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DASHBOARD DIVERSIONS REVIEW Satellite radio tests out well Benny Evangelista, Chronicle Staff Writer |
Monday, July 8, 2002
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Last week, I drove around the Bay Area testing the new Sirius Satellite Radio service and was impressed by the eclectic selection of programs available, including rock, reggae, soul, sports, tejano, financial news and Broadway tunes. Sirius' digital signal was consistently clear almost everywhere I drove and far superior to standard AM or FM signals. The drops in coverage -- for example, inside the Caldecott Tunnel -- were minor. Of course, I said almost exactly the same thing last November after testing out a rival service by XM Satellite Radio. Even though executives from both fledgling satellite radio companies tried to convince me that one service had major programming, sound quality and other technical advantages over the other, I found little real difference between them. Just look at the programming lineup: Sirius has "The Best of the 90s," XM has "The 90s"; Sirius has "Tejano," XM has "Tejan"; and Sirius has "Sirius Comedy," while XM has "XM Comedy." Sirius charges more -- $12.95 per month -- because it's 100 percent commercial free, especially on the 60 stations of music that Sirius programs from its New York studios. On the other 40 stations of news, sports and other entertainment supplied by outside channels like ESPN, Fox News and Radio Disney, public service announcements and promos are substituted for commercials, so there are still breaks in the programming. XM, meanwhile, costs only $9.99 a month, but has some commercials on about 70 of its channels, some of which are from over-the-air stations from New York or Los Angeles. Even so, there are fewer commercial breaks on XM than on free, broadcast AM and FM stations. Sirius uses three orbiting satellites and a network of 92 ground repeater transmitters to fill in signal gaps. XM has two satellites and more than 1,000 repeaters. The Sirius service seemed to have fewer gaps -- especially on the Bay Bridge -- than XM and sounded slightly better. However, the fact that Sirius provided a $1,650 Kenwood multimedia system installed in a new BMW X5 SUV, versus an XM Radio I temporarily installed in an old 1993 Chevrolet staff car, made a world of difference. Or as my son quipped, it was like eating a four-star dinner inside a fast- food joint -- it just doesn't taste the same. But satellite radio's strength is its ability to serve that four-star dinner anywhere you go. The sound was CD quality everywhere I drove, even on windy streets in Moraga or on the Dublin grade, where regular AM or FM signals can flutter and fade. If you often drive long distances, this can be a real blessing. Sirius says a portable radio that looks like a boom box is coming soon. For XM, Sony already has a plug and play receiver that can be used both at home and in the car. One other drawback: The two services aren't yet compatible. So for now, once you buy a receiver, you're stuck with either Sirius or XM. Signal quality, however, can only drive satellite radio so far. Content will make or break it. Will consumers find having 100 radio channels at their fingertips enough to justify paying $120 to $156 per year? Like cable TV, does anybody really watch all the channels that are available? Most of the channels held no long-term interest for me. In the future, both services should offer a tiered system similar to cable TV's offering of basic and premium channels. Still, I did enjoy switching between classic soul, symphony and reggae. One morning, I drove in blasting rapper P. Diddy's "I Need a Girl (Part Two)," and the next morning, I drove in listening to the BBC Philharmonic. If satellite radio receivers come as standard or optional equipment in new model cars, consumers may be more inclined to subscribe. On that score, neither service has a clear path, said Thilo Koslowski, lead automotive analyst for GartnerG2. Sirius has deals that will put receivers into BMW, Mercedes Benz and Porsches, cars bought by early adopters who might gravitate toward satellite radio, he said. But XM has deals with GM, he added, which has the biggest share of the U.S. auto market. E-mail Benny Evangelista at bevangelista@sfchronicle.com. |
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