Thank you for sharing your experience. Very helpful!
Originally Posted by
jo-and-jeff
The wonderful subcontractor who came to install our SKY told me that they deal all the time with very unhappy customers who bought an extremely expensive TV from Harvey Norman, Noel Leeming, or Bond & Bond and think that there is something wrong with their SKY connection because the picture isn't nearly as good on the same TV in their home. This is because the big electronic stores have the SKY on their demo models run through a big amplifier to improve the picture, so be aware that what you get at home will likely not look as good as what you see on your TV in the store before you buy it.
That doesn't make any sense to me. The signal arriving at your home is identical to the one arriving at the store, so the picture on the same TV should not look any different when you get the TV home. Perhaps the dealer is using picture sharpening circuitry? (One can do the same at home.) Or running very-high-contrast settings in a bright retail environment. Hmm.
I too am hooked on XM and will not give it up without grumbling. They do offer an online access package, which includes many of the same low-or-no-commercial channels and some additional ones. XM radio users get this service free w/ their service, or you can have just the online bits for US$8/mo:
http://xmro.xmradio.com/xstream/channel_lineup.jsp
(I adore Channel 300, which gives me reason to live
) It's not portable and assumes broadband internet access, but it's an option....