Recently, a few Fridays ago, I attended a B & O product launch in Melbourne for the Beosound 6 and the Beo 5 controller. Of course they had all their products working and I spent much of the evening drooling over both the BeoVision 7 and also the BV9. Neither was HD but still the pictures were stunning, especially the BV9 which was showing a Star Wars movie. I mentioned that I was thinking of pensioning off my VHS Avant in a year or so (It is 8 years old) and would upgrade to either a 7 or 9. I left it at that, enjoyed the party and went home. I think the shop manager spent the week-end sticking pins into a picture of an Avant as on the Sunday night my Avant went on the blink!!! When I turned it on, it said that Dolby wasn't available, then this corrected itself but I then noticed a reddish haze over the picture and when the scene darkened passing between scenes, you could see horizintal lines across the tube. Despite resetting the set and turning it on and off at the mains, this has persisted. I reckon the tube is on the way out. Any ideas, anyone? It has had a moderate amount of use over the years but I had hoped for a bit longer than 8 years. If it is the tube, heaven knows how much it will cost to replace so I think I will cut my losses and update to an HD 7 or 9. The question is Which One? I like the larger picture of the 9 and have a DVD 1 to plug into it but it costs at least $10K more. That's a lot to pay for an extra 8 inches (Let's keep this clean, now!) On the one hand, it is a lot to shell out for a tv but on the other, 6 or 12 months down the track, will I have forgotten the cost and be enjoying the larger picture? The service department think the Avant tube is the likely culprit but want to take the set back with them to run some tests. I pointed out that it was the main set and wasn't sure if we would have a full service on the link tv without it. I got them to ask the main store if I could try out a 7 or 9 whilst mine was away and amazingly they refused! Considering what I've spent on B & O in the past I was very disappointed in them. I asked another Melbourne store and they couldn't supply a BV9 as it was too expensive to transport 120km each way and the same for a 40 inch BV7. However, they are lending me a 32 inch BV7 which I am grateful for and can test out its looks in my room. A much better attitude and very helpful, so If I have to upgrade they have got my business!! Any thoughts about the choice between a 7 or 9? Cliff