Mother Nature vs. Satellite TV

While driving through residential and commercial neighborhoods, satellite dishes populate many rooftops. It used to be that satellite dishes were the expensive, more exotic first cousin to standard cable tv  not anymore. With more and more people opting for the dish, prices have gone down and their presence has become commonplace throughout the country. While areas that experience little-to-no combative weather can rest easy knowing their satellite signal won’t fail them, people living in places that are frequently walloped by Mother Nature can probably expect to suffer bouts of poor reception and/or service loss.

To understand why satellite TV might suffer occasional signal loss, we should first explain how satellite works. Satellite TV uses a direct broadcast satellite (DBS) provider to transmit their programming. For example, DISH Network, DirectTV and the like are direct broadcast providers. These companies only provide channels on which to broadcast content and have to get permission to do so. The actual programming that can be watched (cooking shows, sports shows, etc.) originates from their respective networks (TLC, ESPN, etc.). Once consent is granted to the direct broadcast provider, a signal from various programming sources is released and beams a broadcast to satellites in a 24-hour circular orbit around the Earth. After a DBS receives the signal, they can rebroadcast them to Earth where the viewers’ dish picks up the signal and passes it to a standard TV airing whatever program.

With all of the steps that are required for a TV to receive a satellite signal, it’s no wonder that reception can be affected by the weather. The signals are literally broadcasted through the atmosphere from satellite to satellite. So, if you live in a place where severe storms or very heavy rain are in abundance in the south-to-southwest of your location, they can cause interrupted service. During such weather activity, it is possible for TV reception to remain unaffected as every circumstance is different. However, if the signal does begin to alter because of temperamental weather, the consequences can range from occasional stops and starts to a complete loss of picture and sound. Once the storm moves on and everything clears up, the dish service should return to its original state with no lasting damage. Luckily, those who live in areas where the weather is mostly cloudy or just produces average rain, signal corruption should not be an issue.

Since all satellite dishes can be adversely affected by weather patterns, the largest differentiation between dishes lie in the companies who provide the service. Performing a price and package comparison between satellite tv companies can help determine which is offering the best deal. There are some websites that can help sift through the information. They specialize in presenting the consumer with the ins and outs of satellite (cable, telephone and internet) providers across the country. Most websites offer useful facts about each company, the features they provide, and for how much.