why does my plasma tv screen occasionally blank

It can be a number of things :

1) outlet is bad and the only way to know is to have the tech use his/her signal meter and to verify the levels on certain channels. Any extra splitters in the house ? A splitter under 900 mHZ will cause this problem also.

2) bad cable from the tap to the house ( whether its underground or aerial ). Might even be the tap itself .

3) how many outlets are active in the house ( even if the tv's arent on, they are still "active " )? Which might need an amp, and the only way to know for sure is to verify levels with a signal meter.

4) could be a system problem . Tech would have to track it back to the first amp and might go as far as taking it back to the node to see what is causing the problem. Could also be a head-end problem or even the station itself having the problem.

5) Cold weather also plays a part and the amps that are out on the line might just need to be readjusted....some do this automatically, but some dont.

These are just a few of the things that could be causing your problem.

I had the same problem and found it was indeed the cablebox.
replace it and it should be fine.

It's likely none of the above, save for the note on it being the box itself.

When I had Time warner, then later called Bright house, and now Verizon FIOS, updating the software inside the box can and does sometimes cause the video to drop out... sometimes both the audio and video drop out for a litte bit.. seconds or a minute.

With FIOS this happens nightly between 2 - 4AM. the cable co is looking to see what PPV movies I've watched, IF ANY, and updating their software or simply checking to see how many boxes are connected. Sometimes these actions will necessitate a reset of the box too.

oft times the cable co will say it's not them or it's not supposed to do that, but it is them and as it happens so far off peak times, while we're supposedly sleeping, very few folks ever mention it to them.

Do try another box though too.

All the aforementioned items herein may well be it too and if a simple replacement of the converter doesn't fix things, then look there.

Another item too could be the sender. the ch sending the info to the cable co can sometimes have intermittent drop outs. I assumed however, that as no particular ch was mentioned this was a global event... no matter the channel, it would happen now and then.

Could be a wealth of things, bugs, birds, rats, sun spots, immensely brief periods of narcolepsy, but I'll go with the box itself first... as all else is working without this irritating event.

WOW , talk about timing !!!

I am having the same problem with my Samsung plasma tv , model #HP-R4252X , and Brighthouse cable service .

The tv will go blank , as if you turned it off . Sometimes for just a few seconds and sometimes as long as a minute or two . When it comes back sometimes it is clear and sometimes it will have digital artifacts either in the video or audio or both .
This will not only happen on just the plasma tv but will also happen , at the same time , on our other tv which is analog and tuned to a different channel .

I am currently playing the fixit game with Brighthouse , on my equipment , to no avail ! So far they have made the following changes , repairs and checks :
1.) Three new HD box's for the plasma and one new digital box for the analog tv (digital for the music in my 2 channel room). Actually two of the HD box's were rebuilts and the last one is brand new .
2.) New ends and patch cords from the wall to the cable box's.
3.)A new (thicker...they have two types of cable the thicker one is capable of carying more info and is shielded) cable from the terminal/junction box to the box mounted on my house .
4.)A new box mounted on the side of my house .
5.)A check of all of my inside cable runs and replacement of the ones found to be noisy .
6.)Splitter changed twice .
7.)New connections made in the new box on the side of my house .
8.)A check of the new line from the terminal/junction box to the new box on the side of my house .
9.)Three modem changes . Yes I am having problems with my internet going down intermittenly like the tv and my phone service too !

The status now is twofold . First they found "noise" in the line supplying the junction/terminal box and they have requested a check of that line . They never followed through . A second request was made and is still pending after a week . You have to call to find out the results and make sure that they will do it !
They are coming out Monday to check all of my inhouse telephone lines .

These 'visits' have been going on for a couple of months now and I have not had any positive results . As a matter of fact the tv problem is what started it and it has now progressed to the internet and telephone service . It is getting worse not better !

Most of the problems happen during the daytime Monday through Friday . This is the time of high bandwidth demand from their commercial customers .
And all of this through an aging infrastructure originally designed for regular tv signal transmission only !
I am sure that they have upgraded and renewed the equipment in their receiving stations and transmission terminals . I know that they have not upgraded or renewed the aging , rusty and leaning junction/terminal box's in my neighborhood within the 20+ years that I have lived here . And they have not replaced or renewed the line feeding these box's in at least 10 years !

I wonder just how bad can Verizon be ?

Sorry for the rant .

Good luck .