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April 5, 2008 Back in the day there was only radio, and then TV came along and pissed the radio folks off. TV continued to get better, adding color and more channels featuring more crappy shows, and eventually cable with hundreds of crappy channels for the low low price of an ever increasing fee. Then came satellite TV which offered crappy shows with crappy reception, but also with a crappy fee. Radio progressed slowly, only growing from just AM to FM as well. And then came satellite radio. A fee fueled, completely different alternative to regular "terrestrial" radio. A big jump for radio, and one that was most definitely needed for that media outlet. Satellite radio offers commercial free because consumers have to pay to listen to it. Satellite and cable TV still have commercials, and you still have to pay for them. I'm not sure how that makes sense, but I'm guessing it's not supposed to. So because TV doesn't make sense, we'll just stick with radio. Recently radio progressed a little further by taking a proverbial step back by offering HD radio. This gives each terrestrial radio station the option to have another station broadcasting from it, and it's in "Hi-Def", which effectively means you don't hear pops and fuzz while listening. Yes, it took radio this long to finally do that. Now that it's out, HD radio has picked an enemy to promote against; satellite radio. Satellite didn't do anything to HD, but HD wanted to be a prick and start a fight. Now, as you're driving down the road listening to your terrestrial radio, you'll hear commercials played for HD radio, saying how it's so much better than regular radio because you get all of these "new" stations and how it's so much better than satellite radio because it's free. All you have to buy is a receiver. This pisses me off. For one, you get perks for buying into the satellite radio side of life. The only thing you get for going hi-def is static free radio, which if you think about it is the natural progression of radio anyway. Some car makers are now putting HD radios in their cars standard, which is nice of them considering in a few years it'll be a standard for all anyway. But some decided to market it, like Ford and BMW. It's gotten to the point that I vomit a little each time these commercials come on the radio. I never considered Saturn when purchasing a new car, but ever since they put out a commercial saying "we don't rely on radio's to sell our cars, we rely on our cars to sell themselves" which basically says "fuck you" to Ford and BMW, now I might only buy Saturn. After all of the humdrum, I've finally had enough and decided to show you the upsides and downsides of both radio outlets compared to regular terrestrial radio, and let you decide for yourself. Here's my objective list.
Some people will bitch that radio shouldn't have to be paid for each month, and sure they might have a point, but those same people probably still have black and white TV's in their house, only pick up 5 local channels and have no idea what HGTV is. The fact of the matter is, people bitched when cable TV came out and now almost nobody bitches about paying for TV. The same will happen with radio. It's the evolution of things. And quite honestly $13 a month isn't too much to ask. Those people that complain also don't mention how you can get Satellite for free each month. Sure you have to pay a one time fee, but if you do, you never have to pay again. Regardless of what you want to do with your radio, make sure you check out all options first. Don't turn away Satellite without checking it out first. You might actually like the content. And the receivers work with any radio. You don't have to get rid of your terrestrial radio, as some still think. So with all of this laid out, what's my final verdict? The radio you should listen to is: Beefy Radio I hate not being able to get Beefy Radio in my car. |
