So much for "little brothers": With a case height of just 20 cm, the DSP-Z7 has a somewhat lower profile than the tried-and tested DSP-Z11 - and with seven output stages does not drive quite as many speakers - but the accumulated know-how of the Yamaha en-gineers is concentrated in the sturdy housing. Design effort and features have no equal in this price cate-gory. This starts with the connections: Seven HDMI sockets make the DSP-Z7 the ideal control centre for the home cinema. Five HDMI inputs, including one located beneath the oil-damped front flap, accept picture and sound signals. The two outputs can supply a projector and a TV simultaneously. Analogue and digital sources can be upscaled to a maximum resolution of 1080p if required. The sophisticated video signal processing system from HD specialists Anchor Bay ensures richly detailed picture reproduction and reduced interference resulting from the conversion from interlaced to progressive signals.