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XM Radio

TheOldMole Jul 22 2005 08:13 AM

Thinking about taking the plunge. Does anyone here have it? Is it worth it? Can I get the Mets on it?

metirish Jul 22 2005 09:38 AM

I could be wrong but I think you can only get the Mets if you are out of market, but nothing on the XM says that. http://www.xmradio.com/programming/channel_page.jsp?ch=175

Lundy Jul 22 2005 10:52 AM

Yes, you'll get the Mets, and every single other MLB game that's on. Here's the catch: when the Mets are at home, you'll get Gary and Howie. When they're on the road, you'll get the local announcers for the game. It's actually quite nice to hear the other broadcasters that are doing games on the radio. (Well, with the possible execption of Ron Santo) As far as the music goes, there's something for everyone: the decades (40s, 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s) channels, folk, country, religious, rock/heay metal/alternative/progressive, soul, r+b, hip-hop, rap, jazz, new-age, reggae, classical, and even a couple music channels for the kids. They have simulcasts of the news channels, plus some of their own channels, and of course, a 24-hour baseball talk channel. And Opie and Anthony too. If you get a subscription, you'll also get access to the music channels online (you don't need a radio to listen, you just need to establish an account) If you're looking to get a radio, I'd recommend the Myfi. It's a little expensive, but it's portable and can be set up anywhere (anywhere you get a satellite signal, that is) Plus, you can record five hours of programming onto the unit. I've had XM for about four years now, and I absolutely love it. Service is 12.95/month, but you can prepay for a year and get a discount. That's what I do. I hope this helps you!

TheOldMole Jul 22 2005 10:59 AM

They seem to have very few jazz/blues channels.

Lundy Jul 22 2005 11:06 AM

There are three jazz (Real Jazz, Watercolors, and Beyond Jazz) and one blues (Bluesville) channels. I found myself listening to Beyond Jazz alot, in fact, it's one of my presets.

ScarletKnight41 Jul 22 2005 12:15 PM

No smooth jazz?

Lundy Jul 22 2005 01:12 PM

Yes there is...you'll hear smooth jazz on Watercolors.

ScarletKnight41 Jul 22 2005 01:47 PM

Thanks. I figured that was too big a genre these days to be totally left out.

TheOldMole Jul 22 2005 02:15 PM

To me, Smooth jazz is not jazz. They appear to have only one real jazz channel and one blues channel. I was hoping for a little more variety within those genres. One forties channel, which is big band, and one Fifties channel, which is Elvis/Buddy Holly. Not that those are bad things. But it looks like my favorite music, which is the R&B and commercial blues of the 40s and early 50s, is going begging for a home. On the other hand, I did see, cruising their website one day last week, that they were having a special show on the music of Percy Mayfield, the Poet of the Blues.

Lundy Jul 22 2005 02:32 PM

Alot of these channels on XM don't necessarily follow along with the current programming available on FM radio. And alot of the artists aren't pigeonholed onto one channel...for example...Bob Dylan can be heard on the rock channels, the 60s channel, the folk channel, etc. If you go to www.xm411.com , they have a music library that archives every song that's been played on XM over the past month or so. If you do a search on your favorite artists, you'll see what channels they're on.

ScarletKnight41 Jul 22 2005 03:53 PM

Smooth jazz is something like a hybrid between pop and jazz. Perhaps over time it will come up with a more descriptive name. But, whatever you call it, the genre has its stars (as well as its duds), and it can be very listenable.

TheOldMole Jul 22 2005 07:11 PM

And Thomas Kinkade, Painter of Light, can be very watchable. I don't mean to be too unpleasant. I just get curmudgeonly about smooth jazz, fusion, and Windham Hill type music.

TheOldMole Jul 22 2005 07:14 PM

Lundy - neat site, but I can't find the music library.

TheOldMole Jul 22 2005 07:15 PM

Found it.

Spacemans Bong Jul 22 2005 11:22 PM

I'd have to assume that eventually you'll get every team's radio broadcast for the games, just they're seeing if people will sign up for this, because I'm sure each channel costs money. Kinda like when MLB trialled streaming games online. At first you only got the home team.

TheOldMole Jul 23 2005 02:21 PM

I kinda like the idea of hearing other broadcasters.

Lundy Jul 24 2005 07:38 PM

From my understanding of the whole thing, the issue is bandwith, in other words, there's not enough room on the satellite to accomodate 30 separate channels of programming.