Satellite radio is dead in the advent of streaming services. Complaining about going in places with poor cell reception is a combination of having a terrible carrier, lack of preparation on your part, and not having enough storage on your smartphone to cache for offline usage. The only service that is worth it from Sirus/XM is the real time weather updates they offer to pilots.
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Satellite radio is dead in the advent of streaming services. Complaining about going in places with poor cell reception is a combination of having a terrible carrier, lack of preparation on your part, and not having enough storage on your smartphone to cache for offline usage. The only service that is worth it from Sirus/XM is the real time weather updates they offer to pilots.
Seriously!! I've seen so many people attempt to downplay the fact that there are people who feel it is important to have satellite radio in their car. Really..."If you drive in areas without cell service, that's what the USB port is for."???? Who the hell is going to take the time to put stuff on a USB device? Great if all you want to do is listen to music....I DON'T. I want to listen to talk radio that is on Sirius XM Radio. Tune-in gets one or two of the news channels I want to listen to but not all the other talk radio channels.
So please, all you people who think the sun rises and sets on MUSIC, realize that other people want to listen to LIVE talk radio and don't want to lose the reception due to no cellphone service.
rxlawdude
Active Member
Is live really important, along with listening to the news while cross-country traveling? How about disconnecting from the world from time to time? Enjoy the trip, even more so with autonomy. You can always download your talk shows as a podcast later on.
But people will cry about wanting their programs while driving. Turn off the electronics including the passengers, turn on autopilot, and take in the scenery and have human conversations.
rxlawdude
Active Member
Let's sum it up: Ace here suggests loading content in advance when you may be going to poor cell reception areas. That being pointed out as impractical, Ace now advocates just turning the audio system off.
All because of a Tesla design decision that is questionable. I'm a Tesla fan (and existing MS owner), but defending the omission of both XM and AM with Ace's arguments borders on the laughably absurd.
DurandalAI
Member
Reminds me of how when Apple removed the floppy drive, and serial ports from the first iMac, and it only had USB ports. Oh how people howled, then it was realized how forward thinking it was. Now they don't have optical drives, and there's just one USB-C port, and how people howl, then they are OK with it. People howled with the removal of analog television, and they might howl at no cassette tapes.
Buy your USB floppy drive, buy your USB CD-Drive, buy your cassette to aux input adapter and move on. Then you can buy your Siriux/XM mobile receiver that connects to your Model 3 via Bluetooth for $60 or whatever, and you can move on from that as well.
Buy your USB floppy drive, buy your USB CD-Drive, buy your cassette to aux input adapter and move on. Then you can buy your Siriux/XM mobile receiver that connects to your Model 3 via Bluetooth for $60 or whatever, and you can move on from that as well.
rxlawdude
Active Member
Hardly analogous, but sure, rationalize.Reminds me of how when Apple removed the floppy drive, and serial ports from the first iMac, and it only had USB ports. Oh how people howled, then it was realized how forward thinking it was. Now they don't have optical drives, and there's just one USB-C port, and how people howl, then they are OK with it. People howled with the removal of analog television, and they might howl at no cassette tapes.
Buy your USB floppy drive, buy your USB CD-Drive, buy your cassette to aux input adapter and move on. Then you can buy your Siriux/XM mobile receiver that connects to your Model 3 via Bluetooth for $60 or whatever, and you can move on from that as well.
While I agree that AM should have been included (*), and arguably XM as well given the car's price, my point about turning things off is that not having them is not the massive end-of-the-Earth scenario that this thread seems to have made it out to be. We all need to have quiet time, and more of it than we tend to be getting these days. Check out Manoush Zomorodi's TED talk (How boredom can lead to your most brilliant ideas) on the topic. Really. For your overall health. It's an amazing feeling, especially after a long day at work. My 30 minute commute home was a perfect time to not have people and things assaulting my brain. A perfect time to wind down on my own.
I never don't have something to occupy my mind. I just don't need to be entertained all the time. There is a difference. So, yes, it would be more competitive to have all possible forms of entertainment at our fingertips at all times. But not having such can also be a blessing if you remember that the Off button can be a really good option too.
(*) AM radio tends to be a valuable tool for getting automated highway information, at least here in California
I don't know how many times I've had to say this. NOT EVERYONE IS A TECHIE. In fact, most people do NOT plan their trips like African Expeditions. As an XM (then SiriusXM) stockholder, I heard this tale FOREVER. SatRad profits are up - I made a bundle on it before I cashed out to diversify.
*Most* people just want to turn on the radio while they're driving. But there are enough different "types" of consumer out there that there's a market for streaming, satellite, terrestrial, etc.. I mean, come on, we've been talking about the death of AM radio FOR 50 YEARS and it's still around.
Disagree. Most Tesla owners, past, present, and future are "techies" by the thousand and one definitions of it. Take the Model 3 and its reliance on unique unlocking systems like NFC and smartphone apps - the typical non-techie will be turned off by that. The average EV owner, especially Tesla owners on long distance trips, take careful planning of their trips. Why not spend an extra 20 minutes with arranging playlists and downloading them onto a USB or your smartphone?
In addition, Sirius/XM radio is more expensive than streaming services and in most cases will be an expense on top of it. I just looked and you have to pay an additional 4 dollars a month to be able to use the service from a smartphone app or your computer. What? Furthermore, younger people are turning away from traditional radio media in favor of services like Pandora and regular streaming services since the music selection can be tailored and customized every which way.
AM radio IS dead outside of road conditions alerts (which could easily be converted to FM or better yet, cell push notifications/SMS) and political talking heads.
igotzzoom
Active Member
Until terrestrial cellular networks are truly ubiquitous (which is not currently the case), OR until there's satellite-based internet radio connectivity, it will NOT be the same as satellite radio. Most of the time, I'll be able to use the SXM mobile app, but it won't provide the same ubiquitous coverage as a satellite signal.
Xenoilphobe
Well-Known Member
Once this is launched there won't be a reason for either cell phone towers or the crappy XM constellation.
Laser Light Communications - Newsroom
About Laser Light Communications (US)
Laser Light™ intends to deploy an All Optical Global Communications Network - HALO™. The service capacity of the planned HALO™ constellation of 8-12 Medium Earth Orbit satellites will be 7.2 Tbps, comprised of 48 sat-sat 200Gbps optical crosslinks and 72 sat-ground 100Gbps optical up/down links, without reliance on regulated radio frequency spectrum. Laser Light™ intends to interconnect its proposed HALO™ satellite system with over 100 customer Points of Presence clustered within 20 -25 SD-WAN's across the globe . The HALO™ network - satellite and SD-WAN's - will be cross-connected to Laser Light's proprietary extended ground network and its patented operating system, ensuring carrier grade service, enhanced redundancy, resiliency, and unprecedented security. HALO™ is designed to support its “OpticalSartellite as a Service” (OsaaS) product suite - Global Access 100Gbps Circuits and its proprietary HALO™ Direct Connect service - to global enterprises, data centers, media, finance firms; carriers; and government entities.
http://www.laserlightcomms.com
Laser Light Communications - Newsroom
About Laser Light Communications (US)
Laser Light™ intends to deploy an All Optical Global Communications Network - HALO™. The service capacity of the planned HALO™ constellation of 8-12 Medium Earth Orbit satellites will be 7.2 Tbps, comprised of 48 sat-sat 200Gbps optical crosslinks and 72 sat-ground 100Gbps optical up/down links, without reliance on regulated radio frequency spectrum. Laser Light™ intends to interconnect its proposed HALO™ satellite system with over 100 customer Points of Presence clustered within 20 -25 SD-WAN's across the globe . The HALO™ network - satellite and SD-WAN's - will be cross-connected to Laser Light's proprietary extended ground network and its patented operating system, ensuring carrier grade service, enhanced redundancy, resiliency, and unprecedented security. HALO™ is designed to support its “OpticalSartellite as a Service” (OsaaS) product suite - Global Access 100Gbps Circuits and its proprietary HALO™ Direct Connect service - to global enterprises, data centers, media, finance firms; carriers; and government entities.
http://www.laserlightcomms.com
igotzzoom
Active Member
I like SXM's variety of programming, some of their DJs (especially Richard Blade!) and lack of constant advertising (on music stations). I really don't care how I get the content, as long as it's reliable and ubiquitous.
Man, those guys just out-Musked Elon himself. He better up his game if he wants to keep up with those promises! ; )
rxlawdude
Active Member
And of course, using those apps will require your phone, since they won't work natively on the Tesla. And, of course, you are still at the mercy of the cell reception.
igotzzoom
Active Member
Unless there's like an auxiliary antenna in the tunnel (like I believe in the Sepulveda tunnel under LAX) then no. Satellite reception usually requires a clear view of the sky.
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