SiriusXM Rolls Out New Web Player – With Timeshifting!
If you happen to be one of the lucky few like, @tssmattb over at our sponsor tss-radio, you already know that SiriusXM has begun to roll out their new and improved web player to a select set of beta users. At 8 hours of listening per day, I would call myself a pretty heavy online user myself but alas, I was not selected.
What I can tell you, based on what I can see, is that the new web player finally has the much anticipated “satellite radio 2.0” timeshifting feature, iPhone app users have been using and loving since December.
This may seem like a minor upgrade to some but, I think this is game changing feature that allows users to listen to programming as it was intended, from start to finish. Listeners will no longer be required to live by schedules of their favorite programming. Whether they work late, have a meeting, or live on the west coast, their shows will be right there waiting for them.
I should probably mention that the ability to rewind and skip over tracks on your favorite music stations doesn’t hurt either. This ability might be a little limited compared to the infinite skipping ability of other online music services like Slacker but, with the added value that Sirius XM provides, this new feature finally tips the scales.
What should also be noticed is a major user interface upgrade, with improved usability that allows for much simpler channel changing and discovery… something that was severely lacking in the previous version. You no longer need a magnifying glass and pinpoint mouse accuracy to click the tiny little highlighted favorite channel tick marks, as they have stepped aside for big, clearly displayed, easy to click favorites list.
It’s been a long time coming but, it finally seems as though the web player we have all be asking for from the start is finally here. Fingers crossed that it is cross browser compatible and doesn’t sign us out every 5 minutes!
No word yet when the new interface will be released to everyone but, I will update this article when we know more.
Charles, you are a little late on this one. This has been out a couple of weeks now. I don’t know if you need to be selected to use this beta, they just gave me a choice before i signed in. If anyone uses https://www.siriusxm.com/player/beta/
They will be able to sign in and use the beta software. Its cool, pretty much the same features I’ve been using on my ipod touch. I am just waiting for it to be available on my android phone. I bough an ipod touch, just to use the new features…
Thanks for sharing the link.
I don’t think I was “late.” Most people have no idea this is even going on. You seem to be one of the lucky ones. Personally, I was never prompted with a choice to sign into the beta.
Jae, when I go to listen online, I see this beta choice is there. ]
I haven’t tried it. Is there an upgrade charge for using it? Frankly, all I do is listen to music while I work. I’m not looking for anything else.
James,
There is no additional charge. You are just using the
Updated interface. If all you do is listen to music it gives
Some good new features. For example, you can rewind a
Song. When you chage to new channel, whatever song is playing
Can start from beginning. Its definitely a big improvement, and easier to
Use. Whoever designed the current version should be fired
jae, I spent about ten minutes using the new set up. It is better and the channel changing process is way better!
Wow this is so much better than the old one. Finally they may have got it right. Now they need to bring this to the Android app. I knew they had it in them…..
Hello all. I must concur that the new beta is a huge improvement over the current version, including functionality, options, and overall aesthetics. Have any of you noticed the option (drop down) that says “Share on Facebook?” When I attempt to select it, I get the following error message:
An error occurred. Please try again later.
API Error Code: 100
API Error Description: Invalid parameter
Error Message: redirect_uri URL is not properly formatted
Any ideas? I “assume” this should work similar to something like Spotify, where you can share the music you are listening to on FB.
Now they have to loosen the 90 minute restriction before signing us offline. I enjoy streaming while I sleep in and it’s a pain to get out of bed to reboot. Give us three hours please…
I feel like the new web player, while very pretty etc, is slowing down my computer (MacBook Pro admittedly old at 4 years) and hogging a ton of memory. If I’m not using all the fancy options I’d rather have the basic player back…any tricks to reduce the CPU / memory usage or best browser to use to mitigate the slowdown?