I think you have a valid point with body language allowing you to know if someone understands or objects to something but now with free and reliable video conferencing I think this can be somewhat negated.

I've worked both in house and remotely and in some companies I may as well have been remote with everyone chatting via skype/hipchat anyway even though we were in the same office.

I think remotely it is easier to gauge team-mates output and progress via git commits and communication that is clear and direct. Sometimes in an office environment louder or more popular team members appear to have a higher output due to bias/likeability from managers/team-mates.