Directv signal disruption from bad weather really a problem?

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rogbngbp

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I'm considering switching from the Cablevision/Optimum's triple play to Directv/just Optimum Online Internet/magicJack Plus. The main reservation I have is whether there will be any significant signal disruption from rain or snow storms. From what I'm reading, as long as the dish is accurately aimed at the right point in the sky, and the signal strength is above 90% it seems the signal disruption should be rare and minor...

If you have experience using Directv, how often do you have signal problems when its raining or snowing?

I guess if the satellite signal is disrupted my family can watch Amazon Prime, Netflix, or Hulu Plus using our Roku--which connects via our Optimum Online... Not the end of the world... But I don't want to have to worry about having to do this if it's just a rainy day!
 
That is 100% normal, has been since Direct TV and Dish Network have been around.
 
What you've heard is correct, as long as the dish is properly installed you should only see outages lasting in the neighborhood of a few minutes a year, total, at most. If you live in a less stormy part of the country it will be even less. Only the heaviest of precipitation will interfere with the signal.

I used to work for an authorized DirecTV installer, in one of the stormiest parts of the US.
 
I've had DirecTV for the past 2 years now and could probably count on one hand the amount of times I've lost service during storms. I'm in NW Kentucky and get plenty of precipitation here, but only really hard rain storms seems to affect it. That said, it is pretty annoying when it happens and the few times it has happened to me, it happened during one of the very few weekly shows I watched (Walking Dead or Dexter) at that time, so I was pretty annoyed by it even though it only lasted 5-10 mins while it was storming.

But if it happens to you, I'm sure if you call DirecTV and complain about it, they'll be willing to compensate for it in some way. The few times I've had any issues with service, they were very quick to fix it and give me some credit or free premium channels as compensation. My contract is up this month and I'm kinda wanting to cut the cord with TV, so I'm interested to see what (if any) crazy deals they'll offer me to stay. My bro got $20/month service for 2 years when he tried to cancel with Dish last year. That's about the only way I'll stay, I think.
 
Rain and snow will affect the reception. My experience with Dish Network is that it has to be a decent rain for it to disrupt it. Sprinkling didn't seem to affect the Dish.
 
granted I live in sunny Los Angeles, but rain never rarely affected my signal, maybe two or three times over the last five years. It had to be coming down super hard for it to be a problem.
 
During Hurricane Sandy (Lived in PA, so not as bad as NY or some other areas) I was watching TV all night. A medium sized pine tree was uprooted in my backyard and some of the asphalt shingles fell off my roof. There was only one time that it was getting disrupted, and that was actually the weekend after I got it. There was a rain storm and a slight thunderstorm outside and it was getting messed up. In general though, don't worry about it.
 
SE Wisconsin and been using Dish/DirecTV for the last 6 years.

Heavy thunderstorms will take out the signal. I don't think I've had a single occurrence of snow taking it out.
 
Had DirecTV since '98 in DFW and Austin. Only lose signal during the really big storms that dump a ton of rain in a short time so usually doesn't last long. Go for it if the price is better.
 
Had DirecTV for 2 years between 2006-2008, and will never go back to a satellite TV provider as long as there are other options. They are bait & switch masters when it comes to the billing and hidden/fine-print bullshit policies, fees, upcharges, limitations, etc in the contract.

Living in the heart of the Midwest, we get multiple nasty storms with moderate to severe tornado potential from spring to fall, and the service would always be cutting out for anywhere from a few seconds to a few minutes intermittently, plus obvious signal degradation since the TV would be very pixelated. On occasion, I would experience outages for 2 hours or more during particularly harsh storms. Hated that I couldn't keep tabs on things with the local and national channels weather alerts.

Since then, I have ditched TV service offered through cable or satellite. My network connected TVs and Blu-ray players have free live stream weather apps built-in. I miss live sports, but it's not worth $175+ per month (regular pricing after promo period expires). If there's a game I really want to see during live broadcast, then I'll go over to a friends house or meet up at a sports bar.
 
DejaWiz said:
Living in the heart of the Midwest, we get multiple nasty storms with moderate to severe tornado potential from spring to fall, and the service would always be cutting out for anywhere from a few seconds to a few minutes intermittently, plus obvious signal degradation since the TV would be very pixelated. On occasion, I would experience outages for 2 hours or more during particularly harsh storms. Hated that I couldn't keep tabs on things with the local and national channels weather alerts.
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You must have had something else going on. I've got a friend with satellite TV here in the midwest and he's had a handful of outages total in the 10+ years they've had it.
 
FnordMan said:
You must have had something else going on. I've got a friend with satellite TV here in the midwest and he's had a handful of outages total in the 10+ years they've had it.
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Had multiple technicians come out lots of times to check the equipment and orientation and always gave it a clean bill of health. People in my neighborhood constantly post in our neighborhood Facebook group about satellite service outages during storms and ask if anyone else is experiencing the same. They're not alone.
 
DejaWiz said:
Had DirecTV for 2 years between 2006-2008,

Since then, I have ditched TV service offered through cable or satellite. My network connected TVs and Blu-ray players have free live stream weather apps built-in. I miss live sports, but it's not worth $175+ per month (regular pricing after promo period expires). If there's a game I really want to see during live broadcast, then I'll go over to a friends house or meet up at a sports bar.
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I have been with Directv since 1996 when Hughes/GM owned it. You installed it yourself and I got it due to lack of cable in the sticks. Never saw a $175 bill but I just have the top tier, no playboy or the like, movie rentals, receiver rentals or sports packages. And never had promotional pricing. But whatever.

As to how bad the weather affects you would depend on where you live and how much precipitation you get. Very heavy rain can knock it out, snow and/or ice build up on the dish itself can kill the signal, I don't recall the snow itself knocking it out.

If you can get creative with the mounting and get it under a soffit or the like you would be better off during times of precipitation. Mounted on your roof or the middle of the yard you can get knocked off the air during periods of heavy precipitation. My dish is installed on the south eastern corner of the house under the soffit and it takes quite a storm to futz the signal where I can not watch tv. Trees can have a major effect on the signal also, trying to catch a good signal through the trees during some heavy rain? Not so good.

So yes it can be a problem at times, does it happen often enough to make me wish I had never heard of Directv? Nope not that bad here in west central Ohio.
 
magic_rat03 said:
I have been with Directv since 1996 when Hughes/GM owned it. You installed it yourself and I got it due to lack of cable in the sticks. Never saw a $175 bill but I just have the top tier, no playboy or the like, movie rentals, receiver rentals or sports packages. And never had promotional pricing. But whatever.

As to how bad the weather affects you would depend on where you live and how much precipitation you get. Very heavy rain can knock it out, snow and/or ice build up on the dish itself can kill the signal, I don't recall the snow itself knocking it out.

If you can get creative with the mounting and get it under a soffit or the like you would be better off during times of precipitation. Mounted on your roof or the middle of the yard you can get knocked off the air during periods of heavy precipitation. My dish is installed on the south eastern corner of the house under the soffit and it takes quite a storm to futz the signal where I can not watch tv. Trees can have a major effect on the signal also, trying to catch a good signal through the trees during some heavy rain? Not so good.

So yes it can be a problem at times, does it happen often enough to make me wish I had never heard of Directv? Nope not that bad here in west central Ohio.
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If it works for you, then great. I'm reporting my personal experiences and those of my neighbors.
 
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