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[clandrew2]

I guess everyone knows that XM (satellite radio) is
commercial free and plays in selected catagories.
So, it is a safe bet that you might want to hook the
audio output of the XM radio to your computer and
have Media Jukebox 8 record it, split tracks automatically and put it in MP3 format during the day.
Then you come home to 8 hours of really cool CD quality music that you can play with no work.  
Has anyone tried this?  Opinions.
Thanks, Chuck

This could be better than Napster?

[jgourd]

Yes, I have tried this and it works. The problem is that XM is NOT CD quality to begin with so recording it and compressing it to MP3 makes it sound even worse.

[clandrew2]

Hi!  I think we need specs from XM.  They advertise
near CD quality that is free from interference and static.
Something is not quite right and more testing needs to be done.
When you consider the opportunity, it should not be
dismissed by one reply.
Chuck

[jgourd]

XM's cheif engineer says that they can allocate as much bandwidth as they want to each channel. The reality is that very few channels actually generate revenue for XM so they choose to over compress almost every channel.

They are also prepared for future bitrates and standards. I heard him say that 24bit/96KHz SACD quality audio will become the standard but not for a long time.

Anyway you look at it, XM is great in the car but clearly not an audiophile system. While it doesn't suffer from multipath and other distortions inherent in FM, it does suffer from drop outs. These happen when there is a large building or mountain betwwen you and the satelite. It also happens when you go under a wide bridge or drive in the woods with thick tree cover over head.

I have driven from Boston to Floriday and Boston to Chicago a few times now and there is just no way I would consider the drive without the XM.

Some day these XM guys will understand that in a single household, $10 a month per radio is way too much. I would eagerly pay $10 for the first radio and $1 for each radio thereafter.

With MJ, I use the media scheduler to record "special event" programming like the live Firesign Theater shows and some of the live blues concerts.

I have had XM for over a year now (very early adopter) and I am still glad I bought it even though most channels are not commerical free.

[clandrew2]

I suggested to XM that they consider the home audiophile and maybe they will.  That is a big market.
Most people have abandoned radio at home:)

We were actually looking at XM for music wallpaper in a store with no commercials, so the posting about commercials was a surprise.

[jgourd]

There are some very good channels that do not have any. For your store you might think about the "Top Tracks" channel which has zero interuptions and there is never a clunker in the playlist.

Some of the channels are re-broadcast major market FM stations. When those stations go to a local ad, XM puts in these "Time Capsules" or other PSAs which I find to be annoying.

CNET Radio is probably the channel I listen to most often but since it is an AM station from San Fransisco the shear quantity of interuptions is almost unbearable.

My favorite one is XM Music Lab which plays stuff like King Crimson, Phish, ELP, Ozric Tentacles, etc... It plays Avante Garde and Fusion.

[clandrew2]

Thanks,  XM goes in the store!
Chuck