There's no reason that your Express only lasted two years. Sometimes it's just something that happens. I have an old 2 XS that is now about 10 years old. It still works, but it's buried in the bottom of a drawer simply because it doesn't have the power to run the latest apps. In fact, I shelved it about 6 years ago because it was miserable trying to watch YouTube on it. Not the fault of Roku. The channel develop (in this case Google) simply made their channel require a more powerful player. My oldest player still in use is a Roku 4 that my granddaughter still uses. That one is now over 7 years old, but it has enough power to still be useful.
Unfortunately, the consumer electronics world continues to require more powerful equipment to keep up with the developers of the programs that run on them. Look at computers. My first Windows 3.1 computer had only 4 MB of RAM and a 120 MB hard drive. When Windows 95 was released, I immediately had to add another 4 MB of RAM, because it simply was unusable with only 4 MB. It's the same with Roku, Fire TV, or any other streaming player. They improve the hardware, the software also improves, requiring new hardware again. It's a cycle.
Your Sony TV likely still produces a great picture for a standard def image. But it doesn't support digital connections, so you can't connect the latest hardware (which all require HDMI). It's also a true statement that an inexpensive 1080p TV would likely look far better than your Sony. Once you get used to high def video, it's tough to look at SD material much longer. I've replaced a lot of DVDs with Blu Rays of the same title, simply for the improved image and sound. When I replaced my Blade Runner DVD, I went with the 4K version, and wow does it knock your socks off with the difference. And this is a movie that was released in 1982, so none of the latest and greatest techniques used.
