XM Radio: Channels Online VS Channels In Your Car or Home

XM RadioI love my XM Satellite Radio, always have. I listen to it in my car, I listen to it online at work and at home. The days of commercial radio have long been gone for me. But there are a few oddities that I just don’t understand.

For instance, the channel options online are slightly different than the channel options on the device in your car or home. I actually first noticed it a year or two ago when me and wife were trying to listen to a hockey game. The channel couldn’t be found.

I noticed it again a few days ago. I had been listening to a station online and decided to tune it in on my drive home. The station couldn’t be found. They just straight up skipped the station and instead presented the next station after.

What’s up with that? You would think that this is satellite radio, all channels would be fed through the satellite. I’m guessing not all of them are though. Maybe some are streamed only online. If all stations were fed through satellites, why would you only pick up a station online and not in your vehicle or home? It just doesn’t make sense.

Another kind of odd, but totally explainable thing is that when you listen online, if there is no activity for 2 hours, the system automatically cuts your connection and you have to click the station again to restart the music playing. That only happens online. I totally understand the reasoning for it, but at the same time – it kind of gets annoying.

Still, I couldn’t imagine not having XM Radio. It’s obviously better than conventional radio, and personally I believe it is better than Sirius Satellite Radio as well. But that’s just my opinion.