buy Sony BRAVIA EX 500 Series 55-Inch LCD TV,

Sony BRAVIA EX 500 Series 55-Inch LCD TV, Black (Electronics)

This Sony was sold to me directly from Sony in exchange for a 5 year old 60" Sony that had an 'optic block' problem that would require an expensive fix. Sony had been repairing this problem for free but I had no way to know that until mine went bad and then talking to Sony they had switched to an exchange program where the customer would pay about slightly less than half the retail price. If you have a slightly older Sony that is putting either a blue color on the screen or a green one you might start directly with the Sony Style website and contact their support help to see what they may offer you. On one hand I was very sad to see my 5 year Sony develop a problem but on the other hand I have to give Sony credit for standing up to the known problem.

The largest TV offered in the exchange program was this 55" model or I certainly would have gone for the 60" because I prefer that size. That said this model has a better and more vibrant picture than my older Sony which was a premium model that I had paid over $4,000 for. So the bottom line for me is that this new Sony has a better picture for less than the old one even if you pay retail. My old Sony weighed 113lbs and this new one is around 65lbs so it is easier to handle. The remote is better and more intuitive. We watch this in a very bright room filled with natural sunlight during the day and this TV handles that very well with no glare. The speakers are nothing to write home about and probably not as good as my old Sony but we tend to watch movies with the sound coming from a quality sound system anyway. My old Sony was 1080i and this one is full 1080p which is an excellent picture. We get our signal from Dish Net which broadcasts almost exclusively in 1080i anyway. For movies we use a Samsung Blu-Ray player which works beautifully with this TV. In fact there is a type of automatic setting that the Samsung and the Sony have where when you turn on the Samsung the TV also turns on and then goes directly to the input from the Samsung. Very cool. Truthfully I can barely tell the difference from a good blu-ray picture and a good standard DVD. We tend to use Netflix a lot and always order Blu-Ray when available.

I thought the set up was easy and the available HDMI connections are excellent as my old Sony only had two HDMI inputs and this one has 4. We actually use all 4 with a DVD recorder, Dish Net, HD camcorder, and the blu-ray.

I would have no problem recommending this Sony LCD TV and in fact when I looked in the stores I thought the new LED LCDs seemed a little too bright. I do miss the 60" size but everyone who has looked at this picture has been in the 'wow' camp with it.