I just purchased the Sony KDSR50XBR1, but haven't received it yet. I was wondering if I should also consider purchasing an upscaling DVD player to go with it. I currently have a Pioneer DV-563A which works great with my old Toshiba TW40X81. I've heard the KDSR50XBR1 will upscale by itself and don't need an upscaling DVD player. Any thoughts?
It may be best to wait. From all reports the XBR1 has a great image scaler in it. I would wait and see what the image looks like with your old player on the new TV before going out and spending extra money when you may not even notice the difference.
If you had bought a TV that didn't have as good a scaler, my suggestion might be different.
Let us know how the image looks, and what you ended up with.