1080p isn't needed at all on a 32" screen. I suspect they may stay at a 720p resolution, yet change the innards to a BeoSystem 3 based chassis. It would seem rather daft to keep the most popular TV vastly lagging behind the others in terms of performance.

I disagree! I think you'll probably find that when set up correctly, BeoLab 3s offer very generous amounts of bass, but not too much! I generally tend to prefer a slightly bass-light sound, and BeoLab 3s are to my ears, very good speakers. I tend to find that with 8000s, double basses can turn into bass guitars quite easily, and the bass sounds 'bloated

Think of the panel as the 'canvas' on which the image is displayed, it's the bit you see.

The later BeoMaster 6500s can be upgraded with an RDS board I believe, to bring them up to spec to do everything the 7000 will do.

Not sure if the AV7000 has the option or not, but it's not the end of the world if it doesn't. You can still get a very good sound even if the distance of each speaker is different, although only up to a certain point. How much further away is the centre speaker from the main speakers?

You don't need a remote. The speakers will just switch on and off with the BeoPort. If you use something non B&O with them, they will switch on as soon as they detect a signal, and off after 2 minutes of silence.

Depends where you listen most often. If you tend to listen to music properly in the link room, then I'd put the BeoLab 9s in there. However, if you listen more in the main room, swap them round with the BeoLab 1s. Afterall, the BeoLab 9s are better than the BeoLab 1s, by quite a bit IMO! And no, the settings on the Avant menu only affect the surround

Pushkin: That is very interesting to know as I went from an early BV7-40 to a BV4-65 and was not particularly impressed with either - maybe this is the answer. Do you know if the new BV7s are still in 32 or 40 inch only or are larger sizes planned? Also I have been informed by my dealer that the the BV4's will ship with 1080p from Sept - interesting

BRiTOPS: So DTS plays 5 separate speakers (+subwoofer) individually, and so does Dolby Digital? But Pro-Logic plays only front left, center, front right and rear (no rear split)? DTS-ES needs an extra rear center speaker and would need a BeoSystem 3 anyway? A DTS-ES DVD would sound no different with my set-up? ;/p> Correct!

Yes, there are discreet surround sound channels, each being fed with separate information. The BeoSystem 3 can decode DTS-ES I believe.