why does my plasma tv screen occasionally blank

I'm suspecting the cablebox because I'm getting dropouts while watching recorded programs via the DVR.

I'm going to try component cable next. i just hope its not the plasma.

try adding even an indoor antenna temporarily to see if it is... or hook the DVD player up to the plasma directly.

if the only source which allows the intermittent reception is the cable box, then it's not the new TV. regardless the cables being used.

Trying other sources first, AND THEN other CABLES going into the TV sure ought to isolate where the issue stems from BETTER.

Very good luck.

i decided not to call the cable company because after a day the problem just vanished..and i did not manipulate anything to solve the problem.

FYI, I was having the same problem with a lcd tv I recently purchased for a bedroom. I swapped out a cheapo Hdmi cable with one of better quality and it solved the problem. I think the connectors on the cheap cable were the problem, i.e. they did not seem to be snug in the socket.

Maybe it's the HDMI connection. This happened to me last week with an intermittent signal. My Sharp lcd tv has its patch bay towards the top of the set. It seems the weight of the cable worked the connection loose. Now, every couple of days I reinforce the connection by hand.

All this is a way of saying that the HDMI termination is ill-thought. The big corporations in Japan, Korea, and China designed it for security purposes first, consumer convenience second. Really, they could have done a better job. I think it stinks, but it's a reality