ARC pop-up bug with 65" Sceptre U650CV-U 4K TV

CtCarl

Picked up one of these a couple of weeks ago from Wallyworld for $380.  I wanted a dumb TV because I don't care for any manufacturer's baked-in apps and prefer to use a Fire Stick 4K.

This is a pretty decent entry-level 65" screen and it didn't take me long to dial in the picture with some SMPTE test patterns and color filters.

One weird glitch, though.  I had it connected to a Pioneer VSX-524-V, an entry-level 5.1 reciever from about 5 years ago, with HDMI 2.0 pass-through, the same setup I had on my last TV, a 50" Vizio, and the one before that, a 42" Sceptre.  I've always used CEC/ARC for audio between the TV and receiver, and for controlling the receiver through the TV remote.  On the 65" Sceptre, I get a pop-up window, "ARC Device Connected", that appears on screen every seven seconds and stays on for about two seconds.  It never goes away, and it's maddening.

Sceptre tech support, although they were very responsive, were obviously flummoxed.  In fact, they said, "that TV is so new we don't even have the owner's manual for it yet".  They suggested swapping it out with a new one.  I did, and the replacement does exactly the same thing.

It's hard to believe that anyone isn't connecting these sets to a receiver or sound bar through HDMI, or that the receiver is the cause, but for whatever it's worth, just wanted to share this with others in the community.  I did replace the TV with an LG 65UM6950DUB which didn't have the issue and works normally.