Marc Saltzman
Sun

Rewind all the way back to 2003 and the big question among television shoppers was whether to invest in a HDTV-ready set.

After all, there was a significant price difference between high-definition TVs and those without, not to mention programming was, in a word, scarce.

Boy, have times changed.

Prices today are comparable between standard rear-projection and tube-based TVs and HDTV-compatible ones, while flat-panel television technologies are dropping in cost by about 45 per cent per year. And there’s plenty of high-def stations to choose from; Bell ExpressVU, for example, boasts 28 dedicated HDTV stations.

For the uninitiated, HDTV-ready televisions feature many more lines of resolutions (up to 1,080) than what older TVs display (525 lines). This results in a much sharper, more life-like picture. HDTVs also features a wider screen, which is more akin to a movie theatre (a 16:9 ratio, horizontal to vertical), opposed to the boxy 4:3 screens. Lastly, many HDTV programs also offer multi-channel surround sound (and in many cases, Dolby Digital) instead of mere left and right stereo audio.

So, today the new question isn’t whether to invest in a HDTV, but rather, what kind of HDTV to purchase? Plasma? LCD? Or rear-projection, such as DLP? The following is a brief look at the pros and cons for each decision, and recommended buys per category (note: prices may vary between retailers).

PLASMA TV:

What is it: Plasma TV panels contain an array of tiny cells, referred to as pixels, which contain phosphors corresponding to the colours red, green and blue; a mixture of trapped neon and xenon gases are then stimulated by an electrical current, thus producing a rich and vibrant picture to the viewer on the other side of the glass.

Pros: While some may disagree, plasma televisions produce the most lifelike image compared to competing technologies. Plasma TVs are also ideal for those looking for a big-screen experience (42-inches and higher), yet are still svelte enough to mount on a wall. These TVs enjoy a wide viewing angle (usually 160 degrees), so there’s not a bad seat in the room. Current-generation plasma HDTVs enjoy a long life at about 60,000 hours.

Cons: Compared to other TV types, plasma is usually the most expensive to invest in. Plasma TVs also suffer from phosphor “burn in” caused by static images left on the screen too long, such as a video game score that is always displayed. If this happens, you’ll forever see a “ghost” image burned into that part of the screen. Compared to LCD TVs, plasma televisions also use more power and tend to run hotter.

Our picks: Two award-winning 50-inch plasma TVs are Panasonic’s TH-50PX50 ($5,999; www.panasonic.ca) and the Pioneer PDP-5060HD ($6,999; www.pioneerelectronics.ca). A great value is HP’s new 42-inch PL4200N ($3,499; hpshopping.ca).

LCD TV:

What is it: Similar to your laptop computer’s monitor, LCD televisions use a “liquid crystal display” to produce a sharp picture. Liquid crystals are sandwiched between two panes of polarized glass, which are stimulated by an electric current and illuminated by fluorescent tubes housed behind the glass.

Pros: While generally smaller in screen size than plasma and rear-projection HDTVs, LCD televisions have its advantages: they are extremely thin (about 2-inches thick) and lightweight, so they can be easily mounted on a wall. They are also more energy efficient compared to other TV technologies. LCDs have exceptional contrast ratios and are ideal for rooms with ambient light (e.g. a family room with many windows). They also enjoy a wide viewing angle, at 170 degrees. They do not suffer from phosphor burn-in and enjoy long life-spans (roughly 60,000 hours).

Cons: Because big-screen LCD televisions are still very expensive, most consumers opt for the smaller-sized models (32-inches or less). Another downside is they often have a poorer refresh rate than plasma and rear-projection TVs, meaning they don’t typically handle motion very well — such as fast-paced sporting events — so be sure to try before you buy (rule of thumb: the lower the LCD TV’s response rate, the better).

Our picks: Sony’s 40-inch Bravia XBR LCD TV (model # KDLV40XBR1; $4,499; www.sonystyle.ca), Samsung’s 32-inch LN-R328W ($2499.99) and Sharp’s 32-inch Aquos LC32DA5U ($2,199).

DLP TV:

What is it: Based on the Digital Light Processing (DLP) technology from Texas Instruments, these rear-projection TVs offer a sharp and extremely bright display in a lightweight cabinet (less than 100 pounds). At the heart of every DLP projection TV is an optical semiconductor that can be considered the world’s most sophisticated light switch; this chip contains more than one million microscopic mirrors (each one less than one-fifth the width of a human hair) that sway back and forth to create the picture on the screen.

Pros: They’re not thin enough to hang on a wall like a picture frame, but with some as narrow as seven inches deep, they won’t take up too much space in the room, either. DLP sets are less expensive than their flat-panel counterparts, yet are usually larger in size and offer a brighter picture.

Cons: Aside from being thicker than the sleek LCD and plasma TVs, DLP sets contain a large lamp that will burn out after a few years (consumers must purchase and replace them). Also, viewers must sit farther back from DLP sets than flat-panel TVs or else the image may look pixilated; some DLP models may suffer from a “rainbow effect,” which can be best described as bursts of colour visible to some viewers.

Our picks: Go big or go home, as they say. Feast your eyes on the 61-inch Samsung HLR6164 ($3,799; www.samsung.ca) or 62-inch Toshiba 62HM85 ($3,499; www.toshiba.ca).

© The Vancouver Sun 2005

Picking the right screen is a matter of knowing what you need (and want)

Marc Saltzman
Province

The big question among television shoppers used to be whether or not to invest in a HDTV-ready set. Not anymore.

Prices today are comparable between standard TVs and HDTV-compatible ones, while flat-panel television technologies are dropping in cost about 45 per cent per year. And there’s plenty of high-def stations to choose from.

HDTV-ready televisions feature many more lines of resolutions (up to 1080) than what older TVs display (525 lines). This results in a much sharper, more life-like picture. HDTVs also features a wider screen more akin to a movie theatre. Lastly, many HDTV programs also offer multi-channel surround sound.

Today’s big question is what kind of HDTV to purchase: plasma, LCD, or rear-projection DLP? Here’s a brief look at the pros and cons of each and recommended buys (prices may vary between retailers).

PLASMA TV

What is it: Plasma TV panels contain an array of tiny pixels, which contain phosphors corresponding to the colours red, green and blue; a mixture of gases are then stimulated by electricity, producing a rich and vibrant picture.

Pros: Plasma TVs produce the most lifelike images. They are also ideal for those looking for a big-screen experience (42-inches and higher), yet are still svelte enough to wall mount. These TVs enjoy a wide viewing angle (usually 160 degrees), so there’s not a bad seat in the room. Current-generation plasma HDTVs enjoy a long life at about 60,000 hours.

Cons: Compared to other TVs, plasma is usually the most expensive. Plasma TVs also suffer from phosphor “burn in” caused by static images left on the screen too long. Compared to LCD TVs, plasma televisions also use more power and tend to run hotter.

Top picks: Panasonic’s TH-50PX50 ($5,999) and the Pioneer PDP-5060HD ($6,999). A great value is HP’s new 42-inch PL4200N ($3,499).

LCD TV

What is it: Similar to a laptop monitor, LCD televisions use a liquid crystal display to produce a sharp picture.

Pros: While generally smaller in screen size than plasma and rear-projection HDTVs, LCD televisions have their advantages: they are extremely thin (about 4-cm thick) and lightweight. LCDs have exceptional contrast ratios and are ideal for rooms with windows. They also enjoy a wide viewing angle, at 170 degrees. They do not suffer from phosphor burn-in and have a 60,000-hour lifespan.

Cons: LCD televisions are very expensive. They often have a poorer refresh rate than plasma and rear-projection TVs, meaning they don’t typically handle motion very well. Try before you buy. (The lower the LCD TV’s response rate, the better.)

Our picks: Sony’s 40-inch Bravia XBR LCD TV ($4,499), Samsung’s 32-inch LN-R328W ($2499.99) and Sharp’s 32-inch Aquos LC32DA5U ($2,199).

DLP TV

What is it: Digital Light Processing (DLP) technology TVs are rear-projection units offering a sharp and extremely bright display in a lightweight cabinet. At the heart of every DLP TV is an optical semiconductor (a sophisticated light switch) which contains more than one million microscopic mirrors (each one less than one-fifth the width of a human hair) that sways back and forth to create the picture.

Pros: They’re not thin enough to hang on a wall, but with some as deep as 20 cm, they won’t take up too much space, either. DLP sets are less expensive than their flat-panel counterparts, yet are usually larger in size and offer a brighter picture.

Cons: They contain a large lamp that will burn out after a few years (consumers must purchase and replace them). Also, viewers must sit farther back from DLP sets than flat-panel TVs or else the image may look pixilated; some DLP models may suffer from a “rainbow effect.”

Our picks: Go big or go home. Feast your eyes on the 61-inch Samsung HLR6164 ($3,799; www.samsung.ca) or 62-inch Toshiba 62HM85 ($3,499; www.toshiba.ca).

– – –

DO YOU REALLY NEED A HIGH DEFINITION TELEVISION?

High Definition Television is stunningly clear and sharp, even better than a real movie theatre or home DVD.

But be prepared to pay.

You will need an additional HD receiver and service from a cable provider or a satellite service.

And don’t be fooled by the direct cable card feature on the newest TVs — that’s years away in Canada and doesn’t work with satellite feed.

There are, however, the little things, like HDMI cabling between receiver and TV — for optimum quality — at $100 a metre.

There is also the issue of HD widescreen content, which is limited to half a dozen U.S. prime-time feeds and weekend sports or playoffs.

The rest of the programming is a mix of regular square TV and similar-sized digital-quality broadcasts.

If you still want something better than your present set, splurge several hundred bucks on a new tube and DVD player and rent movies for less than subscription pay-per-view . . . you will be pleasantly surprised.

© The Vancouver Province 2005

Gillian Shaw
Sun

More than a third of Canadians will steer clear of cyber shopping this Christmas over fears about a lack of Internet security, according to a survey released by the Canadian Alliance Against Software Theft.

Canadians are more anxious about Internet security than their American neighbours, and with some 55 per cent of Canadian businesses in a separate survey admitting their confidential data is at risk of attack, their anxiety may be well-founded.

In the United States, only 24 per cent of people avoid online shopping over security concerns, while 40 per cent of Canadians won’t shop online for that reason.

However, the survey results indicate some Canadians are shopping online despite their concerns, with 88 per cent saying that they feel some Internet retailers have not done enough to protect their online customers.

Consumers are reacting to the security threats, with 96 per cent saying they believe it is important to protect themselves online and 68 per cent of those Canadians who are online having at least three to five security software products on their computers. Anti-virus software is the most popular at 85 per cent, followed by: firewalls, used by 67 per cent of online Canadians; e-mail filtering at 64 per cent; and anti-spyware software at 60 per cent. Only 33 per cent of Canadians report they have web-content filtering or blocking software.

Some 81 per cent of Canadians aren’t confident of their ability to protect themselves from losing personal information to an online threat. Seventy-seven per cent worry about identify theft and 74 per cent say they are not confident they can protect themselves against unsolicited email or spam.

Sheila Luskin, western regional channel manager for AirMagnet, a California-based wireless security firm, who was in Vancouver for a security forum recently, said Canadians have good reason to worry. She said businesses here lag behind their U.S. counterparts in security.

Luskin said that while American businesses face stringent standards around the security of personal data, Canada isn’t as strict.

“Part of it is that compliance here in the U.S. is driving a lot of the need for our product,” she said of her company’s wireless- intrusion detection system.

While she was demonstrating the company’s products in Vancouver, Luskin said she was approached by a B.C. retailer that had discovered a hacker was outside a store wirelessly collecting credit card information on customers inside. She said companies that experience such breaches may be prompted to strengthen their security, but she said otherwise, it is not a high priority.

“There is not the same sense of urgency in Canada,” she said. “I think Canada is more lax with security and I think that is why people are concerned.”

© The Vancouver Sun 2005

 

National surveys show Canadian companies may be vulnerable to criminals

Sarah Staples
Sun

Two new national surveys have found disturbing admissions by Canadian companies of their vulnerability to hackers, and evidence that consumers fear personal information is at risk online.

A poll sponsored by a subsidiary of Capital One Financial Corp. and released Tuesday found 77 per cent of Canadians were concerned about identity theft, yet 45 per cent don’t regularly check credit reports.

A second telephone survey by Fusepoint, a Mississauga, Ont.-based IT management firm, Symantec Corporation and Sun Microsystems of Canada, Inc., found that eight in 10 Canadians worry about personal information stored in web-accessible databases.

In that survey of 565 Canadian consumers and business leaders, also released Tuesday, 14 per cent of Canadians admitted they had had their identity stolen by various means.

Some 57 per cent of companies answering the Fusepoint telephone poll admitted they were “only somewhat confident at best” in their IT department’s ability to withstand hackers.

The businesses admitted that both confidential corporate data and private customer data is threatened — even though 96 per cent of companies polled had established protections ranging from anti-virus and anti-spyware software to network firewalls or encryption.

“People haven’t been asleep in the wheel; they’ve invested in different types of technology and data security,” said George Kerns, president and CEO Fusepoint Managed Services Inc.

“But they’re still not confident they’ve got it licked.”

From January to October this year, there have been 9,034 victims of identity theft in Canada, totalling $7.2 million in losses, according to PhoneBusters, an RCMP-associated agency.

According to Kerns, company executives are more concerned that their employees might mistakenly download viruses, spyware or adware than they are about hacker intrusions.

One of the major sources of vulnerability are a new brand of malicious e-mails that specifically target employees, said Clemens Martin, professor of business and technology at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology, a new, tech-oriented university.

People are becoming wise to the classic “phishing” scam, in which victims receive a spam e-mail featuring a link or attachment, or are enticed to a Web site and duped into revealing personal information.

But in a version called “spear phishing,” a perpetrator researches a company before sending fake e-mails to a few employees.

The e-mail, disguised as coming from an internal source, might ask employees to download a screensaver with the corporate logo, or request passwords and other sensitive information be sent to IT managers conducting “network upgrades.”

Downloads contain viruses or malware that afford hackers entry, where real damage can be done including stealing intellectual property, damaging the company’s reputation or cyber-extortion — demanding cash in exchange for protection against future attacks, said Martin, who leads the fledgling university’s hacker IT research lab.

Spear-phishing is lucrative and “astonishing easy,” he said, adding “Traditional phishing attacks cast a wide net to catch many fish; this [spear-phishing] only takes one [employee] to achieve the goal.”

Spear phishers are also targeting ordinary consumers, with e-mails that are addressed directly to them and pretend to come from relatives, friends or business acquaintances.

Canadians are increasingly willing to take a stand, said Kerns.

Thirty-seven per cent, or more than one in four, would consider a lawsuit against a company that left personal information open to attack.

His firm operates 24 hours a day and deflects up to 200,000 hacker attempts daily, he said.

The Capital One survey commissioned Ipsos Reid to poll 2,002 Canadians, yielding a margin of error of plus or minus 2.2 per cent.

Fusepoint’s survey, carried out by Leger Marketing, is considered accurate within 4.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

STEALING YOUR GOOD NAME:

Identity theft is a major concern for most Canadians, as excerpts from an Ipsos Reid survey done for Capital One Bank and released Tuesday shows:

77% of Canadians are concerned about identity theft.

10% feel that information available to guard against ID theft is fully adequate.

45% of Canadians do not review or monitor their credit reports on a regular basis.

21% feel that they are not well- or not at all informed on the issue of identity theft.

51% say “No” when asked if they keep unused credit cards locked in a safe place.

14% say they have been victims of “phishing”, which means they provided personal information online to a source posing as a legitimate institution, like a bank.

9,034* victims reported identity theft from January to October of this year.

$7.2 million* was the value of losses from those reported thefts.

Source: Ipsos Reid/*PhoneBusters

ON GUARD:

Tips on how not to become a victim of identity theft or fraud:

– If you are shopping online, only order on secure web sites — to ensure your information is protected look for an unbroken key or padlock at the bottom of your web browser.

– Streamline your wallet. Take only credit cards, cheques and/or cash that you need. This helps control spending and minimizes loss if the worst happens and your wallet is stolen.

– Protect your credit cards. Sign your card, and write that a merchant must “check ID” on the back of the card.

– Hold on to your receipts. When the clerk asks if you’d like to keep the receipt or “put in the bag,” keep it with you and get gift receipts that can be used for returns or exchanges. Store receipts in a safe place and shred them after you are certain the charges match those on your monthly bank and credit card statements.

– Beware of one of the newer credit card fraud scams known as “skimming.” Keep a close eye on your card while your purchases are being processed so that it is not swiped through alternative devices.

– Don’t leave valuables in your car.

Source: Capital One Bank

© The Vancouver Sun 2005

Use these ideas to reduce what you must pay next year

Ray Turchansky
Province

EDMONTON –Tax breaks may be well be on the way, but getting your financial house in order through year-end tax and financial planning is more important than usual this year, since deferring any income into a year when you might have a lower marginal tax rate will save you money.

Here are some ways to reduce your 2005 personal taxes, according to the tax and financial advisory offices of Deloitte:

1. Contribute to your registered retirement savings. Although the deadline for contributing to your RRSP for 2005 won’t be until March 1 of next year, the earlier you contribute the better, because tax is deferred on growth from the moment you invest.

If you have turned or will turn 69 during 2005, you must collapse your RRSP accounts, or their full market value will be added to your 2005 taxable income. Options include transferring your RRSP to a registered retirement income fund, taking out an annuity or receiving a lump sum.

2. Stagger taxes on certain capital gains. If you realize capital gains on the sale of property, you can spread out the taxes by receiving the proceeds from the sale over a five-year period. The term is 10 years for the transfer of farm property, shares from a family farm corporation or a small business corporation if the transfer is to a child, grandchild or great-grandchild living in Canada.

3. Defer taxes on certain stock-option benefits. If you exercised stock options in 2005 on publicly traded shares and plan to keep them until at least the end of this year, you can defer the benefit on exercising $100,000 of options because the amount is based on the fair market value of the shares when the options were granted. But to defer the benefit, you need to notify your employer by Jan. 16, 2006.

4. Use your capital losses. Early December is a favourite time of year for tax-loss selling, namely selling stocks or mutual funds outside your RRSP that have fallen in value, in order to crystallize capital losses that may be used to offset capital gains.

However, if you, your spouse or a company you control repurchases an identical asset within 30 days, the loss will be deemed superficial and disallowed for tax purposes.

5. Donate. Donations to registered charities made before the end of 2005 may be used to claim charitable donation tax credits for that year. The federal credits are 16 per cent on the first $200 and 29 per cent on the rest. Spouses are advised to combine donations and thus face the lower credit on the first $200 only once.

6. Check whether interest on your loans is deductible. Interest paid on home mortgage loans, RRSP contribution loans and life-insurance policy loans is not deductible. However, interest paid on loans for investments that produce income (such as rental income), interest or dividends is generally deductible.

7. Make certain disbursements before year-end. You can only claim some deductions and credits if the disbursements were made before year-end. Examples are charitable donations, child support (if deductible), child-care expenses, interest on investment loans, tuition fees, plus professional and union dues.

8. Plan to receive certain income or pay certain expenses. People with business income can decide which year is best to acquire depreciable assets or make maintenance repairs, depending on what income levels will be in various years.

9. Reduce your December tax instalment. If you pay your income taxes in installments and think your 2005 income will be significantly less than in 2004, consider decreasing the amount of your Dec. 15, 2005, instalment.

Chris Carter
Province

Several months ago, I read with interest when you wrote seniors could defer their property-tax bill. Is there any way to put this tactic to work to boost the value of my estate? The only significant asset I’m passing along to my heirs is my home.

— Elizabeth, New Westminster

Dear Elizabeth:

The provincial property tax deferment program for seniors allows homeowners over 60 (subject to a few conditions) to defer the property-tax bill on their principal residence as long as they live in the home.

Because the interest that is applied against the deferred taxes is relatively low and does not compound, there is a planning opportunity to invest these temporary tax savings in the hope of your investment outpacing the tax liability and the resulting difference being available to boost the value of your estate.

By putting the magic of compound interest to work for you over a longer period, the odds are stacked in your favour for this strategy to succeed.

If your plan is to defer the taxes until death and if you are in good health, another idea worth considering is to take the monthly amount you save on your property-tax payment and use it to buy a life insurance policy.

Providing the insurance costs are reasonable, this can be an effective way to improve the value and the liquidity of your estate. For a couple in good health, the cost of a “last to die” insurance contract is a fraction of the cost of an individual life policy, making this concept all the more feasible.

Pay close attention to the downside

Inez Dyer
Province

EDMONTON — As I see it, your financial success or failure is all about numbers. Every time you make a financial decision, you have to pay close attention to the numbers and understand their potential upside or downside.

Unfortunately, selling at any cost appears to be the mantra of most financial-services representatives, and as a result people are watching their net worth slowly being eroded by fees, interest charges and payments that don’t work in one’s favour.

Here are numbers of which to be careful:

– Credit-card debt. If you have $17,000 owing on an 18-per-cent credit card and choose to make minimum payments, it will take you 65 years to pay off that debt.

– If you invest $100,000 in a mutual fund with a management expense ratio of 2.87 per cent, in 10 years you will pay $28,700 in fees. Add to this a couple of years when the fund may dip 10 per cent in value and you could wind up seeing 45 per cent to 50 per cent of your original investment evaporate.

– If you withdraw money just five times a month at a white-label or generic instant-teller machine, it will cost you anywhere from $15 to $25 in additional service charges every month.

– If you have a $150,000 mortgage at six per cent and make monthly payments over 25 years, that mortgage will cost you $287,912. If you change to a weekly payment, it will cost you $262,088, a savings of $25,824 in interest.

– Be careful when someone offers you, or especially your children, one of those $24.95/$29.95 monthly cellphone packages.

You’ll not only have to sign an airtight two-or three-year contract, but there are additional charges for virtually every function on these phones. Even the most careful users find it next to impossible not to incur additional monthly charges.

– Pay particularly close attention to load fee schedules before purchasing mutual funds. You could easily wind up paying a withdrawal fee up to seven years after making the original investment. I thought hostage-taking was illegal.

– Before you invest in a market-linked GIC, know the restrictions on your possible returns. Most of these GICs pay only a percentage of the total returns of the underlying market they are linked to. Ask before you sign.

– Before you take money out of an RRSP, consider your total income. While your bank may withhold only 10 per cent in taxes if the redemption is under $5,000, it will likely wind up costing you much more if your yearly income is in a higher tax bracket.

– If you’re an active stock trader, shop the market before opening a trading account. There is a huge selection of choices and fee structures. Read the fine print carefully to determine whether the trading fees are a come-on or the real deal. Also, ask about what it will cost to get your money in and out of your bank account.

– When leaving a company, carefully explore all your options prior to moving your pension into a Locked In Retirement Account. In most provinces there are tight restrictions on the amounts you can withdraw from a LIRA.

What looks like a huge pool of money may provide only minimal income, especially in the earlier years.

– If your company has a share-purchase program, take advantage of the benefit, but ensure you have the right to sell off some shares from time to time. Enron employees know about the perils of having all their financial eggs in one basket.

– Service charges. Go for the no-frills package at your peril. What looks inexpensive may wind up costing you the most.

If you pay for everything with your debit card, choose a fee package that allows unlimited self-

service transactions for one flat monthly charge.

In order to be financially savvy you not only have to know how to make money but also how to manage your costs and risk.

Remember, no one cares as much about your money as you. Use this motto — it’s a freebie with no strings or fees attached.

FRAUD I Young men troll the Internet looking for victims and their anthem is

TUNING IN: AM? FM? Nah. Try satellites hovering above Earth, sending commercial-free music and talk to hungry consumers far below

Mike Roberts
Province

Satellite radio is being heralded as the greatest technological leap in radio broadcasting since the introduction of the FM radio signal 60 years ago.

With hundreds of ad-free channels of crystal-clear, CD-quality audio to choose from, they say it’s like having 200 MP3 players plugged into your dashboard or clipped to your hip.

So much choice, such great sound, they claim it will forever change the radio landscape in Canada, rattling the mics of AM news-talk, and doing for today’s FM what the CD did for yesteryear’s vinyl.

And — Canada‘s two new providers promise — this second coming of radio will be here in time for Christmas.

SIRIUS and XM boast nearly nine million paid subscribers in the U.S., where satellite radio has been available for four years and has become such a significant player that shock-jock Howard Stern was able to command $500 million US for a five-year deal with SIRIUS. (Stern will be available in Canada on SIRIUS in January.)

The satellite radio model is simple — you buy a receiver and pay a monthly fee and space hardware stationed up to 32,700 kilometres above the Earth beams down more ad-free music, talk, sports, news and info-tainment than any rational radiophile could possibly consume.

SIRIUS Canada and XM Canada, after complying with onerous conditions laid down by the CRTC last June as licensing prerequisites for operating in Canada — conditions that include 85 per cent Canadian content on at least eight Canadian-produced channels and French-language stipulations that have left Canadians with a disproportionate preponderance of Francophone programming — have been scrambling to get their booster networks up and running and their signals on the beam.

Neither provider will commit to a launch date, but their hardware will be in stores Dec. 1, with XM entering the field with Canada‘s only Walkman-style receiver, a fully portable unit retailing for approximately $400. (SIRIUS has two component-style units retailing for less than $100.)

XM Canada will charge $12.99 for a monthly subscription and offer 80 channels to Canadians, including eight new Canadian channels; SIRIUS Canada will charge $14.99 and offer 100 channels, 10 of them made in Canada.

Their uninterrupted signals will be available coast to coast and continent-wide, from the deepest forests to the densest city streets.

“This ain’t radio, man,” says Stephen Tapp, XM Canada president. “This is a totally different world.”

Tapp says he was instantly sold on the technology and the “beautiful, crystal-clear” audio.

“As a music lover myself and a guy who appreciates audio entertainment delivered in a convenient way, this just rang all my bells,” he gushes. “If you’re a music lover, you’re going to have more choice than you know what to do with delivered in a robust and intelligently programmed way.”

SIRIUS Canada president Mark Redmond says he too was an instant convert.

“I love it,” he says. “It sounds great, it’s easy to install for neophytes like myself. The choice is tremendous. There’s just so much variety. I’ve yet to get bored at all, whether it’s comedy or sports or music or talk.

“We’re going like hell right now to get launched for Christmas.”

XM’s Washington, D.C.-based director of engineering, Jean-Pierre Bourgon, says satellite radio is about to take Canada to “a new place.”

“The fact you don’t have to worry about searching for new channels as you’re driving across Canada, that obviously has to have an impact,” he says. “Plus, it’s commercial-free.”

Both XM and SIRIUS believe Canadian consumers are hungry for “deeper and broader” programming choices, and reckon this revolution in radio will make major inroads into the Canadian market.

In the Lower Mainland, where our lacklustre FM programming is typically described in excremental adjectives and commuters can hear the same Nickelback tune on three different stations at the same time, satellite radio is sure to be a hit, says veteran radio DJ David Hawkes.

“Lazy, completely lazy,” is how Hawkes describes the Lower Mainland’s FM offerings.

Hawkes, who has worked for virtually every radio station in town that doesn’t spin country, says rock stations will have to re-think their programming and their ad-to-tunes ratios if they plan to survive satellite’s descent on their market.

“There’s some ruling that’s come from above that if they don’t play the hit-hit-hits from the Top 40, they think people won’t tune in,” fumes Hawkes, now the GM at Vancouver‘s The Plaza nightclub. “Where the reality is, over the long term, people don’t feel the connections to the stations as much.

“There’s no tie-in to the community. It’s always sexy to say, ‘Yeah, you know, we’re just like KROC in Los Angeles, we just pump out the hits and aren’t we irreverent and funny.’ But it comes to a point where you have to serve the community.

“Would it kill them to play a local band once every three hours? No, it wouldn’t actually kill them. Watch out, local radio, start tapping into your community, because if it’s just about playing the hits, they can find cooler hits elsewhere.”

But University of B.C. media professor Donna Logan says it is premature to sound the death knell for terrestrial radio, but she, too, is critical of conventional radio.

Her biggest concern is not music, but the news content typically found on the AM dial.

“What is offered now is certainly not as broad-based or as deep as it once was,” says Logan.

“There is more homogenization in terms of formats. There has been a great diminution, in recent years, in the amount of radio news that gets done in general. Vancouver is one of the better markets but it is not what it once was.”

Logan says for terrestrial radio to survive the invasion of extraterrestrial radio, it is going to have to hyper-localize, focus on news and information that truly matters to local media consumers.

“If they want to stay competitive and be on the dial, they’re going to have to invest in more information and better information on the local scene,” she predicts.

Consumers, says Logan, will come out the winners in the radio war about to begin.

“In terms of the consumer, it just opens up the entire world,” she says. “Radio has always been considered a local medium, but I see that changing.”

Gregg Terrance, president of Indie Pool, an organization that represents 20,000 Canadian artists, believes satellite radio will peel off up to two million Canadians from the terrestrial radio landscape.

But, he says, there are two key factors that will always work in AM/FM radio’s favour.

“One is that it’s local,” he says. “If you want to know if you need to bring an umbrella to work, or how your team did, or local news and events, you tune to local radio.

“And they always have the advantage that it’s free — how many people actually love music that much that they really want to pay a monthly fee?

“There will be some, there will

be thousands, but it’s not the death knell of terrestrial radio.”

WHAT’S OFFERED

SIRIUS Canada will offer 100 channels.

CANCON: Canadian channels include CBC Radio One, CBC Radio Three (indie music and in-depth coverage of Canada‘s cultural scene), Iceberg Radio (commercial-free Canadian rock), Hardcore Sports Radio (sports news and talk), bandeapart (new Francophone pop and rock) and Energie 2 (French-language channel).

SUBSCRIPTION: $14.99/month

COMMERCIAL-FREE MUSIC CHANNELS: 60

BRAGGING RIGHTS: Martha Stewart and Howard Stern.

ATTENTION SPORTS FANS: Thirty NHL games weekly, with extensive NFL and NBA coverage.

XM Canada will offer 80 channels.

CANCON: Canadian channels include Home Ice (hockey talk with well-known commentators and ex-NHL stars Phil Esposito, Denis Potvin, Mike Bossy and Bill Clement), (un)Signed (rock music, featuring emerging Canadian rock artists), Laugh Attack (uncensored comedy channel), Canada 360 (national news and info channel focused on Canadian issues), Air Musique (cutting-edge French tunes) and Franc Parler (French-language news, talk and info and French-language NHL game coverage).

SUBSCRIPTION: $12.99/month

COMMERCIAL-FREE MUSIC CHANNELS: 61

BRAGGING RIGHTS: Ellen DeGeneres and Tyra Banks.

ATTENTION SPORTS FANS: Forty NHL games weekly. XM becomes the exclusive satellite radio home of the NHL in the 2007/2008 season.

Ran with fact box “WHAT’S OFFERED”, which has been appended to the story.

© The Vancouver Province 2005

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