Sirius Sportster Replay
October 2005
Sirius Satellite Radio has taken one of their most popular radio units and made it better with the addition of a pause button. Like the standard Sportster, the Sportster Replay can be used both in the car or the home. The unit comes with all the equipment to use it in a car—lighter adapter, dash and windshield mount, remote and small magnetic antenna. A separate home kit lets you hook it up to your home stereo.
Compared to a lot of satellite radios available, this one has a very large screen, which is handy for displaying data, and the Sportster uses it all. The sports part of its name comes from its ability to tie you directly to your favorite sports team with updated information. The Sports Game memory function will let you configure the radio to send you an alert either at the beginning of any game by your favorite team or send you score updates whenever that team is playing. You activate the feature by pressing the MEMO button when tuned into an NFL, NBA or NHL, or college play-by-play broadcast. You then select one of the teams playing then the type of alert you want for that team. You can do this for up to 20 listings. You can also set game alerts separately through the radio's main menu.
Because Sirius knows that sports fans don't want to miss a moment from an important game, they've put a 44 minute buffer into the Sportster Replay. The buffer let's you pause the radio, then go back and listen again, in case you didn't believe your ears the first time. It's also useful if you have to leave the radio for a short time, such as taking a snack break or answering the phone. The pause and replay buttons are large and in the center of the unit, so it's easy to reach when driving. The buttons are also duplicated on the remote for use at home (or for back seat drivers). The pause feature also works for the music channels, but I didn't find it very useful for music unless I really wanted to hear a track twice. Also you can't use the pause feature when you turn off and leave the car (to fill up the gas tank for instance) because the radio turns off when you shut down the car (unless you car's lighter stays on when the car is off).
Compared to a lot of satellite radios available, this one has a very large screen, which is handy for displaying data, and the Sportster uses it all. The sports part of its name comes from its ability to tie you directly to your favorite sports team with updated information. The Sports Game memory function will let you configure the radio to send you an alert either at the beginning of any game by your favorite team or send you score updates whenever that team is playing. You activate the feature by pressing the MEMO button when tuned into an NFL, NBA or NHL, or college play-by-play broadcast. You then select one of the teams playing then the type of alert you want for that team. You can do this for up to 20 listings. You can also set game alerts separately through the radio's main menu.
Because Sirius knows that sports fans don't want to miss a moment from an important game, they've put a 44 minute buffer into the Sportster Replay. The buffer let's you pause the radio, then go back and listen again, in case you didn't believe your ears the first time. It's also useful if you have to leave the radio for a short time, such as taking a snack break or answering the phone. The pause and replay buttons are large and in the center of the unit, so it's easy to reach when driving. The buttons are also duplicated on the remote for use at home (or for back seat drivers). The pause feature also works for the music channels, but I didn't find it very useful for music unless I really wanted to hear a track twice. Also you can't use the pause feature when you turn off and leave the car (to fill up the gas tank for instance) because the radio turns off when you shut down the car (unless you car's lighter stays on when the car is off).
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