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XM Finally Gets Universal

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7 Comments
by
Whir
, September 18th, 2007 at 05:24 PM (1104 Views)
I've been saying for a while now that the methods involved in connecting an XM tuner to most OEM audio head units and even aftermarket units is far too dumb. Various makers have had special units out, Pioneer and Eclipse are two that I've dealt with, but their solutions were typically costly. Enter Audiovox's universal programmable adapter.

The CNP2000UC is here to make our installing lives easier, as well as giving the aftermarket crowd a better option set. The unit is, all said and done, a USB programmable XM tuner. The programming is simply to allow the tuner's brain to communicate via the various manufacturers head units, OEM and aftermarket. The tuner unit requires the compatible cable for each brand of receiver.

So far on the list are Alpine, Clarion, Eclipse, Jensen, JVC, Kenwood, Panasonic and Sony. Also in small print is a mention to call Pioneer's sales to acquire the proper adapter for that, so an adapter should be available for the popular brand.

The unit should make XM a lot more attractive to a lot of people. While the Roady and SkyFi units are nice for their portability, many people don't want additional, and often easily stolen, equipment hanging off their dash. Considering the negligable additional cost of adding a second receiver to your subscription, I expect the popularity of the unit to be fairly high. Further costs to be mitigated if the XM/Sirius merger is successful, and the subscriber goes with the proposed a la carte plan, which will start at $6.99, a little over half what a present subscription costs.

Street price on the unit is $109.99, with the adapter cable at $19.99.

I may be my own first customer.
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Comments

  1. RobRich's Avatar
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    Not bad, though I would be more inclined to return to Sirius in the car since I already have XM at home via DirecTV.
  2. Whir's Avatar
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    Well, depending on what channels of Sirius you want, you may luck out if the companies merge. Although the slated number of channels to be mixed is "10 to 12 of the most popular," which probably means talk/sports.

    I wouldn't be surprised if someone comes out with something similar for Sirius in the future. Audiovox is usually pretty good for stuff like this, and they do Sirius stuff as well.
  3. RobRich's Avatar
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    A merger requires FCC regulatory approval according to agreements drafted back when satellite radio went public mainstream. I am not sure the companies can get the required votes to overturn those agreements.
  4. Whir's Avatar
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    Having just done a bunch of research on it, I can say that everyone is pretty confident that they will, in fact, get approval from the DOJ and the FCC. The FCC is waiting for the DOJ, but the companies have an ex-FCC chairman on their side presently, as well as random lobbyist groups.

    Rather, it seems the biggest challenge will be getting above the NAB's BS. They also have a few groups on their side, but lots of them are gonna see hightened competition if the merge goes through, so go figure.

    When you do the number crunching, XM hasn't even put a dent in terrestrial radio's listener base. Even with the merger, they wouldn't for a long time, IMO. There are still a lot of people that don't want to pay for radio, no matter how commercial free or tailor-made it is.
  5. RobRich's Avatar
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    AFAIK, Kevin Martin is not sold on the idea, citing the merger ban both companies agreed to back in 1997. Until his position budges or he leaves the FCC, regulatory problems will likely continue to loom for a XM/Sirius merger. The merger has been in rumors/talks since 2005. There is a chance we will still be discussing the issue in 2009.

    In theory HD Radio should be the terrestrial competitor for satellite radio IMO. Too bad the HD Radio industry has yet to mature, or perhaps even develop for that matter. It could be years before HD Radio moves beyond urban markets.
  6. Whir's Avatar
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    I don't know much about HD radio, I should probably look into it.

    XM feels that though it would be beneficial, the merger won't be necessary for them. Could just be averting negative impressions though.

    I'm not sure I'm willing to pay $13/mo for the one station I listen to. $7/mo I _may_ simply because of the novelty.
  7. RobRich's Avatar
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    HD Radio is starting to show up in Florida, though I do not yet have a compatible receiver.

    You can locate HD Radio stations here. As per the linked site:

    "There are 100 stations in Florida broadcasting 161 HD Radio channels, 12 more coming soon*"
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