I'm very glad you've never had the issues before. Sometimes two companies just don't like each other over HDMI
My TV is an older Sony LCD. The LCD panels are starting to go, so I'm holding on for dear life until it finally dies!
My Sony also gave me the pink screen of wonder on and off when viewing content from my AppleTV. Sony issued a firmware fix for it that solved that problem, but it's been flaky with my pre-pro in the middle. Sometimes, I won't get any video but I'll get audio just fine. Go figure.
What brand is your preamp/processor?
If I ever buy an item that does not play nice via HDMI, it is immediately going back to the store for a refund. Right now, all of my gear is fine with HDMI, so anything new that did not play nice, I would immediately blame it and return it.
I don't buy brands of gear when I read a bunch of complaints about their HDMI not playing nice. That might explain why I have never had HDMI problems. It does not matter what features or how great a "deal" it is, if it does not work right, it isn't worth having. I find it strange that some people report how much they love their gear, and yet they complain that it doesn't work right. Frankly, I don't want even a supposedly state of the art device that has an unreliable HDMI connection, even for free. It is not worth the frustration; reliable gear is the only way to go, as far as I am concerned.
Right now, I have a Roku media player, an Oppo DVD player, a DTVPal DVR, a Panasonic BD player, a Yamaha receiver and a Toshiba TV that use HDMI. All work fine, with no problems, ever. I use cheap HDMI cables, with my longest only about 15 feet. I would be happy to buy any of those brands again, as they work and are all old enough now that a failure would not cause me to complain too much.
My advice to others is, if you buy something and the HDMI does not work right, return it immediately for a refund. Then buy a different brand. Unless you like having something that does not work right, and like the idea of companies taking your hard-earned money and giving you something that does not do what they promised it would do. I really don't understand why others don't always do as I advise on this, but for some strange reason, people will put up with products that don't work as promised. I guess that is why manufacturers continue to put out things that don't work right, because people will buy them anyway, and then the company need not bother with competence, as they get paid anyway.
