I just want to hear from some of you who have these products to see if they are worth getting. Being here in Knoxville, XM Radio is almost necessary if you want decent, national sports/talk programming but I’m a bit unwary about shelling out $450 for the first year (radio plus 1 years’ subscription) without some testimonials from honest-to-God users and not some PR shill.
Same thing with the other stuff. Is TiVo that cool? Is it past time that I join the digital cable/satellite dish ranks, and if so, which one? Sometimes I feel proud just to have 2 DVD players and DSL, but then I realize: I don’t even have a stereo. :o
So anyway, what do y’all use at home to watch all these movies and TV shows? What is your dream entertainment center? I’m sure among this crowd we have a few video/audiophiles… what are your hints?
I don’t own an XM radio, but I plan to purchase one shortly.
However, I can say TiVo is the greatest thing since sliced bread, especially if you work odd shifts like I do. In fact, it gets quite frustrating when you watch television without TiVo, because you have to time your bathroom, food, etc. breaks with commercials. Not to mention the fact that if you miss a piece of dialogue in a movie or show, you can rewind and play it again. Truly a great piece of technology.
XM is pretty badass. My buddy has it and he can get some really obscure meteal on there. Brujeria and stuff like that. Dunno about sports talk radio though.
I had Direct Tv and it sucked. Only because I couldnt get local channels on it on Colorado Springs. If you can get local on it, its better than Digital Cable. The picture is FAR better than Digital Cable IMHO.
TIVO , again, is only worth it if you can get local stations with your Digital Satellite. Other shows, cable shows, are repeated so many times that its hardly worth recording most of them.
Ask anyone that knows me, I’m a total evangelist for XM radio. Best entertainment accessory I’ve bought in years. I’ve had it for around 6 months now, and I’ve never regretted purchasing it, and anyone that rides with me ends up wanting one. Of course, I drive around 30k miles a year, so it seemed like a necessity.
I’m getting ready to get a Tivo. Adelphia powerlink is cable modem service, right? How is their bankruptcy affecting things?
Yeah, I have DirecTV with the same problem. However, if you live in a rural area, you can ask DirecTV to make a case for you with the local stations. (I.e., “I can’t recieve X station because I am too far away”) They did it for me, and I got all of the major networks.
I can get Comcast digital cable in my area, and they do carry all the local channels, though I would never watch them beyond the latest storm updates and Seinfeld reruns - do you really think anything of note happens here in Knoxville once college football is over? I don’t subscribe to premium channels, and I really don’t plan on starting when/if I get digital cable, so there is no need for that added expense.
I’m glad to see that y’all like you XM radio - I thought something was up when, in the past couple of months, there has been a fairly insistent ad campaign by some coalition of local broadcasters trying to convince me not to switch from local programming to national programming. I also think they’re taking a swipe at Clear Channel Communications (ClearChannel?), but it is obvious that XM radio is their target.
Adelphia Communications has filed for bankruptcy. It was a big deal with some of the customers I deal with, since they were using them for leased lines and such. I’m also aware of the @home bankruptcy, since I’m on comcast now. But Adelphia put in for bankruptcy around a month or so ago.
