When Sony first started out making TVs, I seem to remember a belly-top set of maybe 4" diagonal. All SS, it was unlike anything ever seen in consumer electronics. We bought one 'off the back of a truck' and when it failed, that was it. Later, we bought a 9" or 10" battery operated Sears set which served for many years. I think my brother had it last, on his boat.
Later, Sony came out with a game changing Trinitron tube and blew all the competition out of the water. We had the 19" version of this and kept it until you simply couldn't get mechanical tuner parts so THAT went away, too. Picture was good 'till the end.
NOW? Sony makes a ME-TOO product which is more expensive than the competition for value received. The '800 level of sets, which are one from the top, '900 level, still has edge lit LEDs.
People go by price and Sony can't compete at the margins (profit) which they need to stay in the market. The RPTV debacle of the last decade just iced the cake. The failure of the company to FIX the problem alienated many potential buyers. I wouldn't recommend any Sony product these days.
I won't even buy the PS3, attractive as that would be, given all it does so right. Too bad it is a Sony product and any potenetial problems would pit me against what is really awful customer 'service', which I fear may now be industry norm.
I would have been interested in the PS3 for its BR playing ability. That was well before BR players became commodity cheap. Though I've got my eye on one of the OPPO players. I have NO PS2 games, so that'd be a null issue.
I tried to put a copy of MYST in my PC...when I still had one, which at the last ran XPpro, and it just wouldn't work. So Sony, in fairness, isn't the only one to leave earlier games / applications behind.