display/GFX issue with Ubuntu 16.04 not seen in 14.04

[Jim Abernathy]

Not having much luck with the Distro forums on this issue so I thought 
I'd ask for advice here.

I've been running Ubuntu 14.04.5 for some time on Intel Core i5 GFX 
without any issues.  My display is HDMI from the PC to an Onkyo A/V 
receiver then to a Sony KDL-XBR6.

When I try a fresh install of 16.04.1, I get a display that blanks out 
for 3-5 seconds at random times depending on what is being displayed at 
the time.  I also have small abouts of video noise that is random 
horizontal lines about 1 pixel tall scattered through the page.

I noticed that 14.04.05 uses X server 1.17.2 and 16.04.1 uses 1.18.3.

When I do the command xrandr --verbose I see some small differences 
between 14.04 and 16.04, but it's things like 2 digits displayed instead 
of 1.  i.e. 60.0 vs. 60.00. I'm only concerned with 1080P HD.

I've tried this on different computers all with Intel GFX. same results.

This does not occur on other monitors or TVs.

I'd blame it on Sony and Onkyo if they didn't work so well with Windows, 
all versions, and ubuntu all versions except 16.04.

It's almost like the auto detection software in the newest version of X 
is off just enough to make my display flaky.  Kind of like the old 
analog CRT TVs that were sensitive to small tweaks to the horizontal and 
vertical adjustments.

Any help would be appreciated.

Jim A