Satellite and Digital Radio for the Car
In the past couple of years there has been a new technology rolled out in an otherwise old format. Both satellite and digital radio are or will be soon available to many areas of the country. Satellite radio is now completely rolled out while digital radio is just beginning to see nationwide rollouts. Both offer major improvements to radio broadcasts, both in quality and in selection. This chapter gives an overview of each.
Satellite Radio
Satellite radio is similar to satellite television. You sign up with a satellite radio provider, either XM or Sirius, and they broadcast a radio signal to you from their satellites. Like satellite television, you will need special equipment to receive this signal. The equipment is not cross-compatible. In other words, it is only designed to work with one provider or the other. So when you buy your equipment you will have to know ahead of time which provider you want to use. There are adapter kits that will allow you to add satellite radio to your current receiver through an FM modulator. Like all FM modulated sources, the music quality will only be as good as FM radio. You will be missing out on the CD quality provided by satellite radio. The price per month is currently $9.95 for XM and $12.95 for Sirius. Sirius is slightly higher because more of their stations are commercial free. If you're interested in satellite radio you should check out both providers and choose the one right for you. Satellite radio is available for both the car and home.
Digital Radio
Digital radio is a cousin to satellite radio. Like satellite radio, it's digital in nature. Unlike satellite radio, it is a land based system. The digital signal is carried on the same frequency band as a traditional radio station. In fact the programming on both the analog and digital band would be the same. This hybrid arrangement allows traditional radios to listen to the analog broadcast and digital radios to hear the digital broadcast. Digital radio is still in its infancy but will likely replace traditional radio in the future. Radio stations will need to make the investment in new digital transmission equipment and consumers will need to invest in new digital radio receivers. In addition to music, digital transmissions can also carry other data. Text displays can give listeners more information on their favorite song, CD title, and artist. Commercial and advertising information will also be delivered via this service. Breaking news, sports, weather, and traffic alerts can be sent in text or audio format. Currently the only provider of digital radio is iBiquity. Check out the full story at iBiquity.
Satellite Radio vs. Digital Radio
The main difference between the two are their markets. Satellite radio broadcasts cover the entire continental US while digital radio broadcasts only cover their local area, much like traditional radio. With satellite radio you can travel across the country and never change the station. However with digital radio you will be able to get local information on your radio receiver. They're not really competing systems other than they're both competing for your listening time. Expect them to coexist peacefully in the future.
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