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Thread: How does XM work ??

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    RIP 2021 SEAWOLF97's Avatar
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    Thumbs down How does XM work ??

    So all the various XM receivers have a unique ID. when you buy one, you have to activate it to get the service.

    So question ??

    How does it get authenticated when you use it ?? Can the receiver transmit also ? Does XM just stream out all the activated ID's all the time ? How does this thing work ? Idle mind wants to know..
    Some kind of happiness is measured out in miles

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    Moderator hjames's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by SEAWOLF97 View Post
    So all the various XM receivers have a unique ID. when you buy one, you have to activate it to get the service.

    So question ??

    How does it get authenticated when you use it ?? Can the receiver transmit also ? Does XM just stream out all the activated ID's all the time ? How does this thing work ? Idle mind wants to know..
    My guess is that its got a uniqueID - when you first register your account you tie specific receivers to that account. The XM signal is sent via satellite to all dedicated hardware and requires some kind of handshake to enable a decoder chip that decodes the (no doubt) encrypted streams.
    If its like all the payTV and similar systems I ever worked in, there is a
    constant stream of receiver chip IDs being sent along with some kind of authorization code (auth-code) that relates to your level of service.
    There is probably a timeout window so it must get an update every so often (daily? hourly?), so you can't just get it turned on, refuse to pay, and filter out the auth-codes stream to keep it "live".

    The real trick is to put all these functions on a single integrated chip so you can't break out any of the busses and dink with them.
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    Senior Member Fred Sanford's Avatar
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    Yep, a client gave me an old receiver & changed his service over to the new one, I left it in the box for weeks, and when I fired it up it worked for about a day and a half until it started playing only "how to subscribe to XM" messages on every channel.

    je

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    how does XM work

    You buy an XM receiver that can't play XM music until you pay more money. Then you pay a fee to get it to work and for the ability to listen to music on it for a month. Then next month you pay again. Then the month after that you pay some more. Then the next month you pay more money. After that, you pay again the next month. In the following month you pay again. Once that month is over, you pay again. In month eight, you pay again. Pay some more in the month after that. Then pay the full amount in the month following. Provide XM with another payment in the subsequent month. Finally, in the twelfth month, pay one last payment.

    Now you are ready to start the new year with the opportunity to pay it all over again. If you don't, you have an XM receiver that can't play music.

    That's how XM works.

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    Dis Member mikebake's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Titanium Dome View Post
    You buy an XM receiver that can't play XM music until you pay more money. Then you pay a fee to get it to work and for the ability to listen to music on it for a month. Then next month you pay again. Then the month after that you pay some more. Then the next month you pay more money. After that, you pay again the next month. In the following month you pay again. Once that month is over, you pay again. In month eight, you pay again. Pay some more in the month after that. Then pay the full amount in the month following. Provide XM with another payment in the subsequent month. Finally, in the twelfth month, pay one last payment.

    Now you are ready to start the new year with the opportunity to pay it all over again. If you don't, you have an XM receiver that can't play music.

    That's how XM works.
    That's what I was going to say................
    My on-the-road sales buddy loves it.....................I'd think if you were a trucker or anyone 30K plus on the road, it'd be worth it.

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    RIP 2021 SEAWOLF97's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by hjames View Post
    My guess is that its got a uniqueID - when you first register your account you tie specific receivers to that account. The XM signal is sent via satellite to all dedicated hardware and requires some kind of handshake to enable a decoder chip that decodes the (no doubt) encrypted streams.
    If its like all the payTV and similar systems I ever worked in, there is a
    constant stream of receiver chip IDs being sent along with some kind of authorization code (auth-code) that relates to your level of service.
    There is probably a timeout window so it must get an update every so often (daily? hourly?), .
    thanx Heather..thats what I was looking for.

    Quote Originally Posted by Titanium Dome View Post
    Now you are ready to start the new year with the opportunity to pay it all over again. If you don't, you have an XM receiver that can't play music.
    pretty much describes any subscription service....at $12.95/mo. XM is a great alternative to FM ...and not just for truckers, lots of original programming.
    Some kind of happiness is measured out in miles

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    Senior Seņor boputnam's Avatar
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    Thumbs up

    Quote Originally Posted by Titanium Dome View Post
    You buy an XM receiver that can't play XM music until you pay more money. Then you pay a fee to get it to work and for the ability to listen to music on it for a month. Then next month you pay again. Then the month after that you pay some more. Then the next month you pay more money. After that, you pay again the next month. In the following month you pay again. Once that month is over, you pay again. In month eight, you pay again. Pay some more in the month after that. Then pay the full amount in the month following. Provide XM with another payment in the subsequent month. Finally, in the twelfth month, pay one last payment.
    That is a really cheap assessment. Total crap.

    You speak nothing about content. You speak nothing about the lack of commercially-driven programming - that operating costs must come from subscriber fees since there is no advertising. You only address cost to the consumer, and give no acknowledgement to the commercial-free access provided to music. Come on, Doug. That is not fair. I guess you feel the same about support for local symphonies, rock shows, opera, etc.? You would rather not pay for content and have it decided by the advertisers.

    Yeah, the hardware has a cost. Done. And, like cable or satellite or whatever, if you yourself don't own the programming, you need to rent access. That is how it works. Don't be so naīve.

    You really lost me on this one, Doug.

    Quote Originally Posted by SEAWOLF97 View Post
    XM is a great alternative to FM ...and not just for truckers, lots of original programming.
    Agreed.

    I live with constant music - many of us do. I loath FM and their playlists and advertising. I am too busy to swap CD's, and ever so hungry for new talent. I want to be shown stuff - things I am not aware of in Americana, Jazz, Classical, and even their talk radio choices. To the credit of satellite radio, my CD budget has increased. That is good for artists, good for the industry and good for us - artists will continue to strive for this as a career.

    XM (and Sirius too...) does a phenomenal job in providing a non-commercially-compromised outlet for new artists. If you decide the cost is too high (and the compression, too... ), too bad for you. Through satelite radio I have learned a very great deal about new artists, new bands, new venues, new genres - a learning that far exceeds what came to me from FM.

    I loath the compression, yet XM runs all-the-time at home through my 4345's, and I stream it at work (a part of their business model I proposed to management +3-yrs ago, and after being rebuffed is now a staple in their offerings... ). There simply is no alternative for real-time audio. The artists flock to these outlets and provide wonderful sessions of recording-session quality - live concerts of rare availability.

    Don't miss this on basis of cost alone - that is the wrong metric, IMO. Cancel some of your cable- or satellite-TV options and redirect the spending. You will not be sorry...
    bo

    "Indeed, not!!"

  8. #8
    Senior Member BMWCCA's Avatar
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    Sirius will soon own XM. Does it now make any difference to which one you give your money? I know with a new BMW you have no choice (Sirius). See the pros and cons here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XM/Sirius_merger

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    Quote Originally Posted by boputnam View Post
    That is a really cheap assessment. Total crap.

    You speak nothing about content. You speak nothing about the lack of commercially-driven programming - that operating costs must come from subscriber fees since there is no advertising. You only address cost to the consumer, and give no acknowledgement to the commercial-free access provided to music. Come on, Doug. That is not fair. I guess you feel the same about support for local symphonies, rock shows, opera, etc.? You would rather not pay for content and have it decided by the advertisers.

    Yeah, the hardware has a cost. Done. And, like cable or satellite or whatever, if you yourself don't own the programming, you need to rent access. That is how it works. Don't be so naīve.

    You really lost me on this one, Doug.

    Agreed.

    I live with constant music - many of us do. I loath FM and their playlists and advertising. I am too busy to swap CD's, and ever so hungry for new talent. I want to be shown stuff - things I am not aware of in Americana, Jazz, Classical, and even their talk radio choices. To the credit of satellite radio, my CD budget has increased. That is good for artists, good for the industry and good for us - artists will continue to strive for this as a career.

    XM (and Sirius too...) does a phenomenal job in providing a non-commercially-compromised outlet for new artists. If you decide the cost is too high (and the compression, too... ), too bad for you. Through satelite radio I have learned a very great deal about new artists, new bands, new venues, new genres - a learning that far exceeds what came to me from FM.

    I loath the compression, yet XM runs all-the-time at home through my 4345's, and I stream it at work (a part of their business model I proposed to management +3-yrs ago, and after being rebuffed is now a staple in their offerings... ). There simply is no alternative for real-time audio. The artists flock to these outlets and provide wonderful sessions of recording-session quality - live concerts of rare availability.

    Don't miss this on basis of cost alone - that is the wrong metric, IMO. Cancel some of your cable- or satellite-TV options and redirect the spending. You will not be sorry...
    Wow, somebody's funny bone is out of commission. Of course it was a cheap assessment. That was the whole idea. Sheesh, lighten up. Didn't mean to stab a sacred cow.

  10. #10
    Senior Seņor boputnam's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Titanium Dome View Post
    Of course it was a cheap assessment. That was the whole idea. Sheesh, lighten up. Didn't mean to stab a sacred cow.
    Dammit - I just went and cancelled my XM and got Direct TV instead...

  11. #11
    Moderator hjames's Avatar
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    Forget XM and DirecTV - How much is subscription for the sacred cow?


    Ummmmmmmm sacred cow ...



    yeah, whaddoIknow - we got the new HDtivo a few months back ...
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    Senior Member edgewound's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by boputnam View Post

    XM (and Sirius too...) does a phenomenal job in providing a non-commercially-compromised outlet for new artists. If you decide the cost is too high (and the compression, too... ), too bad for you. Through satelite radio I have learned a very great deal about new artists, new bands, new venues, new genres - a learning that far exceeds what came to me from FM.


    Don't miss this on basis of cost alone - that is the wrong metric, IMO. Cancel some of your cable- or satellite-TV options and redirect the spending. You will not be sorry...

    Nicely done, Bo.

    I have Sirius in my main car. The whole family loves it, and it has everything for everyone at some time or another. The content is seemingly endless, and when you're out of range of any radio station and when your CD collection or iPod is exausted...you will discover something new to your liking... be it talk, sports, news, music, traffic, weather. It's also portable.

    Pay for the whole year up front and get a month or two free.
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    Upland Loudspeaker Service, Upland, CA

  13. #13
    Senior Seņor boputnam's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Titanium Dome View Post
    ...I know Bo hates it when I agree with him...
    I don't think so.

    Quote Originally Posted by Titanium Dome View Post
    Of course it was a cheap assessment...


    See?

  14. #14
    Senior Seņor boputnam's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by hjames View Post
    Forget ... DirecTV...
    Er, I dunno.

    I'm new to it as of this weekend. Of course the picture is vastly improved, as expected, and now hundreds more channels with nothing on. But the thing I did not quite expect was the greatly improved audio. Wow. Much better separation and consistent and properly panned stereo. Compression is not audible, to me.


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    Don't forget the dozens of commercial-free audio channels you get with DirecTV, based on genre. And if your TV screen is on at the time, they list song name, artist, album, etc. 'Not sure what type of encoding they use or how compression compares with XM, but they sound pretty good to me.

    John

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