No audio OTA with Hitachi HDTV

I am experiencing the same problem with all the HDTV stations with the OTA antenna. They were all working fine Sunday morning and then they all went out Sunday afternoon. Standard stations work fine.

I did a signal check and they are all above 83%.

I have a direct antenna hook-up to the 50" Panasonic using terk -55

Fatboy

I know this thread is over a year old, but since I haven't seen any previous solutions to this problem, I'm posting for those to follow. . . .

I have a 55VS69A, and experienced the sudden loss of audio on some--not all--of my OTA channels.

The only information that I found on the web led me to updating the firmware--something I would have never thought to do for a television!

I contacted Hitachi support through the website, and they replied with a request for the Model Number, Serial Number, and Software Version running on the TV. After I gave them that, they sent me an MMC card, instructions, and a return envelope. (The MMC card is like one you would use in a digital camera; similar to an SD card).

Basically, you have the TV off, insert the MMC card in the slot in the back, and turn it back on. Then, the Setup menu is navigated to the "Reset the Software" selection, where an "Upgrade Now" selection will be enabled. The process will run over several seconds, and then prompt to unplug the set for 10 seconds or so, and the card should be removed while unplugged. Finally, the card gets put into the pre-paid envelope and returned to Hitachi.

The audio is now working, although I did notice that I can no longer "hide" the input selections that I do not use.

I updated from v.0102.0001, to v.0109.0001.

I have also cross-posted to the Fixya.com site, in case anyone find that thread.

Our Hitachi 42HDS69 lost sound on OTA channels 2-1, 7-1, 9-1, and 11-1 gradually. Now, we just have picture and no sound on those channels. Other channels are fine. Our Panasonic downstairs has a crappy antenna but still has everything working great. What's the deal?

Select broadcaster's in each market transmit data PID's for services like Gemstar(TV Guide)information. Your TV model may be interpreting that data PID as audio resulting in no sound. Dependent on the model, the quick fix has been to switch to the secondary audio channel then back to the primary to get the sound back. The permanent fix is to get a firmware upgrade from the TV manufacturer. It sounds like Hitachi has the solution and Panasonic may already have theirs.

I did send an e-mail to Hitachi after I read the feedback about firmware upgrade. Hitachi replied saying there are many variables (Huh?), and I need to contact their customer service number. As usual, it's not easy to reach! So, I'm stuck except I won't be buying another Hitachi anytime soon. Since the TV is in our bedroom, we have developed a good reading habit.

Interestingly, we do get audio on UPN, bit lost them on CBS and ABC only on the primary channels. If I tune to ABC (7-2 or 7-3 in SoCal area), we get great sound. So, switching to secondary channels and back to primary is not the solution for us.

I recently heard from an industry associate who had to press the audio button on his Panasonic remote twice to get the CBS HD audio back on. He told me the Panny's can search up to three data sources for sound when tuned to digital channels. Hopefully Hitachi TV's offer a similar option.