In reference to my note above ---- As I was checking to see if the laptop itself had the video issue (without the external monitor), I unplugged the HDMI cable. The laptop did not lose video. Ironically, when I plugged the HDMI back in, the LG (external monitor) worked great. No intermittent screen black-out. I ran multiple videos in multiple tabs and window then used Bluetooth out - no intermittent blackout! I restarted the laptop without removing the HDMI cable, ran a video and the blackout returned. Unplugged and re-plugged the HDMI and that fixes it. So - is this a fix? No. Is it a workaround I can live with? yep. When I power up the laptop and log in, I pull the HDMI and plug it back in. By the way, it is not a cable issue - I've tried other cables. My guess is that it is a hand-shake issue. When you unplug and plug back in, it re-establishes proper HDMI communication. Again, that's my guess. Hope this helps...