I should have replied sooner. I managed to get ahold of electronics in the Wal Mart I bought it from. Sensing that the teenage expert on the other end of the line was about to begin troubleshooting everything I already have, I cut him off quickly and assured him I have tried everything I could possibly think of. He then shocked me by allowing me to come and exchange one. On Boxing Day. What a nice young man. Within an hour of my original post, I had a U that was actually responding. About another hour after that, my son and I were playing the latest Mario Bros game. The two units I had were like black and white. Pun intended.
It seems that I am having worse luck. I have gotten the black screen right off the hop. My U is flashing a blue light. After six hours, it has made no difference. And yes, the HDMI cable is hooked up, turned to the proper input, etc, etc. The gamepad just tells me to turn on my tv and change to proper input. I have yet to see any home screen or "System update required" on my tv. Really frustrating.