With HDMI connectivity, it's two-way communication throughout your HDMI connected system. You might have a problem with any of your HDMI connected devices. I would suggest disconnecting all the input HDMI cables and see if you still have the problem with only your 4k cable going to the TV. If it works then, connect one input device at a time to see if either of them are causing interruption. Have you tried cleaning the cable ends with a cleaner solution? That might help if one cable works while the other does not.
I have tried disconnecting the source HDMI cables, but there was no difference in how the OSD displayed. The 4K cable is also brand new and not dirty.
What's bizzare is that the cable works great for everything but the OSD. If there was a dirty or broken pin, you would think that it would impact something else besides just the OSD. But the ARC works as does the transmission of the off command from the TV to the 976 over HDMI.