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July 1, 2011

Satellite Radio: Is It Expensive?

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , — Owen Jones @ 1:36 pm

Satellite radio is highly popular these days and it is increasing in popularity more and more every day. If you are not certain what satellite radio is, you can look at it like cable or satellite television. In essence, satellite radio is a subscription only service. It has a colossal assortment of radio stations that are not available on the ordinary AM or FM services.

If you are wondering about how much satellite radio costs, then the answer is the maddening one: it depends. It depends, because there are several variables, such as the apparatus itself, installation fees and monthly fees. Equipment from the countless manufacturers varies a lot as well.

For example, Bose is more expensive than a Chinese device from Walmart. Installation charges vary depending on where you live and who you use and the monthly fee will depend on which package or bundle you select. So, unfortunately, the answer is: it depends.

There is also a one-off ‘activation fee’. This costs about $15 if you do it by phone and about $5 if you do it over the Internet. However, the push is on to get you signed up, so there are frequently promotions on doing away with this ridiculous rip-off fee. As if you will not be paying enough in monthly charges for the rest of your life!

If you want to install satellite radio in your car, you have two alternatives, if your existing radio is not ‘satellite ready’. You can either buy a new car stereo that is ‘satellite ready’ or you can purchase a satellite signal receiver and decoder unit and plug it into your present radio. This decoder can be hidden away under the driver’s seat or stashed in the trunk of the car. You will also need a new antenna on the roof.

Costs differ outrageously, but let’s average it out at $600 for a decent, new, satellite-enabled, ready to go stereo fitted and working or $350 for a cheap system using your own radio, but also ready to receive satellite broadcasts. So, you could say, on average, for about $500 you can be listening to satellite broadcasts.

However, just as with laptop computer prices, demand causes downward pressure on prices and by the time you read this article, the price could have halved. Let’s hope so.

Portable satellite radio receivers can be a bit cheaper, mostly because there are no installation charges and come out at around $400.

Then there are the monthly subscription charges. As I said above, this depends on the package you choose. The average fee is $10-$15 a month, but specific channels can be extra. For instance, you could get the Playboy channel for free at one time, but the normal cost is $2.95 per month.

Sport can cost more, especially for a finals match. Sometimes, you can get a discount for paying annually and Sirius even has a one-off, lifetime option at $500. Perhaps the best thing to do is keep an eye on the promotional offers and be ready to pounce quickly when a suitable one comes up.

Owen Jones, the writer of this article, writes on a variety of subjects, but is currently concerned with Bose alarm clocks. If you would like to kcurrently more, please visit our website at Bose Digital Radio.

June 24, 2011

Surround Sound Speaker Systems

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , — Owen Jones @ 4:23 pm

The generations alive now, especially in the Developed world, are all au fait with speaker technology to a certain level. Most individuals began purchasing music centres in the Seventies if they were old enough and that trend has carried on and the technology has got better and better.

Audio reproduction has come on in leaps and bounds since the Fifties and Sixties when most people were satisfied with a mono Dansette record player. My father was still listening to his favourite 78′s on a wind-up record player with a pin for a needle and a trumpet for a loudspeaker in the early Sixties. Then he purchased a Dansette later in the Sixties.

I purchased a Sanyo music centre in the Seventies and he followed suit. The quality of acoustic reproduction on those systems was laughable in comparison with what is on the market these days.

The latest development is surround sound, which was only accessible in the cinema twenty years ago, but surround sound speakers are far better now than they were then and you can install them at home without requiring a bank loan.

Usually surround sound speakers are connected with film scores, so a surround sound speaker system could be fitted to the outline jacks on your television or home theatre system.

Home theatres are very much in fashion now that many individuals are having to stay in more frequently to save money. A small family that likes to go to the pictures once a week can recoup the costs of a good home theatre system within a year.

When looking at surround sound speakers, you may think that the cost is high, but do not forget that it is the surround sound speakers that transform a film into a cinematographic experience. They also last forever if not abused.

Two pointers: get the best that you can afford and buy speakers that will stand on the floor or can be hung on the wall.

Purchase quality rather than quantity. If you can just afford two speakers of great quality, so be it, You can buy another one later. With surround sound, the rule is: the more speakers the better.

Three is the absolute minimum, seven is fine, but eight is much better. The more speakers that you have, the less volume you will have to put through them so the longer they will last.

The above configurations will be stated as: 2:1 (stereo plus a sub-woofer); 6:1 (front and back stereo speakers, a front central channel and a rear sub-woofer); 7:1 will add a rear central channel.

The good thing about this type of surround speaker system is that you can easily upgrade it, but you have to start properly by buying a recognized marque that will allow you to add speakers throughout the years.

One of the best speaker systems you can buy are Bose, but they are expensive, but they are also the envy of any sound enthusiast too. If you want the best, but do not have the capital take your time building a system of Bose surround sound speakers.

Owen Jones, the writer of this article, writes on numerous topics, but is now involved with Bose IE2 Headphones. If you would like to know more, just visit our website at Bose Digital Radio.

June 8, 2011

Why Should I get XM Satellite Radio?

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , — Owen Jones @ 3:52 pm

XM Radio is one of the two largest American satellite radio broadcasters. They broadcast over 150 programmes of all types like sports, traffic, weather, music of all decades and comedy.

The largest area of their broadcasting activities though is music. After all, that is what most people like to listen to while they are driving or working at home or in the yard.

The music of XM Radio is wide-ranging, catering for the needs of every music ever recorded. For instance, of the sixty-eight music channels, there are channels that play music from only one decade: from the Forties to the Noughties!

Then, transversing those barriers of time, there are music channels that only play Rock and Roll or only play Bee Bop or only play the Blues. There are also channels that only play new records.

There are others that only transmit film soundtracks. In fact, XM music radio has most bases covered. There are even channels that play the music that is being made live in nightclubs such as the ‘B.B. King Club’ in New York City! The ‘Blue Note Club’ is there as well! In fact, the world of music is your oyster.

Then, on a different level, there are the leisure shows hosted by people like Snoop Dog and comedy shows with artists such as Opie and Anthony. There is family comedy too and Playboy Radio for the adult members of the family, although Playboy Radio films do not have to be censored.

Sports fans will enjoy the devoted sports channels. XM Radio’s sports channels report on such sports as American football, basketball and baseball on a regular basis, although there are international sports shown for the more out-going as well: worldwide, International sports such as soccer, the most popular participation sport in the world.

In fact, there are at present thirty-eight sports channels in XM’s stable, although by the time you read this, there will probably be three or four times that number. Many service providers are flocking to Xm’s service in order to gain nationwide coverage in the United States.

News channels are there as well. Channels like the world-respected BBC World Service, CNBC, Fox, the controversial C-Span, CNN, the Discovery Channel, NASCAR Racing, E-Entertainment and many more.

If you require equipment to receive this interesting new technology, you can easily find it on the Internet or in your local shopping mall. The cost of the equipment will not break the bank, but it is best if you price it up and then wait a week or two because new ‘special offers’ are coming out all the time.

The best technique to get XM Satellite Radio for today’s best price is to wait and look which way the wind is blowing, in a short while you will get this illustrious satellite broadcaster for a bargain price.

Owen Jones, the author of this article, writes on a variety of subjects, but is now concerned with Bose Radioss. If you would like to know more, please go to our website at Bose Digital Radio.

June 3, 2011

Satellite Radio Quality, Content And Availability

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , — Owen Jones @ 1:51 pm

Satellite radio has certainly taken off. It is very popular for two or three main reasons such as quality, content and availability. In the context of satellite radio, quality refers to the quality of sound that is capable of being reproduced by the equipment because of the signal; content refers to the kinds of programmes being transmitted by the different radio channels or stations and availability refers to the footprint or coverage of the satellite, that is how much area of land receives the signal from the satellite.

All these comparisons are made with terrestrial radio broadcasts obviously. For instance, we all know that typical AM or FM stations vary hugely in quality, the content can be heavily interspersed with advertising, jingles and inane chatter and coverage is normally only on a very local basis.

The two big players in the American satellite radio market are of course Sirius and XM and each one is attempting to out do the other in these three fields

Normally, satellite radio produces a quality of sound which is comparable to CD quality. This is extremely high, particularly if you use good quality equipment to replay the signal received. If you just replay satellite radio through tinny, ancient, blown speakers, then you will hardly benefit from this boost in quality at all.

Quality, content and coverage have all played a role in increasing the popularity of satellite radio, but it is probably content which has played the greatest part.

You may be wondering why anyone would want to pay for subscription radio, when there is so much free radio about. It is a fair question, but in fact, similarities can be made with cable TV and broadcast television. Why do people pay for that? Is it the sound quality? Or the content? Or what? A lot of cable TV is rubbish as well. Sports coverage, possibly.

At least the preponderance of satellite radio is free of commercials. That has to be worth a few dollars a month and it is in fact a large selling point. Many people cite the lack of commercials as one of their foremost reasons for moving to satellite radio.

It is likely that all big league sports coverage will move to subscription only over the next few years. This will inevitably be carried out with the utilization of satellite radio. American football, soccer, baseball, basketball will all either get their own nationwide stations or be bundled with other stations

People are fed up with the amount of advertising on AM and FM radio, but at the end of the day, the main reason whether to get satellite radio or not for most people rests on content not even so much on the quality of the sound. If sport is taken off terrestrial radio and only available on satellite radio, then people, especially men, will switch to satellite radio, which is precisely what happened with cable and satellite television.

Owen Jones, the writer of this article, writes on a variety of subjects, but is currently involved with Bose alarm clocks. If you would like to kcurrently more, please visit our website at Bose Digital Radio.

November 13, 2010

Satellite Radio: What Is It?

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , — Owen Jones @ 10:29 am

Satellite radio has actually been around for quite some time, but it was unavailable to many people because the stations that were broadcasting were fairly unknown, the equipment was expensive and the arials, normally in the form of dishes were highly directional, which meant you had to use high-priced, skilled installers.

For proof of this you need look no further than bookmakers and betting shops who needed specialized satellite broadcasts beamed to their establishments with the results of the races live.

The difference now is in price and the power of the satellite radio transmission units in addition to the receivers. In other words, satellite radio technology has progressed a long way since the Eighties. Satellite radio can also be received more easily nowadays, although the reception of satellite TV broadcasts still requires a directional receiving dish. This is why satellite TV cannot be received well on a boat or in a car, but you can still get satellite radio and you can still use your cell phone.

Satellite radio broadcasts are digital so most of the advantages of using it are associated with digital technology. Some of these are: the capacity to pick up signals from all around the wold through the satellite network and the loss off interference – that annoying hiss that you often got at night while listening to a distant broadcast. Reception is now invariably crystal clear owing to the uncomplicated means that is digital – on and off or high and low.

Digital only makes use of two signals so they are impossible to mix up, whereas analogue had millions of them allowing for mistakes due to bad weather or / and bad apparatus. That has been basically eradicated.

The situation in the US is that there is still competition between two opposing systems: XM and Sirius and it is to be hoped that this situation will soon be resolved as it was thirty years ago between VHS and Betamax, because otherwise it will only be the customers who lose out in the end – the customers of the firm that goes through.

There were originally problems with satellite radio in some areas because natural or man-made structures would block the line of sight from the antenna or dish to the satellite resulting in a break in transmission. Typical reasons for this would be tunnels, mountains and sky scrapers.

However, the satellite radio service providers soon came up with a resolution to the problem by bouncing the signal from the airborne satellite off terrestrial dishes, in other words, reflecting them at closer to ground level, thereby providing satellite radio to millions of inner city dwellers.

Owen Jones, the writer of this piece, writes on a range of topics, but is now concerned with Bose alarm clocks. If you would like to know more, please go to our website at Bose Digital Radio.

October 30, 2010

Should You Have A Weather Radio?

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , — Owen Jones @ 12:22 pm

There are radios that are dedicated to reporting the weather. Not everybody needs one of these specialized devices, although we are all enthralled by the weather. However, the amount of information given out by most radio stations is enough for the majority of us. So what type of people would benefit from a so-called weather radio?

Weather radios are most appropriate for people living in areas where extremes of weather can and do take place on fairly a regular basis. If the region where you live is subject to hurricanes, tornadoes and flash floods or even severe storms, you are a likely candidate for a dedicated weather radio. Particularly if you have to travel away from home while an extreme weather event might happen.

All radio stations give weather news and weather warnings, but not all radio stations will suspend a programme to give ‘stop press’ updates on impending severe weather conditions. It is the same with television stations, not all of them will interrupt the highlight film of the evening to report on an approaching storm. Some of the smaller stations are not even subscribed to these types of weather reporting services.

However, it is not only people who live in areas of possible extreme weather who may benefit from these weather radios. People who carry out specialist activities and specialized jobs need more specialized weather reports too. For example, deep sea fishermen, sailors, farmers, mountaineers, hikers and backwoodsmen need to know if severe weather is on the way.

A lot of weather radios are not only capable of broadcasting news about the weather. Many of them have a built-in AM/FM radio too and some will even act as alarm clocks. Some are mains only, while others are battery powered, wind-up or solar powered.

Some are large, but most are designed to be carried easily in a regular backpack and might have earphones as well so that you can listen to a broadcast during a howling gale.

If you are just sitting at home, you may feel safe enough with the local TV or radio station on, but if you have to venture outside whilst there is a risk of severe weather, a weather radio is very comforting.

There are loads of types and styles of weather radio to suit all has, but a battery or wind up radio are the safest if you are away from a mains power source such as at sea or in the forest.

You will be able to find weather radios in a good number adventure or camping shops and in many chandlers. It is also easy to find these specialized radios on line especially on eBay or Amazon.

Weather radios are not dear to buy, but some models can eat up batteries so always take a couple of extra sets of batteries if you are going off the trodden track.

Owen Jones, the writer of this piece, writes on a range of subjects, but is now involved with Bose Radioss. If you would like to know more, please go to our web site at Bose Digital Radio.

October 26, 2010

Playboy Satellite Radio

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , — Owen Jones @ 8:55 am

Satellite radio has really taken off in some parts of the world, particularly in countries with a large land mass. Places like America, Canada, Europe and Australia, places where it is hard to achieve national coverage with traditional terrestrial radio broadcasting without hundreds of expensive sub-stations to boost the signal.

Yes, without a shadow of a doubt, satellite radio is here to stay for several reasons. First of all, satellite radio is digital and therefore is able to produce sound of very high quality. Terrestrial digital radio can do that too, you might say.

Yes, that is correct, but the footprint of terrestrial digital radio is quite small which means tht if you are driving a long distance, you will have to keep retuning your radio to a different station, whereas with satellite, the footprint can cover thousands of square miles.

A lot of new satellite radio channels are springing up all the time. It appears that everyone wants to get their hands on this new marvel of wide-area coverage at a cheaper price than it used to cost to cover a county. And why not? The advertising potential is quite fantastic compared to the old fashioned local AM or FM radio stations. Radio has now gone countrywide.

Playboy Satellite radio is one of those companies that has realized the potential of satellite radio and established its own channel with a large footprint. It was launched in March 2006 on the Sirius network by Christie Hefner and now has over one million subscribers, which is a truly remarkable figure. There have probably never before been a million opt-in subscribers to any radio network channel ever in history before.

What makes this number of one million subscribers even more striking is that the Playboy satellite radio channel is not part of a package or a bundle of other channels. No, people have to willingly phone up or go to the Playboy website and ask for membership in person, that is to say that it costs time and effort to join up and one million people thought that it was worth it.

Something else that is curious is that the Playboy brand is associated with visual stuff – naked ladies, in fact – and radio is well-known for not being very good at visual representation. It is clear that no radio station is going to make much progress in the market place using nudity as a trump card.

So what is happening here? Well, the fact is that no-one is really quite certain. You have to subscribe, but it is free at the moment. It is also true that the Playboy brand is considered cool and distinctive among a certain echelon of society, but will that be enough to keep people listening in? Only time will tell.

The answer almost certainly lies in the fact that it is free and that it can be listened to over a large area, but they cannot be the only causes. There is probably a curiosity value too and the quality of the shows will have to be high as well.

Owen Jones, the writer of this piece, writes on a variety of subjects, but is now concerned with Bose alarm clocks. If you would like to know more, please visit our web site at Bose Digital Radio.

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