Sirius XM rolls out interoperable MiRGE satellite radio

Sirius XM has already merged some of its channels and, as expected, it's now taken advantage of CES to roll out its very first interoperable satellite radio: the MiRGE (clever, Sirius XM, clever). In addition to letting you switch between Sirius and XM signals with ease, this radio will display three other channels as you view your current channel, and let you pause and rewind up to 60 minutes of live programming, among other standard features. What's more, XM Sirius has also rolled out a new "Sirius Everything plus XM Everything" package to go along with the radio, which will run you $19.99 a month and seemingly give you everything you'd get by subscribing to the two separate services. Look for the radio to be available early this spring for $250.

[Via Orbitcast]

[ProfessorDex @ Jan 8th 2009 11:16AM]

Nice to see these radios starting to show up.

[Galley @ Jan 8th 2009 11:22AM]

Wait a minute. They merged, but you still have to subscribe to the programming separately? WTF?

[From My Cube @ Jan 8th 2009 11:27AM]

RTFA

[Galley @ Jan 8th 2009 11:56AM]

So, you pay $20 for everything, or $13 for either service? I was thinking you'd get everything for the same $13 rate.

[inteller @ Jan 8th 2009 12:21PM]

Yes, apparently they can't figure out how to "MiRGE" their accounting systems.

[Jeremy @ Jan 8th 2009 12:39PM]

There are other plans available as well. I just changed mine to a 60 station music only package for $9.99/month.

[backscratcher1970 @ Jan 8th 2009 5:44PM]

they merged but still operating as two separate companies

[kjb434 @ Jan 8th 2009 11:27AM]

Well,

I guess this is nice before they shutdown. Many business analyst are predicting that satellite radio will disappear unless satellite TV saves them.

[ProfessorDex @ Jan 8th 2009 11:36AM]

Satellite Radio isn't going anywhere and if Satellite TV does become involved, this will really go south for the consumer.

[kjb434 @ Jan 8th 2009 11:47AM]

Why do think satellite radio is going nowhere? It's absolutely making no money since it was started. The combine company can barely make their debt payments. With the credit market as tight as it is, it will be hard for them to refinance or take on more debt to operate.

This is why they will only survive in the future if some buys the company.

[Ryan Saghir @ Jan 8th 2009 11:38AM]

This is more to satisfy an FCC requirement for allowing the two companies to merge. Much of the programming between the two services has already been combined, and rumor has it that there's more to come.

See my original post on Orbitcast here:
http://www.orbitcast.com/archives/sirius-xm-unveil-mirge-worlds-1st-interoperable-satellite-radio.html

[Canman99 @ Jan 8th 2009 1:38PM]

I enjoyed having XM, but I just canceled my subscription, as I got this Internet clock radio for Christmas.

http://www.engadget.com/2008/09/18/rca-trots-out-rir205-tabletop-internet-radio/

I like NHL coverage, and I easily added the URLs for all the NHL radio stations without a problem. As well, the weather feature is great, and many Internet radio stations lack commercials.

[bob cobb @ Jan 8th 2009 11:53AM]

Its too bad the music went to shit once the merger happened. Thanks sirius, I just love to hear DJs on satellite radio

[Jase @ Jan 8th 2009 3:13PM]

i love the DJ's on the Metal station. that's why i always liked sirius over XM. who wants to pay a monthly fee to bascially listen to an iPod? i like getting news on new bands, touring info and exclusive tracks.

[JPN @ Jan 8th 2009 12:31PM]

Guess you can't please everyone.

[gaspero1 @ Jan 8th 2009 12:45PM]

Bob, I couldn't agree more. How much do I have to pay to get the XM channels back? The playlists on the alternative rock stations are so shallow I started listening to FM again, because the variety is better than the 20 songs Sirius is playing on relentless repeat. Gladly, LastFM is solving my issues with the last.fm iPhone player. Now I need to figure out what to do with the four XM radios I already own.

[Smoke_Dawg_187 @ Jan 9th 2009 12:52AM]

I agree with you Bob. I think Sirius music sucks now that they merged with XM. Ethel sucked compared to Alt Nation. Now I find myself channel surfing. I never had to do that before. Now they're playing a bunch of B side tracks I could careless about.

[Loz @ Jan 8th 2009 6:28PM]

Anyone notice that the acronym of Sirius Everything & XM Everything is.. SEXME? :) Subtle markettng ploy or flat-out "oops"?

[ryaninc @ Jan 8th 2009 11:54AM]

Dang! So, the service gets worse as the devices get more expensive. Unbelievable, and yet this is what everyone feared would happen. Who in their right mind would pay $20 a month for this?

I was a long time XM subscriber, but I canceled after the merge. Too many axed stations and sound quality dropped, too. I have since switched to a Slacker portable and couldn't be happier.

I miss the good days of XM.

[TVGenius @ Jan 8th 2009 12:13PM]

Exactly. I had XM from the week after they launched, and canceled last week because the five channels I listened to the most were all removed or destroyed in the surprise channel merging in November.

Slacker FTW... waiting to see what they have at CES... hint hint Engadget...

[midiwall @ Jan 8th 2009 12:58PM]

Ditto and Ditto...

I've been a subscriber for 6 years, I have four receivers, I found Slacker about a month ago and am right on the edge of wiping XM off of my credit card bill.

It was a GREAT service 6 years ago, but the quality (of XM _and_ Sirius) has plummeted as they turn up the compression and turn down the bitrate to pack more channels into the radio space.

[Unknown @ Jan 8th 2009 12:11PM]

XM rocked. Sirius sucks and the merged company is Sirius. Too much focus on "Branded Content" and not enough focus on good music and lots of it.

[art @ Jan 8th 2009 12:29PM]

I think Sirius rocks more than ever, what are you guy whining about? Can I get live NFL on Slacker? Howard? Or live ANYTHING? If you only listen to music you were stupid to ever pay for satellite radio. Sirius is all about CONTENT!!

[CaptCaveman @ Jan 8th 2009 5:31PM]

I've had both. I'm currently with Sirius. They both had their good and bad points. I remember talking to a lady in Best Buy that was buying a XM receiver at the same time I was. She asked me what the difference was. I told her that, in my opinion, XM had better comedy, better new age music, and not a lot of interruptions from DJ's between songs. Sirius had better talk radio, more of a terrestrial radio feel to the music stations and better alternative music.
It all just depended on what your tastes were. But both were better then terrestrial radio, especially out here in Iowa.

[strider_mt2k @ Jan 8th 2009 12:40PM]

Anyone else notice the content slip slightly into the mundane when the merge happened?

It's probably just me.

[MR.HATE @ Jan 8th 2009 12:45PM]

Satellite radio IS going to die. Why, because i can get unlimited internet access on my phone which can play tens of thousands of shoutcast streams or any internet radio for that matter, at that while going going 40 to 60 mph on road.
why on earth would i pay $20+ a month for a couple of stations.

The death of satellite radio will come with the standard arrival of internet in the car, its as simple as that.

[Dan @ Jan 8th 2009 5:17PM]

Nothing against internet radio on phones, since I use it as well.
But!
Satellite radio does have a few advantages over phone streaming.

1.The radio is a dedicated unit with dedicated controls to switching channels. Depending upon your phone setup, swapping between radio streaming functions, phone calls, etc, might be an added hassle.
2.Satellite coverage is mostly everywhere. For internet radio streaming, you'll need a stable data connection to the carrier's network.
This might be a non-issue for some people, but I know I hit a few spots on back-roads where 3G coverage isn't as full. Main roads and cities wouldn't have to worry about this though.
3.Data connection fees are more than Sirius. Paying for a data connection SOLELY to use internet radio will run much much more than paying a Sirius bill. (You can get the A La Carte for as low as $7/month, which still includes 50 channels).

When internet hits mainstream cars at an affordable and you're able to utilize for any function you see fit to, you will probably be right about internet radio really taking over. I agree with you on that.

I occasionally use my phone for internet radio streaming, but I'd say having a Sirius unit would be a bit more convenient. This is especially true for me since if I receive a text message, my data connection switches over to 1x (I'm on CDMA. GSM doesn't have to do this right? I know you can make a call and use the data connection) which can potentially interrupt the stream if the buffer isn't enough.

Just my input on the matter...

[Art @ Jan 8th 2009 10:46PM]

Yeah, because we're all going to love to have our radios "drop songs" just like our cell phones. Lets not forget one of the best parts of satellite radio is you get reception everywhere.

[Co1e @ Jan 8th 2009 12:55PM]

I'm a Sirius guy. I have had both and dont see what all the fuss is about. However, i didnt lose my fav channel (LOC). The DJs can be a little annoying depending on who it is but not all channels have them. I am glad to have them during the Blog radio show though b/c they are good about giving tour dates, album news, etc. I dont know how well the are doing financially, but I do know I wont ever go back to normal radio.

[stryker412 @ Jan 8th 2009 1:08PM]

thanks for the tip about Slacker. I've never heard of it before and I'm sick of my XM.

[ryaninc @ Jan 8th 2009 1:51PM]

Definitely give Slacker a try. You won't regret it. Unless you like any of the sports or live stuff on XM, you'll be much happier with Slacker. :-)

[Rory @ Jan 8th 2009 1:09PM]

Can someone please explain to me why a radio needs a color screen?!

[The Fuzz 53 @ Jan 8th 2009 1:17PM]

Use a Sirius Starmate receiver for 3 years and then move up to a Sportster 5 and then tell me a color screen is useless.

[qwho @ Jan 8th 2009 1:14PM]

This is a delphi xpressRC in different clothes... Actually, it really doesn't look much different. Judging by the picture it has the same screen resolution, same exact menu interface, with the three other channels visible, and the capabilities listed are the same... with the 60 minutes of content, etc. I bet that the hardware is fundamentally the same but with different software to allow some sort of switching between xm and sirius. Save your money people, get the xpressrc and the everything plan and you basically already have this.

[Philip @ Jan 8th 2009 1:36PM]

This is incredibly useless to me since most of the channels have merged now anyway.

[BeanieRobert2001 @ Jan 8th 2009 2:04PM]

Yea, I dont get this. What is the point of this if both services have identical channel guides?

[Arthur @ Jan 8th 2009 3:52PM]

Babba Booye, Babba Booye.

Siruis, I will give $5.00 a month for Haward Stern and you can keep your crappy music stations or I will give you nothing and just DL Howards show....

[Zach @ Jan 8th 2009 8:55PM]

Too bad I canceled my XM subscription today. Finally got a Slacker portable and it's a dream come true. The only thing I was looking forward to in the merger was getting Sirius' NPR station, only to find that it royally sucked. Now I use Slacker for all of my music, and KERA 90.1 in Dallas for my NPR needs. I'll miss O&A, but I have plenty of my favorite edgy podcasts to catch up on.

[shauna.soto @ Jan 12th 2009 8:44AM]

Hey Zach, i got a question for ya. With Slacker do you still like it and does it have any car support like an FM modulator ? i have no 3.5mm audio input built in my car and cant find any information on car use. Thanks!

[Dewey @ Jan 11th 2009 5:59PM]

Sirius customers get screwed. Looks like the XM customers get Howard and NFL coverage through the best of Sirius package. But a Sirius customer cant get Major League Baseball coverage through the best of XM. The XM customers truly do get the best of both and the Sirius customers are left in the dark. They should be giving us this new receiver for free since we were promised that everything would be compatible with existing hardware. I don't think I would mind paying the 20 bucks a month since the content would be greatly increased but it pisses me off that I have to pay for a new receiver. At least throw in a coupon or something I mean come on guys!

[steve preston @ Jan 14th 2009 11:07PM]

I like the content,but the sound quality of sat radio is much worse than FM. Sounds like the reprocessed and multi-converted Napster downloads from about ten years ago. Awful.