Does a $2000 TV today beat my $4000 TV from 4 yrs. ago? Sony offering me two choices

[mac507]

Hey guys I need some advice. My 4 yr. old 60" Sony LCOS (KDS-XBR1) developed a green tint and Sony is offering to give me $925 toward the repair or $925 toward a new TV. The catch is I have to buy the TV from the SonyStyle site. I was looking at a 52" XBR9 which is on sale for $2100 or a 52" Bravia W series which is on sale for $1600. Are these LCD TV's better than my LCOS from 4 yrs. ago?

I was thinking of getting the new TV because my wife hates the elephant ears on this TV and wants a slightly smaller TV in the living room (this one dominates the room!). I would also like to get one of the new 3D TV's in a year or two when I finish my basement (I plan on having two big screens then), so this could be a chance to give my wife what she wants and get what I want in a year or two. What do you guys think? I don't want to sacrifice quality of picture if these TV's aren't as good as my current one. Thanks!

[MrBoylan]

Hey guys I need some advice. My 4 yr. old 60" Sony LCOS (KDS-XBR1) developed a green tint and Sony is offering to give me $925 toward the repair or $925 toward a new TV. The catch is I have to buy the TV from the SonyStyle site. I was looking at a 52" XBR9 which is on sale for $2100 or a 52" Bravia W series which is on sale for $1600. Are these LCD TV's better than my LCOS from 4 yrs. ago?

I was thinking of getting the new TV because my wife hates the elephant ears on this TV and wants a slightly smaller TV in the living room (this one dominates the room!). I would also like to get one of the new 3D TV's in a year or two when I finish my basement (I plan on having two big screens then), so this could be a chance to give my wife what she wants and get what I want in a year or two. What do you guys think? I don't want to sacrifice quality of picture if these TV's aren't as good as my current one. Thanks!

LCOS is nice but it's a rear projection set- mirrors and lamps tend to get in the way of a really good picture and bulb replacement is a pain in the butt.

A good plasma or LCD flat panel will definitely look better. I would take the $925 and put it toward a new TV. The XBR9 is a better set with 240 Hz processing for better motion reproduction, but all of these have CCFL lighting (not LED) so the picture is not going to vary that drastically.

There are a couple of other good sets on Sony Style with a free Blu-ray player including a 55-inch V Series for $1769 with free Blu-ray player:

Free Sony Blu-ray Player with select HDTV Purchase on SonyStyle

The BDP-N460 player has Netflix streaming, it's fast and has good upconversion.

I think this one will tide you over until you can spring for a 3D set in a year or two.

Here's our link to the 52-inch XBR9 if you decide to go with that one instead.

52-inch XBR9 LCD TV on SonyStyle

I think you'd be happy with either one but the larger one with the free Blu-ray player may make more sense if it's replacing a 60-incher and you are planning on buying a high-end 3D model in a year or two.

-CB

[mac507]

I'm leaning toward the xbr9 since I have a blu-ray player and it looks like it has a little bit better specs than the V series.