Chevy Tahoe: Radio Suggestions

This is supposed to be a feature (mix'n'match of favorite music stations, regardless of radio source type).
 
I have less of a problem with the lack of an association with the mode than I have with the inability to use the next / prev buttons on the steering wheel to continue through my presets on multiple pages. For example- If I'm on the last preset of page 1, and hit the next button, it cycles back to the first preset of this page. This would be expected behavior if the radio presets *were* still linked to the mode, as in other vehicles. But if they're going to give me the ability to mix and match all my presets, they should also allow me to move through ALL of the presets with the buttons on my steering wheel.
 
So your criticism is valid, even if I'd rather see a different solution than what you propose.
 
There are other issues that probably haven't bothered you yet that owners have noted- one being that the vertical "scrollbars" of various screens are disabled when the vehicle is moving. I can understand disabling DVD playback on the front screen when moving, but disabling the ability to scroll through XM radio categories? Or the ability to move through some of the Menu screens to make changes?

Were you listening to an FM talk station? It's so difficult to tell.

They should really add a Fav button on the steering wheel. I think that would correct at least some of the aggrivation here. I for one am a big fan of the six Favorites function since I find having the typical 12 FM presets and 6 AM presets is a big waste since I only listen to 3 and 0 respectively, while filling the XM ones to the brim.

lol kpschoedel! If there's one thing that radio station appears to offer, it's talk.
 
With an increasing number of audio sources available FM/AM/Sat/Aux/CD/HDD/HD radio...), I'm not surprised some manufacturers are moving to a favorites-style preset list. I think it's a good idea to be able to select an XM or FM preset channel without having to first switch bands. Seems like this one needs some work though - I liked both jerrywimer and jriz's suggestions.

Leave it the way it is. I can't tell you how many times i want to switch between two or three diffrent sorces and i have to also change the station. for example i will liten to some FM, and all of a sudden, i will change my mind and want to listen to XM, then a few min. later, i will want to go back to fm.

I love the fact that you can build a list of favorites from am,fm and xm - and I never have to know what "mode" I'm in. Once I have my favorites set, I never go looking for new stations.

That's an odd setup, unless I am just mis-reading. The new corporate head units (not Nav Units) that GM is using seem to be setup so that you can set a Fav in any mode whether it be AM, FM or XM. And you can access that Fav from any mode. At least that's how it appeared in the Colbalt I rented a few months back.

jerrywimmer: Our long-term Silverado does exactly that. The firmware must be different, 'cause everything external looks exactly the same.
 
When it gets to preset 5 on Fav #1, the next click takes it to preset 1 on Fav #2. So you can scroll through all 30 in sucession. But isn't scrolling through 30 just like using a seek button with no presets? Tedious, and could you really remember where each station was?
 
Briancam: I like that idea too, but I actually set about 25 presets that I use regularly, but not quite regularly enough to know where I put them in this system. I need to group them in subfolders to find everything easily. So, I like to sort them by band and use a source/mode button to toggle through them.
 
jriz: I agree. Perhaps I'd be happy if the current Source button was a FAV button instead. Or, better still, could be programmed to be one or the other in the setup menu.
 
Everyone's synapses are wired differently. A touch-screen should offer the bandwidth for user customization so we'd all be happy. It's all in the Firmware.

Definitely different for the Silverado vs. my Av's. I tested this again on the way home last night with the same results. Is the Silverado nav the w/DVD version, or the without DVD version?
 
The way the Av works should suit you perfectly. Set up 6 country stations (from ANY source) in Fav page 1. Then set up six hip-hop in page 2, six jazz in page 3, etc. Then just use the Fav hard button to get to the type of music you're in the mood for and use the steering controls to move through the 6 presets associated with it, and never worry about leaving that "grouping".
 
This might be what they were thinking of when they set mine up that way. But in practice I'm more of a "set up ALL my favorites, scroll through ALL my favorites" kind of guy. And while it is a little like using the seek button, it's also a bit different.
 
The seek works well with standard FM / AM, where stations vary from area to area and you never necessarily KNOW what's next in tunable frequencies. Think of it this way- ever try using the seek button with XM? Might as well just turn the tuning knob. Same difference- 1 station up / down. With the presets I can have my 10 or 12 favorite XM stations plus however many AM / FM stations I normally tune, and move through ONLY those. And if they were all accessible as those in the long-term Silverado, I'd never take my hands off the steering wheel. ;-)

But I want to do all of that with the steering controls, keeping my hands on the wheel and eyes on the pitiful bumper-to-bumper LA traffic at all times. In my typical hour-long commute, I bounce around more stations than one FAV can handle. Doing one thing on the wheel and a necessary related task on the head-unit kind of defeats the point of steering wheel controls.
 
Isn't it amazing that some features never commonly seen 5 years ago can quickly become must-haves? Steering wheel audio controls and ipod interfaces are like that.