The Benefits of Xm Radio

The Benefits of XM Radio

Over the years, many people all over have listened to the radio for entertainment and information. Radio supplies news, sports, music, talk, and many other options with great ease. However, since television has become so popular lately, people look to it as an alternative to radio for the previously stated options. The reason for this can be linked to the redundancy that radio has encountered by not offering anything new and exciting for people to become interested about. Now, XM radio has solved this problem by giving people something new to look forward to by offering their services to anyone who wants to try something new. XM Radio uses satellites positioned in space to allow people to listen to the radio across the United States without having to be bothered with changing stations. This luxury has gotten consumers and analysts very excited and has been receiving a lot of hype in the media lately. The advanced methods of broadcasting will supply XM Radio with more appealing features to listeners than existing entertainment. As a result, those who are bored with the current condition of radio entertainment may use XM more than FM and AM radio.

The advanced technology that XM Radio uses is a big change from the old fashioned ways that FM and AM radio are broadcasted. XM Radio uses satellites in order to broadcast across the entire country with a clear signal. "XM satellites' fixed orbits ensure a focused and consistent signal" ("Satellites" 2002). If the satellites need to be moved for any reason, no problems will occur with the broadcasting and ensures that the signals will not be lost ("Satellites" 2002). The ways in which were they were manufactured plays a big role in the quality of the signals that are sent to Earth. "The satellites were built by Boeing Satellite Systems, which is the world's leading commercial manufacturer of satellites" ("Satellites" 2002). This was a smart decision by the makers of XM Radio because Boeing is such a well-respected company that it will ensure the confidence of needed consumers.

Instead of having thousands and thousands of radio stations across the nation, XM radio uses a broadcast center in Washington, D.C. for the majority of its broadcasting. This will cut down costs of office space and employees, which in turn would decrease their budget. This center has "20 multi-function production suites and 310 audio workstations in addition to 82 studios" ("XM Studios" 2002). XM also has 2 studios in Nashville, Tennessee and mid-town Manhattan, New York from which it will air daily shows and interviews with music stars on the country music channels ("XM Studios" 2002). Using fiber optics and computer servers for digital audio signal processing proves another improvement in technology ("XM Studios" 2002). This will replace "traditional metallic wiring" that FM and AM radio uses ("XM Studios" 2002). The overall sound quality of the music will be increased due to this change because there is less chance of the wiring becoming damaged by the weather and normal wear-and-tear.

There is an abundance of genres of music and information that FM radio supplies already, but XM Radio will supply the people with an easier way to access their favorites. There will be over 300 channels available for the units, which will be separated by the genre of music, news, and comedy. These music channels include jazz, blues, classical, rock, pop, folk and others ("Programming" 2002). Lee Adams, XM's Chief Programming Officer and Ringleader says that there will be multiple 24-hour business and financial news stations from Bloomberg News Radio, CNBC, CNN, USA TODAY, CNET, and BBC ("Programming" 2002). This multitude of well-organized stations will allow listeners to pick and choose the specific station that they want to listen to because of the displayed station on the unit. These displays will make it much easier for people to choose what station they want to listen to, unlike radio today that makes you search for channels while never really knowing which specific one it is. This comes in handy to those who travel across the country because they will now not have to find new stations every time they enter a new broadcast zone. One aspect that FM radio is not known too well for is a supply of comedy channels. XM Radio will supply listeners with channels strictly programmed to play comedy. These stations include National Lampoon, Firesign Theatre, and XM Comedy - "a completely new take on radio humor" ("Programming" 2002). Some areas of the country, especially the Midwest, mainly play particular genres of music on the majority of their available stations. I know that when I drive through these areas, I cannot find a station that suits me because the majority of the music is country. With XM Radio, I would never have that problem because I would just be able to pick whatever genre of music that I wanted to listen to no matter what part of the country I was in.

Another appealing feature of XM Radio is the ability to transfer the receiver from the car to the home with no problem. The Sony DRN-XM01C Satellite Radio Receiver can be used in both of these locations (Howard 24). This $300 street receiver uses the new XM Satellite Radio to provide channels for a $9.99 monthly fee (Howard 24). "The Sony receiver is small, about the