136 streams, where two are premium channels (Playboy and High Voltage), twenty-one are traffic and weather based channels and nine are sport-dedicated ones.
On the other hand, Sirius offers a total of 119 streams, the premium streams not being available. Let’s take a closer look now on two – music and news – of the categories that the two major satellites are battling.
Music streams comparison
The number of music streams that both services offer is pretty much the same: 65 on Sirius and 68 on XM Satellite Radio but the difference is not in the number, but in the music genres that the radios offer.
Music – Decades
XM is the absolute champion in providing the music by decades because you can listen to the 40’s music, service not available on Sirius. Still, you can listen to the 90’s hits together with the current hits on Sirius Satellite Radio, which is an interesting feature.
Music – Country
“Ride’ em cowboy!”. Even if you’re not a cowboy, you can listen to country-related songs on both Satellites. Classic country or country hits are to be heard as well as alternative country or country mixes, the last two features being available only on Sirius Satellite Radio.
Regarding the number of streams that both Satellites offer, XM offers a total of five streams and Sirius offers four, the champion in this category being XM due to the quality and the quantity of music being played.
Music – Rock
If you are looking for sex, drugs, and rock and roll, Sirius and XM Satellite Radios can only offer you rock and roll, on a number of 14 streams on XM and 15 streams on Sirius. The rock subgenres are to be found in a large number on the stations, overall each service being very strong in this category.
Music – Dance and Latin
If you want to boogie, you can do that on both Satellites, listening to one of the six streams provided by Sirius or four streams provided by XM. Be careful though, because you can become a clubber maniac! And if you’re strong enough, the Latin pop stream, Mexicana and tropical music streams can really drive you crazy. XM Satellite Radio as well as Sirius Satellite Radio offer three streams.
Music – Other genres
Regarding other genres, both satellites really look up to their prestige, offering hours of hours of music, from Classical to Jazz, even Urban (Sirius feature). Both stations offer high quality tunes, making it worth all the money.
News Streams Comparison
Let’s skip to another interesting topic, news. CNN, FOX, CNBC, Bloomberg, MSNBC and many more news stations are being offered for listening in different languages. The number of streams is again near-by, XM offering a number of 11 news streams, not like Sirius, which offers 13.
Bottom line
It’s pretty hard to say which station is better, XM and Sirius being tied musically but in news and sports, Sirius holding the edge. To make a little joke, if you are a fan of Stern go with Sirius, if you like Q&A go XM. Anyway, it’s hard to say which one is better, but, what can I say is that both Satellites are worth paying for.
Filed under Satellite Radio
Tags:careful analysis, champion, closer look, decades, feature music, five streams, high voltage, music country, music genres, music news, music service, music streams, news sports, playboy, radios, Satellite Radio, satellites, sirius, sirius satellite radio, ups and downs, xm satellite radio, XM versus SIRIUS
How does satellite radio work
Satellite radio is one of the biggest improvements in broadcasting since the introduction of FM. Satellite radio signal can be broadcasted for more than 35,000 kilometers (22,000 miles) with complete clarity and high quality sound. You will never get static interferences while listening to over 100 radio channels.
The idea behind satellite radio has appeared in 1992, when the United States Federal Communications Commission granted a spectrum of the S band (the 2.3 GHz frequency) for Digital Audio Radio Service. The license to broadcast in that band was allocated to Sirius Satellite Radio and XM Satellite Radio in 1997.
Now there are three companies that provide satellite radio in the world: Sirius and XM in Northern America and WorldSpace in Asia, Europe and Africa.
Each of these companies offer different broadcasting systems, since the radio signal of each is proprietary. This means that you will have to buy different hardware depending on your subscription to one of these companies. However, there are three components common to all satellite radio services: the satellites, the ground repeaters and the radio receivers.
Different satellite radio companies broadcast the radio signal in different ways. For instance, XM satellite radio uses geostationary satellites which have orbits that are synchronized with the movement of Earth. These satellites are located above the equator.
In order to allow subscribers to receive crystal-clear signal despite obstacles such as buildings, hills or bridges, XM satellite radio service has installed a network of repeaters antennas that receive the radio signal from the satellites and retransmit it to the subscriber’s receiver Sirius, on the other hand, uses satellites that have unique elliptical orbits around Earth.
These kinds of orbits allow satellites to get higher in the sky than geostationary satellites and this prevents loss of signal. This is the reason why Sirius has fewer terrestrial repeaters than XM.
Satellite radio services have digital broadcast centers where a huge amount of music in digital format as well as CD format is stored. Radio programmers have the task of selecting which song has to be played at which time.
There are also a lot of studios managed by digital radio companies where artists perform live. All songs and material are transmitted to the satellites in digital format so that the signal contains very high quality sound. The signal is encoded by the satellite and then retransmitted to the repeaters antennas, which then transmit it to the radio receiver which decodes it and plays the sound.
The entire process is very quick and reliable. Satellite radio would not be possible without digital compression. Digital compression is a technique that uses sophisticated algorithms to compress as much material as possible on the available bandwidth.
Once you make a subscription to a satellite radio provider you will need the appropriate radio equipment. Traditional radios cannot decode the signal received from satellites so you will need special equipment.
The popularity of satellite radio has exploded due to many technological advancements that enabled manufacturers to offer the receivers at very attractive prices. The fact that satellite radio is commercial free for many of its channels is also a major selling point.
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Tags:asia europe, broadcasting systems, clear signal, digital audio radio, digital audio radio service, elliptical orbits, federal communications commission, geostationary satellites, high quality sound, How does satellite radio work, interferences, radio channels, radio companies, radio receivers, radio services, radio work, repeaters, satellite radio service, satellite radio signal, worldspace, xm satellite radio
