MATRIX

Posts Tagged ‘satellite’

A satellite radio or subscription radio (SR) is a digital radio that receives signals broadcast by communications satellite, which covers a much wider geographical range than normal radio signals.

SR functions anywhere where there is line of sight between the antenna and the satellite, given there are no major obstructions, such as tunnels or buildings. SR audiences can follow a single channel regardless of location within a given range.

Because the technology requires access to a commercial satellite for signal propagation, SR services are commercial business entities (not private parties), which offer a package of channels as part of their service —requiring a subscription from end users to access its channels. Currently, the main SR providers are WorldSpace (Intl.), XM Radio & Sirius (U.S.), as part of their each being proprietary and non-compatible signals, requiring proprietary hardware for decoding and playback. Both these and other services have news, weather, sports, and several music channels.

We all have our favorite radio stations that we preset into our car radios, flipping between them as we drive to and from work, on errands and around town. But when you travel too far away from the source station, the signal breaks up and fades into static. Most radio signals can only travel about 30 or 40 miles from their source. On long trips that find you passing through different cities, you might have to change radio stations every hour or so as the signals fade in and out. And it’s not much fun scanning through static trying to find something — anything — to listen to.

Now, imagine a radio station that can broadcast its signal from more than 22,000 miles (35,000 km) away and then come through on your car radio with complete clarity. You could drive from Tacoma, Washington, to Washington, D.C., without ever having to change the radio station! Not only would you never hear static interfering with your favorite tunes, but the music would be interrupted by few or no commercials.

XM Satellite Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio have both launched such a service. Satellite radio, also called digital radio, offers uninterrupted, near CD-quality music beamed to your radio from space.

Car manufacturers have been installing satellite radio receivers in some models for a few years now, and several models of portable satellite radio receivers are availabel from a variety of electronics companies. In this article, you’ll learn what separates satellite radio from conventional radio and what you need to pick up satellite radio signals.

Satellite radio provider XM wants to put a satellite radio receiver into a wide variety of electronics, including alarm clocks and DVD players, but the technology is not ready yet. In fact, the current goal of satellite radio, a wearable device, is not even practical, since the receiver will not pick up a signal if the person doesn’t remain stationary. However, experts predict that satellite radio reception will someday become standard in a wide variety of electronics.

Although XM Satellite Radio Holdings and Sirius Satellite Radio are posting higher-than-expected earnings and signing up record numbers of new subscribers, their expenses remain far higher than revenues. Both companies reported spending more on marketing in the fourth quarter of 2004 than they brought in from subscriber fees.

XM Satellite Radio Holdings surprised investors with better-than-expected earnings this morning, and the sky seems to be the limit for satellite radio.

Revenue is growing, subscriptions are booming, the industry is attracting high-class talent, and automobile manufacturers are putting satellite radio receivers in millions of cars.

XM (nasdaq: XMSR – news – people) and Sirius Satellite Radio (nasdaq: SIRI – news – people) have boasted stellar growth numbers, but their finances are soft and their revenues are far outweighed by spending.

Meanwhile, competing technologies threaten to overtake the satellite vendors the same way they’ve undercut traditional broadcasters.

XM has a market capitalization of $6.5 billion, 26 times what it booked in revenue for 2004.

“Based on where they are right now, the stocks might be considered ahead of themselves,” says Barrington Research President James Goss.

But traditional radio might not be the benchmark to watch–a number of technologies are threatening to undercut satellite radio.

“The terrestrial broadcasters, the satellite radio companies, Apple and all the iPod clones, they’re all competing for the same thing,” says Goss.

Apple has sold in excess of 10 million of the devices, and more than 7 million MP3 players of all brands were sold in 2004 alone.

Satellite radio is the hottest trend in radio entertainment for your car, home, and office. The freedom from commercials and static is an exhilarating experience. No longer do you have listen to obnoxious jingles and hot air. No longer are you condemned to choose between dead air and Country & Western when traveling in rural areas.

Commercial-Free, Digital-Quality Sound

All of these problems are solved with satellite radio. And there is nothing else in the radio world that can compete with its digital quality sound. Satellite can provide uninterrupted listening pleasure anywhere in the world.

The only problem is deciding upon which satellite radio provider to choose. The top 2 contenders are Sirius and XM Radio. If you want satellite radio, you are immediately faced with the issue of how to choose between them.

XM Radio, First In The Sky

XM Radio established its presence first, and has a market share of 2 million listeners. XM has had the time to establish an excellent system of 68 commercial-free music channels with an incredible array of music. It also adds 33 channels of news, sports, talk shows, and entertainment to its programming mix. To top it off, XM has revolutionized the satellite radio world by providing 21 channels of up-to-date weather and traffic for most of the major metropolitan areas in the United States.

Sirius, Radio Innovator On Satellite TV

Sirius may be the comparative upstart, but it offers some advantages of its own. New contacts with DISH Network satellite television have given Sirius access to more than 10 million subscribers. It provides more than 120 channels if you add up all of the music, sports, information and entertainment.

For sports, Sirius is hard to beat. It broadcasts live games for professional football and hockey leagues, as well as many other sporting events. Sirius will also be the home of Howard Stern in 2006.

Remember the days when we thought paying for our TV service was ridiculous? “Cable TV!”, our mothers would exclaim, “Who has money to pay for their TV shows? It’s been free all these years; I don’t know why I would start paying for it now.”

But that was then and this is now. Today we pay for cable or satellite and consider it a necessity in our lives, not a luxury. Sure, we could stick with “free” TV, but the reception would be bad, we’d only have 4-6 channels to choose from and there would be no CNN, no Food Network, and no ESPN. What would we do with ourselves?

So it seems a little reminder of those days when we hear people scoffing at the notion of paying for radio. “I’ve gotten it free all these years,” you hear people exclaim. “Why would I pay for radio?”

Although satellite radio services have been around for a few years, its notoriety was spun into high gear when Howard Stern publicly made the jump from “free” radio to a satellite service in early 2006. Now, everyone’s curious and many people are considering paying a bill every month for the privilege of listening to the radio.

Just like cable TV, there are many proprietary shows on satellite radio you just won’t hear if you don’t have a subscription. So you have to pony up to the extra bill bar…but what do you get for your extra dough?

Lots. Talk shows, music shows, entertainment, sports.

Some of the most talked about XM Satellite Radio shows are not music shows but talk shows. There are literally more than a dozen to choose from.

Consider Air America Radio (on channel 167), which features chatter from such well-known mouths as those belonging to Al Franken, Jerry Springer and actress Janeane Garofalo. Largely a progressive station, this dial also features veteran radio host Mark Riley and commentator Alan Colmes.

For the right slant on things, take a listen to America Right (on channel 166). This program features shows from such luminary conservatives as G. Gordon Liddy, Peter Greenburg, Dr. Laura and Michael Medved.

If politics aren’t your bag, how about entertainment or humor? On XM Radio channel 162, you’ll find the E! channel. Yes, this is the same E! we pay for on cable and the format is generally the same. There’s the E! True Hollywood Story, E! news and celebrity profiles. Now you can get all your E! gossip and news while drinking Starbucks on your way to work. My, how the world has changed.

If you’re into sports, XM Radio delivers. There’s the Sporting News channel, the Nascar channel, the ESPN channel, and a wide variety of channels dedicated to various sports like baseball, football and even hockey. Though many channels feature talk and sports opinion, one of the big selling points for many sports fans is the live streaming games. In this case, you truly can take it with you.

Got kids in the car? Tune into Radio Disney or XM Kids, the winner of several parents’ choice awards.