One of the guys that works for me bought a Sony for his daughter in college. In less than 18 months, it blew out the LCD and the motherboard. It was only a coupld of months old when the LCD had problems. Sony refused to cover it under warranty. Without even looking at it, they claimed user abuse and denied the service. He found a LCD on Ebay and had a local repairman replace it. Now, about 18 months (and out of warranty), the motherboard goes out. He took it to an authorised Sony repair center for diagnosis and possible repair. Sony will not even sell a motherboard to their authorized repair person?! They insist that the unit be shipped back to the factory for repair.
What lind of corporation treats their authorized repair center that way?
If your dad insists on the Sony, make sure he spends the extra bucks on the 3 year extended warranty. Not sure they'd honor it, but.....
This is why I'll never own a Sony product.