Kar don

I have factory installed Sirius, anyway to convert this to XM? I know they merged but you will still only be able to get the Sirius stations... you need the new external reciever to get stations from both networks.

Saks_C350_Sport

I'm with ya on this one....... I have XM in other cars and HATE Sirius. My free six months just ended and it killed me to pay Sirius for the next year.

hans007

yeah, i would also like to get XM in the C class when I get one. I'll probably just get one with no satelite at all

chilledbenz

According to Sirius you won't need a new radio to get the XM stations. They are just going to piggyback the XM signal on their bandwith they already own (in other wards playing XM stations on Sirius stations not currently being used). I'm not sure if the whole spectrum of stations will be offered or just the most popular ones though, they haven't been completely clear as to what they are going to offer and for how much yet. The only way you will need a new radio is if you want to ala carte the XM channels...or so thats their story at the moment, could be hype they spread so they could get the merger passed.

hans007

thats not actually true.


if you currently have a sirius radio, or an older style one, what they are doing is taking "the best of XM" and putting it on unused sirius channels.

satelite radio is very limited bandwidth, so they do not have "unused channels" really they just compress other stations . I am an XM user right now and for XM we are getting something called "best of sirius" whihc is probably stern and some other garbage.

First off its supposed to be 8 stations from sirius. apparently they also plan to share content on other stationgs. unfortunately the "best of packs" cost $4 a month. also they are getting rid of some current stations so that they will have bandwidth for it.

eventually there will be combo radios, and a la carte radios but the w204 ones are not these yet. also I dont think they intend to ever give everyone the combined XM + sirius stations for the same price you get one service now (and they might just eventually phase out one type alltogether to cut down on expensive satelites).

I honestly think that for current subscribers this merger is going to give them worse choice, since you have to pay $4 a month for the "best of" stations from the other service and it will cause some of your current stations to go away (most noteably "the system" on xm and some others).

I mean they probably would have gone out of business otherwise, but if you get sirius on the w204 and want xm stations you are going to be paying $4 a month more for "best of stations" that XM will pick for you, so its likely they will be the most mainstream ones (and be crap like baseball, which is an XM exclusive right now).

Kar don

are you serious???? They are getting rid of The system? That is the only reason I wanted to switch to XM! STUPID XM. The system DESTROYS Area 38 on Sirius... I mean totally destroys. Area 38 is absolutely horrible. The Beat 36 vs XM BPM... probably still would rather have BPM but its a toss up for that.

They already got rid of XM80 "the move" which I really enjoyed as well. Sat Radio is really pissing me off, I got Sirius 3 years ago but should have gotten XM from the get go.

hans007

yeah

they are killing the system. i actually emailed in to the programming VP or something and they even responded that they would take into consideration that theres an audience for this unique genre of music and hope to bring it back. i suppose in the new managements eyes they want to appeal to as mainstream an audience as possible so having say 4 country stations or stern or whatever is what is going to help them not lose money. no more above and beyond , or a state of trance ...sigh.

i mean thats what makes no sense about xm. you can get country, pop, hip hop that on regular radio. my primary reason for getting XM was bpm and the system (even though i do listen to hip hop). its these "satelite only" stations that make it worthwhile. and yeah i agree area 38 sucks. a coworker has it with sirius lifetime in his GTI, but unless you are really a howard stern or football fan sirius is not that great music wise. their playlists just dont have as much variety and it seems like some of their djs are just random interns or something.

so yeah they are killing the system. some of the djs have even said so on the air and its not in their future programming guide. not having XM was actually one of the "cons" of considering a benz or bimmer for me, but now that the merger is going to ruin it i don't really care anymore.

Ron Jr

I had XM in my previous car and got rid of it about 2 years ago after I put the Drive N Play in. The main reason I left is they got rid of the prog rock station they had (don't remember the name). Also I was sick of hearing the same songs over and over on the classic rock and new music stations. Not the Sirius is better when it comes to replaying the same songs but at least it isn't as bad. I wish they offered an Ala carte selection as I really only listen to 4 maybe 5 stations.

Kar don

Hans, can you PM the email address you sent your message to? This really pisses me off. I rent cars all the time with XM and LOVE listening to XM82. I totally agree that the only reason I got sat radio was because of electronica music and its lack of availability on regular radio. This totally pisses me off.

Above and beyond, Armin, Store n forward... all awesome. Area 38 is only good when they play Vonyc sessions, sometimes oakenfold is ok, and markus schulz. Otherwise the regular Area38 is awful. XM82 the system is a huge step up from Sirius and I think they should just replace Area 38 with The system.

hans007

The good thing is that they will be doing a la carte with the newer radios.

Maybe mercedes will put it into their 2010 models hopefully. I think the plan is you pay $6.99 for 50 stations (of either xm or sirius) and you go on the internet and choose the 50 you want.

50 is a lot of stations, but 6.99 is a good 45% less than XM normally costs per month so it sounds like thats will be an interesting deal for people who only listen to music.

Kar don

This is the response I got.
"I understand your passion for trance music and there are no plans to drop the format from the network when the merged line-up is announced. Thanks for being an XM subscriber."

Back to converting, anyway for me to get XM in my mercedes?

2bShawn

Hans...I too am interested in getting the email so I can voice my opinion to the powers that be and let them know XM has much better electronica programing...thxs!

hans007

Interim EVP Programming
XM Satellite Radio
1500 Eckington Place NE
Washington, DC 20002
(202) 380-4040 (office)
(202) 380-4444 (fax)
(202) 253-3478 (cell)

Jon.Zellner@xmradio.com