xl 2200 bulb for home theatre tv

[hb7]

as a part of my home theatre set up i have a sony 55 inch grand wega tv and have had it since december 2004 and have not changed the bulb once. lately i've been noticing that my friends newer tv's have this extra pop to them, as my tv looks clear and is watchable but doesnt stand out as much as the other tv's do, it looks like theres a bit of a window infront of my tv or something compared to my friends tv's that prevents it from having that extra brightness and pop that makes it stand out and say "wow, now thats HD". do you guys think its due to the bulb needing to be replaced or just because my tv is older than theres? My bulb is at about 7400 hours. I have a new bulb ready to go and was wondering if u guys think replacing the bulb would give it that look again. I've adjusted all my color settings aswell so i know thats not the problem, any opinions? thanks for any replies.