OK the problem just started again. Forgive me here because I'm not trying to be a smart ass but I don't see how the problem can be anything but the Hopper. All of the possible problems suggest so far make no sense. The AVR does HDMI switching. The problem only happens during play back of recorded material. The problem goes away if I do a cold reboot. I don't see how this can relate to a bad HDMI cable or any problem with the AVR. It only happens during play back and it is fixed when I reboot only to recur after 4 or 5 days. I noticed that when the drop out happens the lights on the AVR momentarily flash which would indicate a momentary loss of signal. If it was the HDMi cable it should happen on any material. Same with the AVR. Am I missing something here? FYI, drop our occurs on ESPN, PBS, TNT, TBS, NBC, ABC. That's all I've confirmed.