FM Traffic Receiver versus XM Traffic

 

I just purchased a new car and am adding in-dash Navi. The problem is I can't decide which to add for traffic, I can use either one. Has anyone here used both types of receivers that can tell me why one is better than the other? I have a SP c550 and I have the FM receiver which I love. I love that I now have a lifetime subscription. Why would XM radio/traffic be better than the FM receiver? To me, it would have to be really, really better to make having to pay monthly for the service when I could have lifetime usage for one price. What is special about the XM Traffic service?

Deborah

FM v xm traffic

I agree with you. the purpose is traffic and FM works pretty wel. I listen to xm traffic sometimes and compare to fm not much differance. sometimes one reports before the other. i live in houston and we have real time traffice sensors in the highways on major roads..sometimes that is the only info reporting. nothing is perfect but if you already have lfetime, i'd save my money.

You have to LISTEN to XM traffic

The reason I chose a traffic receiver was so I could listen to music/radio/MP3s/Podcasts during my commute instead of listening to traffic reports. I let the GPS monitor the road conditions.

XM TRaffic

I have a 2730 with the GXM-30 XM receiver.

My experience with the XM NavTraffic is that it is not worth the price.

Some may have better experiences than me, but it was next to useless in my travels between Baltimore and Florida on several trips. It only gave me ONE real warning about traffic conditions.

It's also VERY expensive compared to all of the other traffic services.

So.. in my opinion, your money would be better spent getting one of the lifetime subscriptions to some form of FM Traffic service rather than the XM NavTraffic.

Tim

reroute to avoid bad traffic

johnc wrote:

The reason I chose a traffic receiver was so I could listen to music/radio/MP3s/Podcasts during my commute instead of listening to traffic reports. I let the GPS monitor the road conditions.

In addition, if the traffic is really bad, nuvi will suggest you a new route to avoid it.

XM traffic

So nobody here seems to like the XM traffic. I called today and was a bit shocked to learn it is $10 a month. That is double the FM Receiver at $60 for the year. Plus, it is only once if it ends up as life time like my 550. I guess there is no reason to consider the XM then. Thanks for your input, I really could not decide and with the price and your comments, it seems it is a no-brainer.

Thanks
Deborah

XM Traffic

It is $10 per month for only traffic. However if you already subscribe to XM radio, it is $4.00 per month extra.

18.00 less for.....

grush wrote:

It is $10 per month for only traffic. However if you already subscribe to XM radio, it is $4.00 per month extra.

So if you already have XM you can spend 42.00 a year for a service that is not as good as FM. And even FM does not work that well in many cities.

Great technology idea, but it has a ways to go before reaching it's potential.

Have both, XM and 760 w/ traffic

The services here in Phoenix are about equal in terms of the quality of coverage, however, the XM traffic isn't as good at showing construction. I like being able to hit the traffic button and see the "hot spots" around the metro area.

The benfit of the traffic reciever on the GPS is that it will route you around the traffic, which the XM of course can not do.

Also, when traveling in new places you will not have any idea what the traffic means without a map in front of you.

I get my XM traffic because I have sat radio in the car as it's part of my subscription. The traffic on the Nuvi has no cost. My opinion is therefore based upon use and tools as opposed to cost.

XM traffic

jrsny, there is an XM receiver with my unit that will show the traffic on the GPS just as the FM receiver does. The question I was asking was which shows the information better, faster, more up-to-date. I found the FM receiver at Fry's yesterday and decided to go that route. It just seems nobody here was yelling, "get the XM its better". Since that did not happen, the monthly cost did not seem worth it and I do not want to pay for XM radio to get a discounted price on the traffic. I would end up spending too much more. And that does not make any sense when I already get free radio, and can spend $5.00 a month ($60 a year) on traffic alone.

Thanks again for your input.

Deborah

re: 18.00 Less For

BacklashZ06 wrote:

So if you already have XM you can spend 42.00 a year for a service that is not as good as FM. And even FM does not work that well in many cities.

Great technology idea, but it has a ways to go before reaching it's potential.

I'm not disagreeing with you, BacklashZ06. I was only pointing out the prices.

My unit has Navteq lifetime traffic. Didn't make sense to buy anything else as MSN and FM traffic is not available in this area but wanted something for when I go to big cities. I have not even had a chance to try out traffic yet.

Garmin hasn't used XM since the StreePilot series.

An FM Traffic Alert........

While driving down the interstate my nuvi 760 with FM traffic flash a 1 minute delay, then a 4 minute delay.
I checked the delay I found that an accident was about 1/2 mile ahead. About a minute later the first of many responders made their way though the back up. Luckily for us the accident which involved five cars happened on an overpass and we were able to exit down and back up around the mess. The point being that I had an alert before responders arrived. However, many times I will show a delay miles ahead and by the time I get there the accident has been cleared. You just have to use your best judgment. As the GPS is a tool so is the traffic alerts.

I might note that I have XM radio, I check it for traffic alerts. It took over 10 minutes for them to mention the accident. I was well passed it by then.

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XM vs FM vs MSN Direct traffic services.

I have noticed that some of the posts here are referring to audio traffic channels vs traffic data services. I hope this will clarify somewhat. The MSN Direct option which currently provides traffic, weather, movie times, gas prices, local events, stocks, flight status, doppler, etc. for about $150/lifetime Check it out http://garmin.msndirect.com. One thing about the MSN direct is that it had spotty transmission coverage which the XM won't have or at least not so much(can be blocked by buildings, mountains, overpasses) and the FM shouldn't have quite so much and there shouldn't be too many traffic situations where FM transmissions are sparse. This won't matter much as traffic data is limited as well. XM only has traffic, weather and stocks but a NavWeather Threat Matrix option is being developed to provide all sorts of useful information. The cost of XM is complex depending on what package is chosen but a lifetime package is available. FM traffic costs $60/year but only has traffic so far. Both FM and XM provide audio traffic information but FM has few if any dedicated traffic audio channels albeit the FM traffic reports are local to the FM stations whereas XM has several dedicated XM traffic channels limited to major cities.

In any case I would prefer to let my Garmin find the traffic problems and reroute while I listen to music, ebooks, talk radio anything but traffic reports. If I do get trapped in traffic I can use the Garmin detour option.

If one is careful enough to not let ones GPS get stolen too often and one doesn't get lured into excessive extra travels, a GPS system should pay for itself many times over in saved mileage.