Need a quick tutorial on Ipod / XM Radio

[JennyLynn]

I was thinking of getting DH either and Ipod or XM Radio for XMas, but I don't know anything about either of them! What I want is for him to have music in the house and in his car. My questions --

How do you play music in the house - does either Ipod or XM connect to an existing stereo?

How do you play music in the car - do you have to have some sort of unit installed in the dashboard or can you just plug Ipod or XM in?

If you have either/both, which would you recommend and why?

Thanks for any comments!!
Jenny

[Marisa6826]

Here's my understanding of it.

Jonathan has an iPod. It's basically a unit that you download all your music to. We have over 400 CDs on it (Jonathan has the one with the most memory). The iPod requires a computer to load music onto it. You can also buy music from iMusic or something similar for usually about $1 a song.

You can use it like a walkman with earphones (he uses it when he commutes to/from work), or you can hook it up to a set of speakers. We have also hooked speakers directly to the computer and played songlists off of it for parties.

The iPod has a few different options for playing music in the car. You use either a transmitter or a tape-deck adapter for the iPod music to come through your car speakers.

Best of all, there is no monthly charge for the iPod. The only additional costs you incur are if you choose to buy music from iMusic.

With XM and Sirius, you are subscribing to a satellite service (like Dish TV, etc.). You buy a membership for around $10/mo. and that gives you access to several hundred (I think) different commercial free stations ranging from all types of music to talk radio and sometimes local information (news, weather).

You need to purchase a base unit for your car. A little hand piece pops into the car unit and you're off. For an additional fee (I think around $300) you buy what is kind of like a boom box for the house. You pop the little hand piece out of your car and into the boom box.

I think they each have their uses, but you need to decide what is better for your DH.

Would he use an iPod like a walkman or is he in his car all the time?
Do you want a monthly fee to listen to the radio?
Do you want to spend the additional cash on a boom box? (The speakers for the iPod aren't really expensive at all ~$50 and up).
You obviously already have a computer so that's half your battle.

I personally like the iPod concept better if you already have a diverse collection of music. It allows you to create playlists based on your mood, whatever occasion, etc. I'm also not keen on another monthly bill.

As I said, this is what I know. I'm sure there are other Mommies here that can lend some insight.

-m

[KrisM]

We have Sirius radio, which is similar to XM, just a different brand. My DH loves it. I think XM has the same types of setups as Sirius. We have a reciever, which connects to an antenna. You need to plug the reciever into a base unit. We have a base that connects to our stereo in our living room. This one is easy enough to move, that it goes in the basement sometimes. It connects with RCA wires, I believe. We have another base that is in the car. This one uses either a cassette tape or FM transmitter to broadcast the music over the car's speakers. You can also get a base that is a boombox. We don't have that, but have considered it.

The best thing is when we drive out east for 750 miles, we know all the radio stations. It's very cool to not have to search for something you want to hear, or try to change a CD in the dark.

When I got Sirius last year, I picked it over XM because it offered NPR, weather stations, Fox News (tv feed) and some other things. The music offerings were very similiar between XM and Sirius. Check out the full listings to compare though. I know Sirius now offers all the NFL games, which we also like.

Also, XM had stations with commercials, while all of Sirius' music stations are completely commercial free. I believe XM has reduced the number of commercials, but am not sure.

Finally, my DH prefers Sirius because of XM's relationship with Clear Channel. I admit it doesn't bother me, but it really bothers him.

I can't comment on Ipod at all. Sorry.

ETA pricing. We do pay a fee for Sirius. It's $12.95/month. Start up cost was $150, which included a home base, a car base, and the receiver unit. We can get the boom box for another $100.

[cuca_]

I got DH XM for his birthday, and he loves it. XM and Sirius are very similar, both have commercial free music channels, and a variety of talk shows, sports and news channels. There are some differences in the offerings, though, so you should check out the list. Sirius now has Howard Stern on (ughh!). Anyway, we have friends who have Sirius, and they are also pretty happy with it.

I gave DH a portable unit which we keep conected to the stereo at home, and a car unit (I think it's called the commander), which was installed in our car. Because we chose to go with two units (this is what DH wanted) we pay two memberships. If you go with the portable one alone, which you can use both in the house and in the car, you pay about $10 a month.

Someone posted a good deal on the bargains board where you can get the XM equipment for much cheaper. Here's the link: http://www.windsorpeak.com/dc/dcboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=82&topic_id=5093&mesg_id=5093&page=2

XM just came out with a portable radio (walkman style). It is in their site, and retails at around $300.

I know nothing about ipod. I asked DH if he was interested in owning one, and he said he would probably get a portable satellite radio instead. I guess the difference is that, in addition to the music, you get news, sports, weather and talk shows. Of course, there is no monthly charge for the ipod, as there is for the satellite radios.

If you have any other specific questions about XM, I'll be happy to answer them for you.

Good luck with your decission and shopping.

HTH

Carmen
DD May 2003
#2 expected in May 2005!

[steph2003]

Sirius does have NFL games but XM has MLB games which ultimately XM won out for my DH because of this! He is a baseball junkie...

also Sirius recently signed a deal with Howard Stern (I know a lot of guys like him) but as PP said you can go online & compare the two to see what channels they carry - if you decide to go the satellite radio route.

[JennyLynn]

Thanks for the info, everyone :)

Now that I know a little bit more, I think we will go with the satellite radio. Follow up questions:

What can I expect for the initial investment in equipment (car unit, home unit, etc.)?

Is this something that we could install ourselves or is it complicated/ difficult such that we would be better off hiring someone to do it?

Do you have to have a contract with one of the providers (XM or Sirius) or does it go month to month?

Can equipment for one service be used for the other service?

Thanks again for all the help!!

Jenny

[KrisM]

Again, I can answer only for Sirius.

Last Christmas, I payed $150 for home/car/unit total. Best Buy and Circuit City carries both models. I'd look at both XM and Sirius online and see if one looks better to you and then check them out in the stores. It made more sense to me once I got to the store.

We installed it ourselves. The only difficult part was figuring out where to install the car unit and running the wire for the antenna. We ended up making a holder for the car unit that fits in the cup holder so that it can go between cars, if we want. The antenna was a bit of work, but it wasn't difficult. I wouldn't pay someone more than $20 or so to do it for me.
We pay by the year, but there are month-to-month or lifetime plans available. There is no contract.

The equipment is specific to the service.

Have fun with it.