One box for XM & Sirius? Is it coming?

[Nomar1245]

Now that XM & Sirius have merged, is there any chance of a new module coming out that pics up both?

 

I eventually want to get both for my D3, but I don't want to get XM now(for the navtraffic feature) and then have to buy a second box later for Sirius if a singular box is coming out any time soon.

 

If anyone has heard anything it'd be great to know.

 

If there isn't, which wouldn't surprise me, that'd be fine and I'll just go pick up an XM box tomorrow.

 

Thanks in advance.

[T]

they havent merged yet

[Smoke05]

they are supposed to work with whatever existing unit you have. they both run on the same frequencies, the systems will just send both signals to their satellites. it will be just like them adding new channels on their own. no big deal really.

[Nomar1245]

Okay sounds good. Thanks for the replies, I'm going to pick up one of them tomorrow.

 

On a side note, I just assumed they merged because I read an article about how the US government approved the terms of the merger about a month ago.

[HiFiSi]

It's highly doubtful they would ever produce a unit that did both. For a few reasons:

 

1. Some people don't want both, and might be unwilling to pay the extra amount it would cost for a unit that has both.

 

2. I'm no positive either XM nor Sirius would want to be packaged in the same unit with their competition.

 

3. The manufacturer is more likely to keep it as two separate units, as they stand to make more money that way.

[06AVIC-tC]

See, both companies were losing money. They are in fact merging the two brands together, and there's rumors that there will be different subscription levels, one being an ala carte where customers pay say 8 bucks a month and picks 30 or 40 channels from either service to receive.

 

I used to be an XM listener and left because content was weak. I'd be all about picking between the two.

[kaplan_reject]

Ok, I know this is a little off topic and I dont wanna steal anyones thread, but I stuck this up in the XM area and got nothing and Im itching to try this out... Its know that you can run a Sirius Tuner off an XM antenna, but can you run an XM tuner off of a Sirius antenna. I wanna put a splitter in line and run both my XM and Sirius tuners off of my factory Sirius antenna if possible.

 

The frequencys run at are back to back, so I dont see any reason that they are not cross compatable, just looking for a second opinion before I start rewiring.... Hifi, any thoughts?

[WhiteBird00]

The merger has received DOJ approval but not FCC approval. The latest word is that the FCC will not make a decision before mid-May - if even then. The original merger agreement expires May 1st so the FCC strategy seems to be to hope it will die if no decision is made.

 

However, IF the merger goes through, you won't need a new tuner for some time - if ever. The plan is to merge some of the channels where there is duplication (e.g. the decades channels) and then mix the remaining channels in a variety of subscription plans. Initially, you will be able to get the mix of XM and Sirius programming using either type of tuner - they will be broadcasting in both frequency bands.

[HiFiSi]

Ok, I know this is a little off topic and I dont wanna steal anyones thread, but I stuck this up in the XM area and got nothing and Im itching to try this out... Its know that you can run a Sirius Tuner off an XM antenna, but can you run an XM tuner off of a Sirius antenna. I wanna put a splitter in line and run both my XM and Sirius tuners off of my factory Sirius antenna if possible.

 

The frequencys run at are back to back, so I dont see any reason that they are not cross compatable, just looking for a second opinion before I start rewiring.... Hifi, any thoughts?

 

It's a good idea... but I think any cutting/splicing/splitting of the wires on the antenna are going to cause a weak signal. Not only because you're splitting the antenna lead, but because the wire inside that antenna cable is such a small gauge that it's not very easy to get a good splice.

 

I'm not sure about the compatibility of the two antennas, though. I've never bothered with the issue before. I guess if both antennas receive similar frequency ranges it wouldn't be a problem, right?

 

But give it a shot, I guess. You can always buy new antennas if it doesn't work, right?

[WhiteBird00]

There used to be y-cable adapters that allowed the older satellite radios with separate satellite and terrestrial antenna inputs to work with the newer single cable antennas. I would think you could use one as a splitter to connect two tuners to a single antenna (if you can find anyone still selling them...)

 

EDIT: found one at http://store.xmfanstore.com/splitter.html.

 

But HiFiSi is correct - you really shouldn't cut the micro-coax cable of an existing antenna.

[kaplan_reject]

No Im not gonna cut and splice, Metra makes a splitter that looks like it will work, guess Ill just give it a try, if it dont work ill just be out of about 30 bucks or so.