I'm thinking the issue is with samdung.

I think for now on we're going to have to have samdung clauses in our contracts

No, no, no. Firmware flaking out and HDMI issues are NOT your fault. It is his equipment, he owns the equipment, therefore he owns the invoice. Bill him.
[edit]: just remembered the Pioneer firmware flak out was a brand new device you were selling. Ouch on that one. But the Samsuck is sure not your problem.

Read what I mentioned before about things I make a mistake on.
If I forget some things and have to make another trip out, that's on my dime. But once I arrive back on site and troubleshooting again, the meter is running again on his invoice. That's why I try to keep any test equipment/gear on my truck for what I know I'll be running into (when possible).

Example: When working with any video system, I make sure I have my DMM. An assortment of HDMI cables (including long ones that might need to reach across the floor in the room for testing). HDMI splitter. HDMI switcher. Ethereal's HDM-GA1. My old Sencore HDMI signal generator. That 22" 1080p LG TV. Extra HDBaseT extender. Some other Ethereal do-hickys I can't remember the models on. And Bayer Aspirin - in case of headache or heart attack dealing with the crap.
[many other things to help depending on situation]: Deoxit spray, HDMI couplers, bunch of network related stuff for HDBaseT issues (cat5/6 ends, etc...).
Thinking about buying a Roku Ultra, just to have on the truck. Nice 4K test box :)

I had a similar problem with an LG TV.
John at Transformative Engineering had me try their HDC2 4K conditioner.
Bingo!
It worked.

Delete, please

Didn't a lot of people use an HDMI splitter to cure some odd EDID problems?

I was told to turn off Deep Color and most of the other modes that may be set to Auto in the BD player and AVR, so the TV could do the up-conversion and manipulating of the signal.

Hadn't seen that piece before. Transformative Engineering is a good brand too. Guess I found yet another black box to add on the truck.

I'm not sure about EDID specifically, I thought the splitter was for clock stretching on cable boxes.

Turn off Deep Color FTW...

wanted to give an update on this. I switched to a denon avr-s920w on this install and also upgraded him to the newer evolution kit for his tv. All issues resolved!