OT XM-Siruius Merger: disappointed?

[billrick]

Anyone else out there disappointed by the XM-Sirius merger?

After 5 years as an avid XM listener, I just canceled my subscription. The two stations (XMU and Fred) that I listened to were nuked when they consolidated channels. Also, I can't stand the constant DJ interruptions, song repeats, rhyming station jingles, and people talking over the beginning of the songs. It sounds like the bad commercial radio scheme that I was so happy to escape with XM.

Can anyone suggest an alternative for music? Any good internet radio sources? I'm looking at the Slacker "personal radio" program.

Thanks!

:)

[Blue Jays]

How in the world there is ANY such thing as overplaying at this juncture is beyond me.
If I hear the song Sweet Child O' Mine by Guns n' Roses on Sirius again, I'll frickin' scream.
How difficult is it for satellite radio providers to play ALL songs from ALL records to minimize opportunity for overplay given the esoteric channels?
I could understand the phenomenon on traditional, Top 40 terrestrial radio, but sheesh!

[D_L_Huns]

I have been thinking the same, coming from Sirius. All my fav channels are moved, or gone. I hope it's a work in progress thing...

[billrick]

I hope it is a work in progress thing, too. You would think that Sirius picked up the full XM catalog of music, right? I may have to check the dumpsters behind the XM building here in DC, since it sounds like Sirius just chunked it all in the trash.

GnR "Sweet Child" is a good example of the overkill. My bane is any station that considers Blondie, Sting, and Frank Zappa to be '80s alternative.

:crap:

[sc53]

Do they make HD Radio for cars yet? That is something I will look into when my XM subscription expires. My favorite XM station disappeared (XM Cafe, channel 45) but supposedly a station called "The Spectrum" is a replacement for it. Don't like the talkative DJ though.

[billrick]

Interesting idea on HD radio! I hadn't looked at that before. Just did a quick Google and it looks like we have about 40 HD stations in the DC area. And I know they have HD car receivers now. Hmmm . . .

Slacker has my attention right now. My favorite XM radio guys have moved over there. It is basicly a self-loading wi-fi music player with about 40 channels of music to pick from. If I can figure out how to play it in my truck, I'm going to do it.

[D_L_Huns]

Just downloaded the new lineup. If I pay MORE, I can get Oprah on 195. yipee

[joelh]

I've always listened to 18 "the spectrum" in sirius, I like the music mix, but they could do a lot to widen the playlist. Tried listening to XM's version, but just couldn't get into it. Still beats the heck out of on air radio.

[gt6267a]

i had xm for a few months before things started changing. therefore, i was not set on any station and the change is no big deal. one negative, they seem to be selling / talking about the switch a great deal instead of playing music / comedy / whatever. while i am sure they think talking about the changes will make for a smooth transition, the smoothest thing would be to not talk about it at all.

[rwsaunders]

www.pandora.com ....found this from the Forum.

www.wyep.org public indy radio from Pittsburgh (91.3 FM) that streams live audio on the net.

[dancinkozmo]

i miss my Disorder .....

[A.L.Breguet]

A friend was complaining today that they pulled her disco channel. :crap:

[sc53]

rwsaunders--I use Pandora a LOT at home (I have Squeezeboxes that stream music from my Mac and can play internet radio and services like Rhapsody and Pandora) but as far as I know there's no in-car receiver for it yet. Only a matter of time, I'm sure. When it comes, I'm getting in line, Pandora and other similar music services are great!
Billrick--we DO have a lot of HD radio in our area, didn't know you could tune it into a car set--gotta look into that. I still have 2 more years on my XM contract though.

[mvanhorn]

I'm also a long time XM subscriber, and am quite disappointed with the merger so far. There is too much repetition and the DJ's talk too much and too often. Those are the main reasons I went with XM rather than Sirius before. If it gets any worse, I intend to cancel my subscriptions. Too bad, XM was great up until now. I don't know anyone that's happy with the new programming so far. Maybe the management will get the message and get it straightened out.

Mark

[CNY rider]

I've also noticed that they have returned to censorship on many of the channels, as in bleeping/deleting offensive words from songs.
Why do I need to pay to hear that? I can get govt. censorship on terrestrial radio for free.

Given the price of Sirius equity I'm guessing this is all moot anyway.

[000050]

rwsaunders--I use Pandora a LOT at home (I have Squeezeboxes that stream music from my Mac and can play internet radio and services like Rhapsody and Pandora) but as far as I know there's no in-car receiver for it yet. Only a matter of time, I'm sure. When it comes, I'm getting in line, Pandora and other similar music services are great!
Billrick--we DO have a lot of HD radio in our area, didn't know you could tune it into a car set--gotta look into that. I still have 2 more years on my XM contract though.


There maybe other ways to take your pandora with you but I use my Iphone and pandora while mobile. I am sure that the ipod integration connections available in most cars will allow you to take pandora with you. I think you can download the pandora app to a ipod touch if you don't want the phone.

Works while riding so it must work in a car, don't know about usage charges I have an unlimited plan

Kevin

[djg21]

I haven't noticed much change. I tend to listen to the Dead Channel, Outlaw Country, The Spectrum, and Bluegrass. I like the new Willie Nelson Channel.

There are a few XM channels I'd like to listen to -- like the Dylan channel, but I will not pay more for it. In fact, if the price goes up, I'll likely cancel my subsriptions (I have it in two cars) and just use my Ipod.

[palincss]

Billrick--we DO have a lot of HD radio in our area, didn't know you could tune it into a car set--gotta look into that.

There are some devices that make use of your existing car radio - for example,

DIRECTED DMHD1000 Car Connect HD Radio Receiver, $57
http://www.gooddeals18.com/product/DMHD1000/DIRECTED_DMHD1000_Car_Connect_HD_Radio_Receiver.ht ml?gclid=CJXz8aarhpcCFQxKGgodTx2i-

Here's a PC World article about HD Dice, an aftermarket module that adds HD Radio capability to a car's existing head unit:
Qhttp://blogs.pcworld.com/staffblog/archives/003101.html

Another one is the Dual XHD6425 In-Dash CD/MP3/WMA HD Receiver, available at $90-150

[flickwet]

It's like "speedvision", what was once the single greatest television channel there had ever been in the history of the universe (IMO), Fox bought it changed it to Speed TV cheapened it to meet a broader (dumbing down) audience and put it out there for me largely to ignore now. XM wasn't perfect but was a superior product what with their Comedy channels, The loft, cafe, Ethel, Lucy, XMU, etc. I'll stay cause its still better than the alternative, like F1 on Speed, but its a step or two backwards.
Its funny but alot of good things get worse when some people initiate "improvements", cha, cha cha,Changes

[William]

We called this back in 2006.

http://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=23072&page=1&pp=15&highlight=sirius






William

[keevon]

i miss my Disorder .....
YES! I had just started to realize that was my favorite channel and now POOF, it's gone. And what the hell does "SIRIXM U" mean? Why couldn't they just keep it as "Left of Center"?

At least Garage is still there...

[csm]

I drive a good bit for work and had XM in my last car. never bothered with it in my current car. I find that I bounce between am and my ipod. my gps has some way of playing books on tape. but w/o the tape. maybe I'll give that a shot. I like to hear the engine noise and the turbo spool. sometimes anyway.

[Bradford]

I still have baseball and now I have Radio Margaritaville, good enough for me. :banana:

I also like the new Siriusly Sinatra, which is better than High Standards, which it replaced. Closer to Frank's Place, which was there before High Standards.

Overall, I think some is better, some is worse, but a higher ending average because of more Buffett.

[billrick]

Meg Griffen and Disorder are coming back to The Loft starting in December. Apparently that was one of the biggest complaints after the merger. So hopefully this is all a work in progress. I'm keeping my eye on the programming and will re-up my subscription if I see new programs I like.

Currently, the only station I can listen to for more than 10 minutes is the Verge on 87. Everything else sounds like bad commercial radio to me.

And yeah, it is the "Left of Center" music and DJs. Call it what it is. Why call it SiriusXM-U?!? Thats just an insult to Tobi and Billy Zero and all us old XMU fans.

:no: