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Car Forum / BMW Cars / September 2008Sat Radio
Can someone please tell me which 05, 06 & 07 3 series cars have stereos that are either Sirius or XM ready ?? And by reay, I mean just set up the account with the provider. (I am hoping all of the H-K sets are) Thanks >Can someone please tell me which 05, 06 & 07 3 series cars have stereos that >are either Sirius or XM ready ?? And by reay, I mean just set up the >account with the provider. (I am hoping all of the H-K sets are) > >Thanks Are you talking SAT or simply DIGITAL RADIO (DAB)? At the moment you can order digital radio from the factory at a small extra cost but in the UK (at least) coverage is Ok but not great. My 730d has SAT or rather Digital TV fitted and reception is total crap. I have 2 x digital DAB radios at home and one has good reception all the time - 20' above ground (fist floor) the other is on the ground floor and DAB only works during daylight hours? Weird! Now in a car that's moving I still feel that currently FM (VHF) is great for city/surrounding areas and old fashioned AM (MW/LW) is better if a million miles from nowhere. DAB if earth based is OK but satellite reception ?????? Sir Hugh of Bognor  SignatureI used to be an Egotistical Meglomaniac - but now I'm just perfect! Hugh Gundersen hsg@h-gee.co.uk Bognor Regis, W.Sussex, England, UK >>Can someone please tell me which 05, 06 & 07 3 series cars have stereos >>that [quoted text clipped - 24 lines] > miles > from nowhere. DAB if earth based is OK but satellite reception ?????? Satellite radio works anyplace there is sky overhead. In theory -- probalby in practice too, but I have no actual experience -- one can drive from sea to shining sea and listen to the same satellite station the entire trip. I'm sure that there is a sky in Europe, but again I have no actual experience. The OP is asking about XM or Sirius Radio. These are satellite services. No automaker that I'm aware of offers a radio that gets both systems, but many offer a radio that gets one or the other. For example GM offers XM service whereas Ford offers Sirius. Toyota also has XM Ready radios, but to my knowledge the radio headunit simply controls the interface to the receiver, the receiver is not in the car unless one buys the option. It appears to me that the OP thinks the receiver is already in some BMW cars, but I'm not sure this is the case. If the receiver is in the car, then the small puck mounted just above the rear window is the antenna for the system. >>>Can someone please tell me which 05, 06 & 07 3 series cars have stereos >>>that [quoted text clipped - 26 lines] > >Satellite radio works anyplace there is sky overhead. Allegedly ---------- ever used sat phones? >In theory -- probalby in practice too, but I have no actual experience -- >one can drive from sea to shining sea and listen to the same satellite >station the entire trip. I'm sure that there is a sky in Europe, but again I >have no actual experience. Not since the beginning of the alleged "summer" >The OP is asking about XM or Sirius Radio. These are satellite services. No >automaker that I'm aware of offers a radio that gets both systems, but many [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] >the small puck mounted just above the rear window is the antenna for the >system. Man we are so far behind here in Euroland - Sky? SAT radio? We have enough problem getting gas (both petrol and for cooking/heating) at a sensible price and food? - we don't eat decent food here...........! SignatureSir Hugh of Bognor The difference between men and boys is the price of their toys. Intelligence is not knowing the answer but knowing where and how to find it! Hugh Gundersen hsg@h-gee.co.uk Bognor Regis, W.Sussex, England, UK > <hsg@h-gee.co.uk> wrote >>>Can someone please tell me which 05, 06 & 07 3 series cars have stereos [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > > Satellite radio works anyplace there is sky overhead. Sirius and XM are North American only. The Sirius satellites are not geo-synchronous, while XM are. > In theory -- probalby in practice too, but I have no actual experience -- > one can drive from sea to shining sea and listen to the same satellite [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > then the small puck mounted just above the rear window is the antenna for > the system. Some radios are plug-and-play; you just need to buy the receiver and connect it to the in-dash AM-FM. This is not the case with BMW, which uses in-dash integrated units. FloydR Except that I am sure I read that the two are merging. Maybe the 'system' will arrive in Europe then. DAB (digital audio broadcasting) radio may not progress much further and will probably be overtaken by internet radio (though that's not helpful to motorists). BTW, just ignore hsg (Hugh) of Bognor. We have good food in England now (thanks to French chefs). Maybe he can't cook/lives with someone who can't cook/there's no decent food in his small town... ;-) http://www.viamichelin.co.uk/viamichelin/gbr/dyn/controller/Tourisme There is only one pub with notable food and that's 12 km from Bognor and the one Michelin-starred establishment is 20 km away. DAS To send an e-mail directly replace "spam" with "schmetterling" --- [...] > The OP is asking about XM or Sirius Radio. These are satellite services. > No automaker that I'm aware of offers a radio that gets both systems, but > many offer a radio that gets one or the other. For example GM offers XM > service whereas Ford offers Sirius. Toyota also has XM Ready radios, but > to my knowledge the radio headunit simply controls the interface to the > receiver, the receiver is not in the car unless one buys the option. [...] >Except that I am sure I read that the two are merging. Maybe the 'system' >will arrive in Europe then. DAB (digital audio broadcasting) radio may not >progress much further and will probably be overtaken by internet radio >(though that's not helpful to motorists). Yes, the two satellite providers in the US are merging, but there are other satellite radio providers in other parts of the world. For the most part the audio quality of the satellite radio systems IS pretty awful, because they compress the crap out of everything (lossy digital compression, I mean, not dynamic range compression). People want more channels, not better-sounding channels, so that's what they get. I am sorry to hear DAB isn't doing well... sadly we didn't get DAB in the US because the available L-band frequencies were taken by the military who didn't want to give them up. Instead we got an in-band digital format that is called Ibiquity IBOC and sold as "HD Radio." It works but it's not very elegant and range is not as good as with the European standard. >BTW, just ignore hsg (Hugh) of Bognor. We have good food in England now >(thanks to French chefs). Maybe he can't cook/lives with someone who can't >cook/there's no decent food in his small town... ;-) There has been good food in England for years. Why, you can get a good vindaloo... and lamb dansak... and tikka masala.... and all kinds of great traditional English foods like that. --scott Signature"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis." I understand that in Europe there is no service provider like Sirius/XM. DAB has a number of tech difficulties with reception. I have not tried in a car but I bought a portable receiver for home. Could not get reception of more than a handful of obscure stations (and none of the BBC Radio stations I listen to frequently) and then with difficulty. The area I live in has some reception problems even with regular terrestial TV (though in central London I am in a slight dip) but I might have been able to improve reception with a rooftop antenna, as for TV. However, that would negate the advantages of a portable. Gave the radio back to the shop. I subsequently read that even the Beeb -- which spent millions on the project -- might throw in the towel at some stage. Receiver take-up is not high despite falling prices and with the rise of cheap wireless internet connections dedicated internet radios are becoming widely available. Why would I bother to switch away from good-quality FM to flaky, hissing DAB? To overcome the problem of large-area coverage for FM (e.g. for national radio stations) while driving (changing frequencies) car radios have been programmed for years to latch onto the strongest local signal for a particular station. Works in large chunks (if not all) of (at least western) Europe. I tried the XM service when I last hired a car in the US in Dec 06. Once I got the hang of the basics I thought it was quite good for the purpose. In general, when listening to the radio, I like stations offering general-purpose news, comment and entertainment -- such as BBC Radio 4, BBC World Service, Deutsche Welle or similar regional programming -- rather than dedicated niche-music stations, and we already pay for that via a Licence Fee in a number of countries. (Well, in Britain the separate radio fee was abolished may years ago.) DAS To send an e-mail directly replace "spam" with "schmetterling" --- >>Except that I am sure I read that the two are merging. Maybe the 'system' >>will arrive in Europe then. DAB (digital audio broadcasting) radio may [quoted text clipped - 27 lines] > traditional English foods like that. > --scott >Except that I am sure I read that the two are merging. Maybe the 'system' >will arrive in Europe then. DAB (digital audio broadcasting) radio may not [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] >(thanks to French chefs). Maybe he can't cook/lives with someone who can't >cook/there's no decent food in his small town... ;-) We only have good food in England now because Tesco import 90% from everywhere else in the world. Strawberries at Christmas? French Chefs ????? Doubt it! >http://www.viamichelin.co.uk/viamichelin/gbr/dyn/controller/Tourisme > >There is only one pub with notable food and that's 12 km from Bognor and the >one Michelin-starred establishment is 20 km away. Pray tell me where this "PUB" is as it's only 7 miles away --------- I thought I'd tried all the pubs around here and only one is sociable enough to stay for longer than 1/2 hour and 2 are Ok for a meal occasionally. A friend of mine owns the Swan at Fittleworth - nice food but so expensive! Hugh >DAS > [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] >> receiver, the receiver is not in the car unless one buys the option. >[...] SignatureSir Hugh of Bognor The difference between men and boys is the price of their toys. Intelligence is not knowing the answer but knowing where and how to find it! Hugh Gundersen hsg@h-gee.co.uk Bognor Regis, W.Sussex, England, UK To wit: Roux Bros and others. They set the tone, and now many British chefs have achieved international acclaim. Of course food critics such as Egon Ronay (not French) have helped. Even the food at motorway service stations is passable, something that could not safely be said maybe 20 - 30 years ago. The pub is the Royal Oak Inn, Chichester. Sorry, I did not check what the link opens. I thought it went straight to the local restaurant selection. At left hit "restaurants" the enter location, i.e. UK and Bognor Regis. DAS To send an e-mail directly replace "spam" with "schmetterling" --- > On Wed, 10 Sep 2008 00:16:12 +0100, "Dori A Schmetterling" > <nobody@spam.co.uk> > wrote: [...] > French Chefs ????? Doubt it! > [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] >> >>DAS [...] >To wit: Roux Bros and others. They set the tone, and now many British chefs >have achieved international acclaim. Of course food critics such as Egon [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > >The pub is the Royal Oak Inn, Chichester. Not exactly Chichester more Lavant/Goodwood. This area is rather like a "stockbroker" belt of £££££££££ although Lavant itself is/was more a place for farm workers and has a good many "Council" houses and the cheaper range of Wimpy type homes. The town was initiated for workers on the Goodwood estate (Lord March the present encumbrant) Will try it next time we go "out". Hugh >Sorry, I did not check what the link opens. I thought it went straight to >the local restaurant selection. [quoted text clipped - 31 lines] >>>DAS >[...] SignatureSir Hugh of Bognor The difference between men and boys is the price of their toys. Intelligence is not knowing the answer but knowing where and how to find it! Hugh Gundersen hsg@h-gee.co.uk Bognor Regis, W.Sussex, England, UK >Satellite radio works anyplace there is sky overhead. Presuming there are not trees between you and that sky. On my drive to work, I drive along a highway through a wooded area. The trees on the side of the road reach out over the road. XM radio stops working on that road. >Now in a car that's moving I still feel that currently FM (VHF) is great for >city/surrounding areas and old fashioned AM (MW/LW) is better if a million miles >from nowhere. DAB if earth based is OK but satellite reception ?????? Don't you guys have L-band digital broadcasting out there? Eureka-147 or some such thing? --scott Signature"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis." > Can someone please tell me which 05, 06 & 07 3 series cars have stereos > that are either Sirius or XM ready ?? And by reay, I mean just set up the > account with the provider. (I am hoping all of the H-K sets are) Sirius is an option in all BMWs in the US. It comes with a one-year subscription. But if it wasn't ordered in the car it won't be there. My son's (the 3rd owner, believe it or not) 335i Coupe has it, as the dealer apparently ordered it that way. Reception is good, quality is so-so to poor. FloydR >> Can someone please tell me which 05, 06 & 07 3 series cars have stereos >> that are either Sirius or XM ready ?? And by reay, I mean just set up [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > as the dealer apparently ordered it that way. Reception is good, > quality is so-so to poor. Poor?! Really? I had an XM Roady ($79 basic unit) that I thought gave very good quality. The limitation is that it doesn't work while stopped under an overpass, but out on the road it worked very well. I think I might have lost the signal once when I was driving near the Grand Canyon, and the trees blocked the signal. But, otherwise it worked really good. I live on the fringe of two radio markets, and when I drive a mile or so north or south, I loose reception to the FM station I am tuned to, depending on which one I've dialed in. I like the XM because it allowed me to select the station I wanted, and I could listen to it anywhere I went. > "Floyd Rogers" <fbloogyuds@hotmail.com> wrote >>> Can someone please tell me which 05, 06 & 07 3 series cars have stereos [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > lost the signal once when I was driving near the Grand Canyon, and the > trees blocked the signal. But, otherwise it worked really good. Well, the SELECTION is good, but the QUALITY in terms of frequency response is, as I said, so-so to poor. Sirius and XM are nice and clean, especially when compared to FM, but their freq response is no better than MP3, which is always less than CD quality. In addition, since Sirius (or is it XM?) compresses all their channels within a fixed bandwidth, some of the channels - particularly the voice ones - have substantially less quality than the primary music channels to which greater bandwidth is assigned. FloydR than |
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