Sharp Aquos Quattron LC-60LE835U 60" LED TV - Problem with allowing any Dolby Digital or DTS...

I’ve had my Sharp Aquos Quattron LC-60LE835U for about 1 year now, and up until about a few months ago it was working great. I’ve recently been having a problem with the TV not allowing my Sony Surround Sound Receiver to play any Dolby Digital, DTS, DTS-Master Audio, or Dolby True-HD sound formats. There were no interactivity problems with these formats and my Sony Receiver and Blu-Ray player until some time after Sharps latest Firmware update on 7/30/12. I haven’t changed any settings or cables on either my Blu-Ray player or Receiver, so I attribute the problems to the Sharp TV, as I will illustrate further.

My Sharp TV is connected to my receiver via an HDMI cable, which is in turn connected to my Blu-Ray player via an HDMI cable. I have tried connecting the receiver and blu-ray player to different inputs on the TV, and have even tried swapping out the cables. None of these changes made any difference. When I play a blu-ray movie when the TV is turned on, the receiver will only output a Linear PCM audio signal, whereas if I turn the TV off, the receiver will then output the proper audio format (DTS Master Audio, Dolby True-HD, etc.). The fact the the TV has to be turned off for the proper audio format to play tells me that the problem is with the TV, and most likely some kind of handshake issue with the HDMI inputs. This was never an issue up until a few months ago. When I hook up my 27” Samsung TV from my other room to the system in the exact same way as the Sharp TV, it works just fine – further evidence that the Sharp TV is the culprit.

I have contacted Sharp Aquos Advantage to make them aware of the problem and have gotten nothing but the runaround from their tech support rep. I was told that the problem is with either my blu-ray player or my receiver, and that Sharp does not guarantee that its products will be compatible with other manufacturer’s equipment. This response is total BS, as the whole purpose for me buying a High Definition TV is to not only enjoy HD Video, but HD Audio as well. And, the only way to get HD Audio is via HDMI, and if I can’t connect my Sharp TV to a HD Audio source (my Sony Receiver), then the product is not performing as advertised. Mind you, this product was working fine when I bought it, and if I had known that this product would later become incompatible with HD Audio Formats, I would have never purchased it – I would have bought a Samsung or LG TV instead, as I had also researched them prior to deciding on the Sharp TV.
Sharp needs to acknowledge this problem and provide a fix for it; either by a firmware update, or some sort of hardware fix, if that is what it will take. If you are having this same problem with your Sharp TV and any other HD Audio / Video source, please share your experience so that Sharp is aware and can take action to correct this issue. I plan on uploading a video in the near future to provide a clearer demonstration of the issue.

Thanks for the response, however I don't think you fully get the gist of my problem. I am not looking for any audio output from the TV whatsoever; just HD video, and it does that just fine. But, for some reason, the TV is prohibiting my Sony Receiver from outputing any Dolby digital or DTS Audio when I play my blu-ray movies - it only outputs Linear PCM audio when the TV is turned on and I'm trying to watch a Blu-Ray movie. If I turn the TV off, the blue light on the receiver lights up and the Dolby Digital or DTS audio plays just fine, but of course I now have no picture. I know it sounds wierd and makes no sense if you haven't experienced it, but that is what's happening. Somehow, the Sharp TV is interfering with the audio going to my receiver, and this happens on any HDMI input that I use on the TV - Audio Return Channel or otherwise. Mind you, this was not a problem up until just a few months ago. And, it is not a problem if I hook up another TV to my receiver and blu-ray in the same fashion. I am not using an optical cable because that would defeat the purpose of what I am trying to do, which is to simply get my Dolby True-HD or DTS HD Master Audio sound from my receiver when I watch a blu-ray movie. Optical / coaxial connections will not allow me to do this, so the HDMI connection is the only way to accomplish this.

Thanks for the responses guys, the problem has been resolved; at least somewhat to my satisfaction. For some reason, after the firmware update from Sharp, the audio setup for the TV changed. I now can use any HDMI input on the TV and I can get my receiver to output the Dolby or DTS Audio formats, but I have to turn ON the ARC / HDMI control on the TV, something I did not have to do prior to the update. I have to choose the option button on the TV remote to change the audio settings as well, but this can only be done if the ARC / HDMI Control is turned on. My receiver does not support ARC, so it never occurred to me that this would be the issue, as again, this was not the case up until a few months ago. The reason I did not have this turned on prior to the update is because I did not want the TV to control my receiver volume and other functions (it was causing some conflicts). It's something I can live with now, as the main issue of getting my HD Audio back has been resolved. Thanks for all of your help and suggestions.