# Hd radio vs Sirius



## max1 (Aug 12, 2005)

Hi, all I am thinking about getting the Hd radio. Omaha has a good lineup for local radio and most of our stations now are in HD radio. I wanted to know Does sirius broadcast in Hd radio or is digital or cd quality? Would I notice really good sound with Hd Radio? I have the sirius boombox and the music sounds really good. Just wanted to know if anybody has bought the Hd radio. Max.


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## DonCorleone (Jan 29, 2006)

I believe Sirius is "just" digital.


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## tubbyaz (Apr 24, 2002)

max1 said:


> Hi, all I am thinking about getting the Hd radio. Omaha has a good lineup for local radio and most of our stations now are in HD radio. I wanted to know Does sirius broadcast in Hd radio or is digital or cd quality? Would I notice really good sound with Hd Radio? I have the sirius boombox and the music sounds really good. Just wanted to know if anybody has bought the Hd radio. Max.


Sirius and XM are both highly compressed- talk channels more so than the music, and traffic/weather channels compressed even further.

To my ears, the rock channels I listen to do sound similar to downloaded MP3s- definately NOT CD quality, but in the car it's quite adequate. At home, my Sirius is plugged into my home system, and sounds passable for daily entertainment. I bought it for Howard Stern, but the wide variety of music was a pleasant bonus.

I myself don't understand the hype around HD radio. I mean, Clear Channel can't program their normal stations worth a darn, and now they have more bandwidth to fill? Please. I'd much rather have great content with passable quality. HD radio seems to only promise utter [email protected] in high-fidelity.


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

max1 said:


> Hi, all I am thinking about getting the Hd radio. Omaha has a good lineup for local radio and most of our stations now are in HD radio.


You need to know exactly what HD Radio programming is available in your area. In my case, it is the same as the standard content and for whatever reason, my favorite stations currently don't offer HD Radio at all. In other areas, there are "stations" that are currently "commercial free" (but are not likely to remain that way forever).

Sirius offers a much broader selection of programming than will fit in the broadcast bandwidth. At the same time, it may not offer the mix of local content that you've become accustomed to. The commercials are much fewer and it costs a whole lot more. Don't overlook XM if you're into some of the more obscure music genres.

The question of HD radio seems to be whether any increase in audio quality is worth the $200 premium versus the gear that you already have. In markets where the content is substantially or completely simulcast, there's little value to HD Radio. I would advocate giving HD Radio a serious audition during your normal listening times to test for desirable content and quality. I didn't work out for me due to the lack of differential programming.

I don't think I could survive without Sirus' _Blue Collar Comedy_ channel.


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## kbuente (Mar 25, 2007)

In most areas the program content of HD radio is the same as it's analog counterpart---but the benefit of HD radio is that is makes AM stations sound like FM radio and FM radio sounds like CD quality.
It maybe a $200 investment up front but there are no monthly fees....each area of the country is different but if you are like me and close enough to Chicago or a big city it might be.
Also with HD radio, just like on TV, radio stations can provide alternate programming on a sub-channel--in some cases a couple different sub-channels. Some cities use their secondary as a RSS service.


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## tiger2005 (Sep 23, 2006)

If you like commercials, HD Radio is the way to go. If you don't, get Sirius. I could never go back to any sort of radio product after having satellite radio and NO commercials.


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## Steve Mehs (Mar 21, 2002)

tiger2005 said:


> If you like commercials, HD Radio is the way to go. If you don't, get Sirius. I could never go back to any sort of radio product after having satellite radio and NO commercials.


:up: :up:

CD quality commercials, I can beat that. How about DVD quailty commercials. I can get all the commercials I want in Dolby Digital from the HD channels on TV.


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## agreer (Apr 7, 2006)

tiger2005 said:


> If you like commercials, HD Radio is the way to go. If you don't, get Sirius. I could never go back to any sort of radio product after having satellite radio and NO commercials.


AMEN
I had my Sportster stolen in a spree of car breakins here and thought about HD Radio as Indianapolis is a decent radio market for HD: well, by wedensday I was salovating and Friday night I went and bought a new Sirius unit for $30, the salesman had his heart set on the $$$ HD Radio rig that I specd out with him earlier in the week, but 5 days with a 3-hour commute changes your mind really fast: Stern+BTLS+tonso'tunes =worth every dime!

By the way, never having heard stern before Sirius as no one here carried him, I think he is far funnier and more talented than any hack jocks in Indy.. It made me realise just how pathetic the only jocks in Indy, Bob and Tom really are...THEY SUCK!


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## max1 (Aug 12, 2005)

tiger2005 said:


> If you like commercials, HD Radio is the way to go. If you don't, get Sirius. I could never go back to any sort of radio product after having satellite radio and NO commercials.


My problem with Sirius is we don't get a quality signal. Yeah Sirius is great if you get a good signal. But if your listening to a ballgame and the signal goes out then that's bad. One thing you don't have to worry about local radio.Actually Omaha has a great lineup for Music and talk and stations that have been around for long time.. Plus we get stations out of Sioux City and Lincoln. Most stations now have at least 30 minutes of commercial free music. We have Sirius music with E now. For now will wait to see if the prices drop. As far as Bob and Tom I never have listened to them. max.


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## Steve Mehs (Mar 21, 2002)

> Most stations now have at least 30 minutes of commercial free music.


:lol: 30 minutes of commercial free music that's supposed to be a good thing :lol: That is completely unacceptable, there should not be 30 minutes of commercial free music, there should be 60 minutes of commercial free music per hour.

I have no idea what reception problems you're talking about , but I work nights, all the guys I work with are Sabres fans, the radio is the only way for use to keep in touch with the game, old fashioned AM is great is you like to hear static as the machines we use completely kill AM reception. It's because of my XM and Sirius we have Sabres play by play coverage not dinosaur radio.

I can get radio stations from several markets as well. The active rock station here in Buffalo sounds just like the one in Rochester, which sounds the same as the one in Toronto, which sounds the same as in Erie, Cleveland, Philly, etc, they all suck. Cookie cutter formats, all of which suck.


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## max1 (Aug 12, 2005)

30 minutes of commercial free music that's supposed to be a good thing- BTW Steve I was just using that as an example- actually our area has a good market and actually we get programming that we don't get on Sirius. Plus are stations here are strong and we have no signal issues- As far as the signal issues I have posted our trouble's with that before-We don't get the signal at our house and when we did it only worked for about 20 minutes-I like the idea of Sirius but they need to improve on their service. For now am just going to listen to Sirius on E and see if the HD Radio price goes. down. Let's try to stick to original question. max.


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## bluedogok (Sep 9, 2006)

If there are signal problems it is usually something wrong with the installation. 

If you are talking about trying to get a signal inside a house, well that is why the antenna needs to be outside just like Directv/Dish satellite antenna has to be outside. You usually get better reception with OTA if the antenna is outside. There are a few different home antennas available.


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## Steve Mehs (Mar 21, 2002)

SDARS antennas do no need to be outside. Many people can get reception indoors, via satellite or repeaters. I can get Sirius (most of the time) with the antenna inside but get nothing with XM. Both of my antennas are mounted on the roof though.


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## paulman182 (Aug 4, 2006)

HD radio is still in its infancy. It has the "potential" to offer secondary channels with different formats, or at least a different take on the formats that are now available. On a good stereo system, the quality is much better than XM and Sirius as they compress for quantity, not quality. However, most stations are not using their HD-2 channels yet.

I have XM for one channel and one channel only, a format that is not available on any station I have ever heard (although there may be one somewhere.) I also make extensive use of FM and AM, as we have several good local stations. It is hard for me to believe that those who live in big cities do not get any good stations.

If the problem is a crippling "commercial allergy," then I do feel for you because of the way it so severly limits your listening choices. It seems to fade as the years pass, however.


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