DirecTV?

We're thinking of switching from cable to DirecTV, and I'd appreciate hearing the views of people who have or have had it. Our biggest concern is whether we will lose the signal in bad weather.

Thanks.

Overall I am happy with Directv, happier than with cable. My signal does occasionally does go out during a heavy storm but it is not a common occurrence, and is usually for <1 minute when it does.

Have had DirecTV for over a decade living in the country. Overall much better than average costumer service. Very small percent of the time does weather interfere with the signal, but when it does it only lasts a little while. Also where I live about once a year in the winter during a wet snow I have to clean off the dish. I grab the water hose and spray of the layer of ice and snow on the dish.

I thought about this a while back and came to the conclusion to just cancel cable altogether. I realized I only watch a few channels and most of the time it's just for background noise. I signed up for Netflix for $8 a month and never been happier. There's always something I want to watch on it when I watch TV and it's saving me about $5 a month right now.

Just something to consider. I know when I did have Directv, I had to scrape the snow off it when it started to accumulate and I did without it on a lot of heave storms, but that might or might not be a problem for you.

I've gone from Comcast/Xfinity to U-Verse to DirecTV and have been happier with each change. It's true that there are service issues when the weather is bad, but the weather has to be BAD for it to happen, and even then it doesn't last long. In fact, the only thing I've really had an issue with is the wireless box that the receiver uses for on demand content. It connects to my wireless network via WPS (Wireless Protected Setup) and seems to make my wireless network unstable. I end up having to reset my router by unplugging it, waiting 15 seconds, and plugging it back in at least 3 times a day. This is probably more of an issue with my router, however.

I have DirecTV, though where I am, it's that or Dish network. I had Dish for a few years, I'll never go back to them. You will lose the signal in really foul weather, but usually not for very long.

A lot of the bad weather issue is how good your dish pointed. I found that once I had a really good installer set up versus myself, the outages are a lot less. HD signal seems to help as well as I think the actual dish is a better receiver than the old standard dish was. The only concern I have these days is that Directv like everyone else is having you purchase the equipment, but you don't actually own it, you're "renting" it. I do like directv though as for the most part I can fix and mess with the system myself rather than waiting for someone to come and fix it. versus cable where I'm pretty much stuck waiting for a cable guy to come anytime I have an outage. DirecTv also has Tivo DVR's now which is a huge bonus.

I have had Dish and DirecTV. For me, I wont be without DirecTV again. Very good customer service and excellent service.

We've had Directv for several years and are pretty satisfied with it. There is a loss of signal if you have heavy rain to the south. Where I live is one of the highest rainfall areas in the country, but we still don't lose signal very often. My biggest gripe with them is the same with every cable tv provider-slowly increasing rates add up over time.

jlanger said:

A lot of the bad weather issue is how good your dish pointed. I found that once I had a really good installer set up versus myself, the outages are a lot less. HD signal seems to help as well as I think the actual dish is a better receiver than the old standard dish was. The only concern I have these days is that Directv like everyone else is having you purchase the equipment, but you don't actually own it, you're "renting" it. I do like directv though as for the most part I can fix and mess with the system myself rather than waiting for someone to come and fix it. versus cable where I'm pretty much stuck waiting for a cable guy to come anytime I have an outage. DirecTv also has Tivo DVR's now which is a huge bonus.

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I forgot about Tivo. When I had cable, the main reason I didn't drop Charter a long time ago was they didn't have an HD Directv Tivo box. Love Love Love Tivo.

We have DirecTV now for about 8 years. Before that we had Comcast/Xfinity and I would basically shop around each time our contract was up. I would basically switch between the two because their best offers/deals were for new customers only. After a few times back and forth, it was easy to see the difference in customer service and quality of product. Compared to the other options in my area - Comcast/Xfinity or Dish - DirecTV is a no brainer.

I've had DirecTv since Oct. 2002 and am very satisfied with it. I'm in northern NJ and never had to clean snow or ice off the dish. Very heavy rain storms are a passing problem, about two or three times a year, and only for a few minutes. When I signed up, they had a promotion whereby you paid $15 for installation and the equipment was free. I have a mid-level package that is no longer available to new subscribers, with a basic receiver and a service agreement that adds $5 to my monthly bill (I get nosebleeds on a step ladder so you know this kid is not going on any roof). I looked into an HD upgrade when I bought a new tv last year, but decided against it when I saw that I'd be paying a monthly rental fee for the receiver after having to buy it. I have an over the air HD antenna to pick up the local networks if the satellite goes out, and switched back and forth over a local channel to see the difference in HD compared to SD. Once I matched the brightness and contrast between the two pictures, the only thing I noticed was a bit more detail in the floorboards on a basketball game, so I decided against an upgrade. I'm happy with my set up.

Argonaut said:

I have DirecTV, though where I am, it's that or Dish network. I had Dish for a few years, I'll never go back to them. You will lose the signal in really foul weather, but usually not for very long.

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And with Dish, every time you turn around you are losing channels because they (Dish) cannot reach agreements with the channels.

We switched back to Direct TV after the local cable company was unable to add a few channels that we like to watch. With the heavy rain that we have had lately we have lost the signal a few times, but nothing major. The new receiver that is available is a great feature as you can store an unbelievable amount of recorded shows and you can access the shows from any receiver in the house.

I have dish...works great...channels always clear HD...their boxes can fix tiny gliches when they happen...DirectTv owns their own satellite which Dish buys satellite "space" from...

Just got rid of it a few months ago. Customer service was good for years, then suddenly became ABYSMAL. Now all we have is the internet and netflix/apple tv.

Cable and satellite are dying and the sooner they are completely dead the better. Streaming on demand is the future.

My cable used to go out in bad weather more frequently than DTV drops.
It happens when extremely intense cells pass, but here in SoCal, that's maybe twice a year.
On business in Austin (back in the late 90s, no HD), the hotel DTV feed took a dump during a thunderstorm for about 1/2 hour, but it was a nasty storm.

I had Dish and liked it but we moved and Direct has Sunday Ticket, so I pay extra to watch the Niners. Other then that, it's the same satellite issues with bad weather. I have a friend that also has a Netflix's only connection, and he is pretty happy with that. Before I was married, I didn't have any TV.

-jim

will i left direct tv awhile ago when the lost Viacom programming don't know if they ever got it back

They resolved it quite some time ago.

-jim