Will DIRECTV discontinue the round dish this year?

You know this dish. If you’ve been a DIRECTV customer since the 20th century you might have had this dish. It’s DIRECTV’s original round dish, and it’s identical to pretty much every round dish used everywhere in the world for home satellite reception. It’s been about 15 years since it’s been used in new DIRECTV installs, though. DIRECTV’s US service requires the dish see three different locations in order to get HD and 4K service, and this round dish will only see one location at a time. It also won’t receive the Ka-band broadcasts used at two of DIRECTV’s three locations.

Will this dish be discontinued this year?

Actually, the official DIRECTV version of this dish has been discontinued for years. However, since it’s a standard satellite dish, people have just used ones from other manufacturers instead. It hasn’t been a problem.

Versions of this dish are used by people who only want to receive the programming on DIRECTV’s satellite at its 101 location. Although the design looks different whether it’s for a plane, a boat, an RV, or a regular building, the technology under it is the same. It’s reliable, proven, Ku-band transmission similar to the way that pretty much every other satellite provider all over the world does it.

And, that’s not likely to change. While there has been some talk of changing the way that 101 location works, it’s not going to happen this year. At some point the standard definition programming that DIRECTV provides will stop. Frankly we all thought that would happen in 2019. The latest messaging from DIRECTV says we will probably see that change sometime in 2022, but I have to believe the company has plenty of capacity in its satellite fleet.

What should you do if you have this dish?

If you have this dish, or a marine or mobile dish like us, give our experts a call! We can recommend the best options for your situation. Here’s the important thing to know. Yes, it’s true. You will have to make a change at some point. But, you don’t need to do it today. Our techs can explain it all.

All it takes is one call to 888-233-7563 during East Coast business hours. You’ll reach a technician in our Novi, Michigan corporate office who specializes in this sort of thing. We’ve trained our experts to help customers with the kind of questions you have. Unfortunately, DIRECTV hasn’t trained the people in their call centers to help you with your unique questions. You may have noticed that. We speak your language, and we’re here to take care of you!

About the Author

Stuart Sweet
Stuart Sweet is the editor-in-chief of The Solid Signal Blog and a "master plumber" at Signal Group, LLC. He is the author of over 10,000 articles and longform tutorials including many posted here. Reach him by clicking on "Contact the Editor" at the bottom of this page.