I'm thinking about getting Direct TV. Is it true that the signal is lost when it rains ?

Answer 1

First this may depend on where you live. I live in Southern California and have had DirecTV for about 7 years now. I can only remember 2 occasions that I lost the signal form the satellite, and it ONLY lasted about 3-5 minutes. It was raining extremely hard for a few minutes and once the rain slowed down a little the signal came back without any issues. Now if you live somewhere that gets HEAVY rainfall quite often you may experience this problem, for me it was no big deal EVER.
Before I got DirecTV I had Adelphia Digital Cable and the signal from it would go out sometime a few times a day for a few minutes. Now they may have fixed the issue they had with their digital service but it was the major reason why I switched, the other was DirecTVs price was better.

I hope this helps put things in perspective for you..

Answer 2

No just with rain. It takes a downpour. Wren hit the nail right on the head when she talked of signal.

If the dish is correctly installed and your signal is strong you will not lose tv very often. Snow can be more of the problem than rain if it accumulates high enough on the arm between the dish and the LNB. For that reason I always tried to install the dish within reach of the homeowner.

Answer 3

I have been a DirecTV subscriber for several years and it only fades out for me when it is raining buckets full. Also, when the dish gets burried in ice or snow, but I always just whack it with a broom stick and the vibration knocks the ice and snow off and solves the problem.

Trees can also block the sattelites and prevent some of the programming options. This is especailly important if you want the get HD programming.

Answer 4

We just got Direct TV a couple of weeks ago, and we've been having bad weather. When it's a thunderstorm, Direct TV seems to struggle to stay on....it would black out, then come back on, or the picture becomes all pixelized...When it's just raining, no lightning or high winds, it seems to have been fine. But yes weather certainly affects satellite TV.

Answer 5

Yes, signal goes out in heavy rain, or if heavy rain clouds are to your south, between your receiver and the sat. Heavy fog can do it, and packed snow or ice on the LMB (dish) also. Try to put your dish where you can reach it to clear it off.

I live in the mid-west, and DirecTV signal goes out occasionally. More in the winter than summer. Our dish is pointed perfectly, and signal is "excellent".... when we get signal. Still, better than cable any day.

My only real gripe is the paucity of HD channels in the HD package.

Answer 6

Rain alone will not lose the signal. It's any storm that has heavy wind. If the dish moves you will receive interference which is what heavy wind does. If you get an experienced technician for the install the dish should be bolted onto your house very tightly to prevent movement. I would only worry if you live in an area with heavy wind.

Answer 7

I've had DirectTV for about 5 years and have had very little problem with the signal, even during the worst of rainstorms. I actually had a lot more problems during rainstorms, with the cable system I had been using previously. That's why I went to satellite.

Answer 8

Yes, in heavy storms. Never been out for more than about a half hour, even during a hurricane.
Also, I would recommend DISH over Direct. Had both several times. Staying with DISH forever now, unless a new one comes out.

Answer 9

nes & No.

I've had DTV for almost 10 years and can count on 2 hands the number of times it's gone out and I live in the South with all the T-storms.

However, if it does rain EXREMELY hard, basically hard like you couldn't see" then yes it will go out.

That being said, when I had Cable it went out for no reason, so at least with DTV I know why and when it will be back on.

weeder

Answer 10

YES TRUST ME WHEN IT RAINS THE SIGNAL GETS LOST SOME BAD PACKAGES WITH DIRECT TV SO IF I WAS YOU I WOULD RECOMMEND TIME WARNER OR CAMCAST IT DEPENDS IN YOU'RE AREA