A couple of ideas:

- An assignable sixth or sixth/seventh channel that could be selected for either surround back or subwoofer output. This is great for small passive subwoofers, especially since most people don't have more than a 5.1 setup.

- The new Firewire digital input. I was under the impression that a standard format had been set. One-wire connection between the 1050 replacement and the new Outlaw DVD player would be sweet.

- Bass management for analog inputs. I would give this feature up if the above feature were implemented.

Some absolute, must-have features, IMO:

- headphones output with Dolby Headphones decoding

- a GOOD multi-channel simulation mode from 2-channel sources. My favs are LOGIC 7 by Harman and Circle Surround II by SRS.

- Bypass 2-channel mode WITH subwoofer output

I can't wait to see specs on the 1050 replacement!