I have had my 970 since December and have never had a problem with it at all.
However, within the last week I have experienced what may be the "no audio" issue 4 times. Coming out of standby, to watch television (from satellite receiver - optical) i have had no audio. Furthurmore, it will not let me switch Dolby modes, nor does switching input sources help; I have to power the 970 off and on to get it to work.
I do not know if this happens with any other inputs.

I will try the new firmware when I get the necessary cable, but I was wondering if this sounds like what others have experienced. The 970 was fine for months, and then suddenly started having this issue.

Mike

Bingo... you now officially have experienced the "no audio" bug! That's exactly the scenario where I have encountered the most problems... TV playback, where the 970 tries to lock on to the incoming signal and apply the appropriate surround mode, then gets confused and goes silent.

I did, in fact, upgrade to the latest firmware, thought I had it licked, and then experienced another TV related problem this weekend (sigh).