Satellite radio services

If you like listening to radio programming, satellite radio has some goodies to offer. Great variety of channels, most of them commercial-free, high quality sound when it is needed, possibility to listen to your favored programming wherever you are. Newly developed technology - portable tuners and receivers of satellite radio signals - make it possible to enjoy satellite radio programming not only in your car, but also in your home, on your personal computer, home stereo or portable boombox.

The two main US satellite radio service providers were XM Satellite Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio. The former used two geostationary satellites, and the latter three geosynchronous satellites. They were covering the entire continental US, including Alaska, but not Hawaii and Puerto Rico.

XM Radio claimed nearly 8 million subscribers, and Sirius radio 6 million. Both providers offered well over 100 channels, most of them broadcasting music - pop, rock, country, Hip Hop, R&B, urban, dance, jazz, classical - but also dozens of sports, international, news, talk shows and entertainment channels.

In 2008. they merged into Sirius XM, which now claims nearly 35 million subscribers.

Service cost is $5-$16 a month. "All-access" package, for car, phone, home, and Internet, runs $99 for the first 12 months (with free activation, nominally $15), and $21.99/month after that.

Typical car installation requires receiver, satellite radio and antenna, runs in $400-$600 range, including labor. At present, most major automakers offer satellite radio as a part of the original new car equipment.

Home satellite radio installation, with dedicated stereo receiver, typically costs between $200 and $350. Another option is satellite receiver and "home kit", which plugs into your existing home stereo, personal computer, or boombox, for about $250.

______________________________________________________

Home  Remember those happy days with no cable television, no satellite TV? Only a single analog TV service available, and everything about getting and using it was as simple as: get it, click, go...

Cable or satellite TV?  Which one is better: satellite TV or cable? In most any comparison, the answer seems to depend on whom you ask...

Cable TV  Cable TV is how the television entered American homes. In its early stages, cable TV service was quite different from the modern cable TV we know now...

Direct Broadcast Satellite  Direct Broadcast Satellite (DBS) TV service is a high-powered broadcast service to homes using satellites as the primary form of signal transmission. Its high transmission power makes possible use of relatively small dish antennas for efficient signal reception and utilization. Commercial satellite TV, as we know it, is a DBS service...

Dish Network  Dish Network is the second largest direct broadcast satellite (DBS) service provider in the US. Together with DirecTV, it shares the US home satellite TV market. Dish Network started commercial DBS broadcasting  in 1996, after its first TV satellite - EchoStar I - has been launched in 1995...

DirecTV  DirecTV is a direct broadcast satellite (DBS) service provider, based in Las Vegas, Nevada. Launched in 1994 by Hughes Electronics Corporation, it was the very first high-powered (mini-dish) DBS service in the world...

High-speed INTERNET  Whether you spend many hours browsing the Internet on daily basis, or use it less frequently, high-speed Internet connection appears to be irresistibly convenient. While it comes at added cost, most people find its benefits worth added expense, which can be quite low...

High-definition TV  Are you too mystified and intrigued by this new kid on the TV block: high-definition television. Expectations run high, but so is the uncertainty - what is really different about it, when compared with standard-definition television (SDTV)?...

Satellite Radio  If you like listening to radio programming, satellite radio has some goodies to offer. Great variety of channels, most of them commercial-free, high quality sound when it is needed, possibility to listen to your favored programming wherever you are...

 News Wire  The latest in the satellite/cable industry...