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Satellite Radio
Consumer popular broadcast radio
has traditionally consisted of AM and FM for music, news, sports,
talk shows and advertising. Now consumers have another choice,
satellite radio. Instead of radio delivered locally by stations
which send their signals only so far as to be picked up by people in
the same region, town or city, satellite radio delivers signals
which can be picked up everywhere in the continental U.S., 24
hours a day, 7 days a week.
This is because the
signals are sent down from space to earth by satellites which can
cover almost the entire country. There are currently two companies to
choose from if you want satellite radio. They are:
• XM Satellite Radio
 www.xmradio.com
•
Sirius Satellite Radio
www.sirius.com
You must signup for service, pay a
monthly charge and buy a receiver and antenna. With over 100 channels, there is quite a variety of programming. The audio is reported
to be near Compact Disc quality.
» XM Satellite
Radio
1-800-XM-RADIO
(1.800.967.2346)
XM Radio's
broadcast center in Washington, D.C. - is the largest and most
advanced of its kind in the world. Originating at the XM broadcast center, XM's broadcast
signal is beamed from two huge earth-station antennas to space
and received by two broadcast satellites. These satellites are
positioned more than 22,000 miles above the earth in
geostationary orbit, their beams combine to span the entire
contiguous U.S. while remaining stationary with respect to the
land below. This enables XM's signal to reach from coast to
coast. Ground antennas, or repeaters, keep the signal strong
in challenging locales.
XM offers over
100 channels of digital-quality music and entertainment
(30 of them commercial-free) for $9.99 a month (plus a $14.99
activation fee). You'll get multiple channels of rock,
country, blues, jazz, classical, and Latin, plus another 30 or
so channels of news, entertainment, and special programming
from such sources as NASCAR, Bloomberg, Discovery Channel,
Sesame Workshop, and CNN/SI-CNN/FN.
Small sample of programming available on XM satellite radio:
(each
one on a separate channel)
big bands hits of the 1940s, hits of the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s,
1980s, 1990s, country, folk, pop hits, movie soundtracks,
gospel, hard rock, classic rock, classic soul, blues, jazz,
disco, reggae, children, news, business news, comedy, MTV, BBC,
C-SPAN, sports talk, NASCAR, college sports, plus instant traffic and
weather for major metro areas.
How it works
XM Radio's headquarters,
production studios, and high-end concert/recording studio are
located in Washington D.C. Two communications satellites are
beaming XM's signal down to an antenna on your vehicle.
Terrestrial repeaters in large cities will ensure coverage in
urban canyons. (Note: Satellite radio service is available
only within the the lower 48 states — not available in
Hawaii, Alaska, or U.S. territories.)
An XM-compatible tuner module is required to receive the
signal. It hooks directly into your XM-ready receiver, or
connects to other receivers with an FM modulator.
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Satellite Radio
more
about
Satellite
Radio : at
www.Crutchfieldadvisor.com
»
SIRIUS Satellite Radio
1-888-539-7474
For the price
of one CD each month, SIRIUS sends you:
- nearly 1 million songs
- 65 commercial-free music streams
- original programming broadcast from the SIRIUS
studios in New York City
You'll hear your favorite songs in every genre, as well
as songs you've never heard. Enjoy remote broadcasts and
in-studio performances from a wide variety of artists
visiting one of the live performance capitals of the
world — New York City.
Back in
the 1950s, folks gathered in front of black and white
TVs and chose from only three or four channels of
entertainment. But cable TV and Digital Satellite TV
improved the picture quality, and increased the number
of channels available.
The state of radio today
is similar to the early days of TV.
For a
subscription rate of $12.95 a month (and a one-time $15
activation fee), you'll get 65
original commercial-free music streams of rock,
jazz, rap, country, Latin, blues, classical, techno, and
comedy.
And
you'll also receive another 55 world-class sports, news, and entertainment streams,
from names like CNBC, Fox News, House of
Blues, Bloomberg, NPR, C-SPAN, world radio, and others. SIRIUS now broadcasts all NBA games,
including the playoffs.
Small sample of programming available on SIRIUS satellite radio:
(each
one on a separate channel)
hits of the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, Elvis radio,
kids stuff, classic vinyl, classic rock, hard rock, heavy
metal, reggae, country, bluegrass, hip-hop, R&B, classic
soul, gospel, disco, dance hits, jazz, swing, symphony,
classical, Latin pop, ESPN, NFL, Disney, ABC, comedy, BBC,
local traffic and weather for 20 large metro areas, and much
more.
With
headquarters and studios located at Rockefeller Center,
NY, SIRIUS has positioned itself squarely in the middle
of perhaps the biggest entertainment capital of the
world. From there, SIRIUS uplinks to three
communications satellites that travel inclined,
elliptical orbits for complete coverage across the
continental United States.
The signal is then
beamed down to a small rooftop antenna and tuner module
in your vehicle (the module hooks directly to your
SIRIUS-ready receiver). Note:
Satellite radio service is available only within the
lower 48 states — not available in Hawaii, Alaska, or
U.S. territories.
*SIRIUS
receiver/installation costs and other fees and taxes are
not included in the subscription fee, which is subject
to change.
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