While Satellite is terrible for gaming, discos are not actually very common.
Most likely if it is a lot of discos something of the following is affecting it:
-Weather
-ISP
-Router/Modem
-Wiring
-Computer
The actual connection itself is normally rather stable, just high pings. I can get pings of 600-1200 for gaming at times, worst it has ever stayed at was 2300, during bad weather.
Just check a few things:
-Weather: Is it clear out, nothing blocking the satellite dish?
-ISP: Is it known for bad connections?
-Router/Modem: Make sure they are set-up correctly, and unplug them from time to time for about 30 seconds to 5minutes.
-Wiring: How much cable runs between the Dish and Modem? Modem to Router?
-Computer: Well Vista, I'll leave that to someone else.
A big one can be wiring, The more cable between the Dish and Modem the worse. We went from ping of 2000ms average to the current 600-1300 average by losing 100+ feet of cable.
Also, be sure to keep and eye on you "Bandwidth". Every satellite company, even some cable companies, have it. If this is exceeded then everything will act as if if is dieing (Speeds from 200KB/s to 15KB/s).
