Nerveblocker- Then you have a problem.....
Digital is all or none.(hence, the 12K monster HDMI is much the same as the free HDMI cable being supplied by Samsung)
As I posted several months before, I encountered the same problems with my Samsung slim CRT and when I called Samsung, the technician acknowledge the problem and asked wheter I wanted a repair (to be done at home, they will change the HDMI connector motherboard,claimed it'll take a few minutes as long as they have the part) or I can ask for an upgrade to LCD.
Check out the Pioneer player 1st, attached it to another HDMI capable projector/LCD/Plasma and observed it watch for 4-6 hours,and if the problem does not occur,then it's probably your HDMI equipped display.