Is DirecTV bad in the winter time, how is the service?

Question

Im living in an area where the winters are cold and there are snow storms every now and then, im wondering how reliable the directv service is, if i will have to clean the dish constantly when its snowing and how is it compared to cable

Answer 1

I'm a DirecTv customer (and former cable customer) and live in a city with not the greatest of weather.  I will admit that the signal does go out in a heavy rain or snow storm, and the picture quality of some (non HD) stations is not the greatest - however, the price, customer service, the overall experience is far superior to that of cable.

Just make sure that when they do the install that you can access the dish in case of a heavy snow and clear it off.  Also, make certain that it's a good, rigid installation.

Answer 2

Snow, leaves, or any other detritus that may fall on a dish and or jam up your LNB will indeed cause trouble with service. Snow, sleet or hail storms will also interrupt your line of sight to the satelites. Cable IS more reliable during adverse weather, though buildup isn't as bad on the modern 18" minidishes, and placement helps. Just don't cry if you can't watch your game during a snowstorm, because such is life.

If you have further questions, why not ask some friends of your who subscribe. Living in the same area, they'd be the most likely to have an accurate answer as to what you should expect.

Answer 3

In the last 12 years, I have only had DirecTV go out twice and that was in heavy ice.  It can "see" through snow but not ice.  As I live in the mountains with a lot of tree cover, they mounted mine on the roof so it is not easy to de-ice in the winter.  If it is mounted on the ground, you can just hose it off to clean the ice coating.  A very heavy rain can cause what they call rain fade but it is fleeting.

Answer 4

Any Sattelite provider will go out at heavy storms, including but not limited to rain, snow, ice... So no matter if you have an HD antenna it will still go out.