User manual BOSE LIFESTYLE 48 - Q&A

Q A & LIFESTYLE ® 48 DVD HOME ENTERTAINMENT SYSTEM PRODUCT POSITIONING How is the Lifestyle® 48 home entertainment system positioned relative to the other products in the Lifestyle® system line, and what does it include? The Lifestyle® 48 system is our most advanced, premium home entertainment system intended for the customer who has a large music collection and enjoys both watching video and listening to music. The Bose® Lifestyle® 48 home entertainment system includes: · Five Jewel Cube® speakers ­ Our smallest, most powerful cube speaker arrays feature an award-winning design that includes a neodymium iron boron magnet and an exclusive nautilus-shaped port that provide very high performance from a remarkably small speaker. · Powered Acoustimass® module ­ Lifelike low-note reproduction, results in a more realistic and gripping listening experience. It can be hidden out of view behind furniture. · Elegant media center ­ Includes DVD/CD player, AM/FM tuner, advanced design and an aluminum finish. It also features Bose® link multi-room/multi-source expansion capability and a suite of technologies designed to make the home entertainment experience simple. · uMusicTM intelligent playback system ­ Allows you to store, organize and manage up to 340 hours of music on your Lifestyle® system. By "learning" your musical preferences as you listen, it automatically selects songs you most likely want to hear. Enjoy nine different uMusic system presets, each tailored to individual moods. Listen to the music you want, when you want, simply and effortlessly. · Control integration ­ Radio frequency remote control enables easy-to-use, one-button operation of Lifestyle® system functions (DVD/CD, AM/FM tuner) plus components attached to your system.Works through walls, floors ­ anywhere around the house ­ to access the most frequently used commands for TV, VCR, cable box, satellite receiver, PVR and even CD jukeboxes. · Bose® link technology ­ Bose® link is our proprietary technology that allows a Lifestyle® system to integrate with other Bose products to provide sound in secondary rooms.With Bose® link, the user can easily connect up to 14 additional rooms of sound, each with independent volume and mute control, to provide two different audio streams from the same Lifestyle® system. continued on next page 1 Q A & LIFESTYLE ® 48 DVD HOME ENTERTAINMENT SYSTEM · ADAPTiQ® audio calibration system ­ This proprietary technology customizes the Lifestyle® system to your particular room. After a simple setup process, it automatically adjusts for many of the variables that can affect sound performance, including: a room's size and shape, the placement of speakers and where someone sits to listen. It enables the system to deliver a quality Bose® performance, based on the room's unique acoustics. · DTS® and Dolby® Digital 5.1 decoding ­ DTS and Dolby Digital 5.1 decoding enable the Lifestyle® system to deliver a discrete five-channel home theater experience from 5.1-encoded DVDs, satellite broadcasts and HDTV programming. · Videostage® 5 decoding circuitry ­ Automatically delivers five different channels of audio to five speakers from non 5.1-encoded programs. So you can enjoy an experience rivaling that of a 5.1-encoded DVD from practically any source: surround-encoded VHS tapes, stereo CDs ­ even older mono TV broadcasts can now be enjoyed in full, discrete five-speaker surround sound. · Bose® patented signal processing circuitry ­ Automatically adjusts tonal balance at different volume levels. Music sounds lifelike with full, rich lows at almost any listening level, while speech consistently sounds natural. · Simplified setup ­ Everything arrives in a single box with a quick setup guide, a setup disc and a music sampler DVD. Simple, color-coded connections help make installation easy. How are Bose Lifestyle® systems different from other home theater systems available today? Lifestyle® systems are complete, digital home entertainment audio/video solutions that strive to deliver an unsurpassed combination of performance, elegance, simplicity and expandability. They're an attractive alternative to the size and complexity of most conventional home theater systems. These integrated systems include speakers, amplification, patented signal processing, surround sound decoding, audio/video sources (both a DVD/CD player and AM/FM tuner), additional inputs and a remote control. Unique benefits of Lifestyle® systems: · An elegant media center takes the place of the typical bulky rack of electronics. · Tiny cube speakers and a hideaway Acoustimass® module replace big, bulky speakers. · Intelligent software ensures a quality performance regardless of input signal type (from digital 5.1 to mono) or volume level. · ADAPTiQ audio calibration system automatically ensures a quality Bose performance regardless of the room's acoustics. · Bose® link enables up to 14 additional rooms of sound, all from one Lifestyle® system. · The remote is clearly marked and easy to understand, and works through most walls and floors. · Systems are engineered from the ground up so all elements work in concert with each other. Amplification, speakers, signal processing and decoding are matched to create the exceptional performance you would expect from advanced Lifestyle® system design. · Systems are convenient to purchase and set up. Everything arrives in one box. And with the quick setup guide and color-coded connections, your customers can enjoy a movie or music in minutes. continued on next page 2 Q A & LIFESTYLE ® 48 DVD HOME ENTERTAINMENT SYSTEM · Systems are engineered to provide the correct output from all channels in most home environments.The customer doesn't have to make the usual painstaking (and often incorrect) adjustments to the output level of each channel to ensure the sound from all speakers is balanced.The output from the center and surround speakers can be easily adjusted for special environments. How are the four Lifestyle® DVD-based systems different from each other? The Lifestyle® 48, 38, 28, and 18 systems provide four wonderful choices designed to meet different budget and performance requirements. They all share common features, including an elegant media center, hideaway Acoustimass® module, radio frequency remote control, Bose® link and the ADAPTiQ® audio calibration system. The difference in system performance is defined by the availability of the uMusicTM intelligent playback system (with Lifestyle® 38 and 48 systems) and by the type of speakers included. How is the Lifestyle® 48 system different from other Lifestyle® systems? The Lifestyle® 48 system is our premier home entertainment system, targeted to the music enthusiast who also wants a high performance home theater system.The Lifestyle® 48 system is the only Bose® system to feature the award-winning Jewel Cube® speakers. In addition, the Lifestyle® 48 system is capable of storing approximately 340 hours of music in the elegant media center. The uMusicTM intelligent playback system stores, organizes and plays the music you want, when you want it, without the effort associated with making playlists. The Lifestyle® 48 system includes the versatility of a DVD/CD player. Advanced multisource/multi-room expansion capability provides the opportunity to enjoy Bose quality sound throughout your home. And the elegant styling of the brushed-aluminum media center allows the system to fit into practically any décor, further enhancing this system's appeal. In addition, the Lifestyle® 48 system features: · Jewel Cube speaker arrays: · Our smallest, most powerful cube speaker is just about the size of a computer mouse and fills a room with lifelike, spacious sound. · Direct/Reflecting® speaker technology uses a combination of reflected and direct sound to re-create a natural, room-filling experience. · An award-winning design featuring more than 40 innovations and technologies, including: · An extremely powerful neodymium iron boron magnet that delivers a high level of performance from a remarkably small speaker. · Exclusive nautilus-shaped port design that moves more air than many conventional larger speakers and produces rich, full sound. · Larger Storage Capacity ­ The Lifestyle® 48 system can store the content of approximately 350 CDs ­ 75% more storage capacity than the Lifestyle® 38 system. This allows larger music collections to be stored and enjoyed, from one elegant media center. What is the uMusic intelligent playback system breakthrough? The uMusic intelligent playback system is a "smart" music storage system available only from Bose. It stores the content of hundreds of CDs on your Lifestyle® system, then "learns" your musical preferences as you listen, and automatically selects songs you most likely want to hear. 3 Q A & LIFESTYLE ® 48 DVD HOME ENTERTAINMENT SYSTEM How is the uMusicTM intelligent playback system different from a playlist? Though playlists can be created and customized by the listener, they have limitations. Building them takes considerable time and effort. And, even a highly customized playlist mixing different artists and genres still consists of a fixed collection of songs whose novelty tends to wear off over time. Creating new playlists, or adding/deleting songs to existing ones, takes even more time. Consequently, playlists demand regular maintenance on the part of the listener just to keep the material somewhat fresh. Still, a certain degree of predictability simply cannot be avoided, even if the listener chooses a random playing mode. The uMusic intelligent playback system transcends playlists in many ways. Initially, it draws from a much larger universe of songs -- quite possibly the listener's entire music collection. It demands no manual organization of songs by the user other than the initial download of CD material. Its pool of material is fluid, created from a knowledge of the listeners's overall musical tastes rather than from a fixed playlist. Its song selections are full of pleasant surprises.The result is a much deeper listening experience, based on the shifting moods and tastes of the listener -almost like listening to a radio station programmed to suit that listener's unique tastes. What is a uMusic system "preset"? Consider a uMusic system preset a virtual "bin"in which the Lifestyle® system stores knowledge of your musical preferences as it learns what they are. The next time you select that particular preset, the system will play music based on what it has learned from previous interactions. The more music you listen to, the more it learns what you like. What if I have more than one person in the house? Or if I have different moods? The Lifestyle® 48 system is capable of storing nine different presets, so the system can learn a variety of distinct musical preferences based on individuals, situations or moods. For example, a family could have a preset dedicated to "Mom's music,""Dad's music,""cleaning music," "outdoor music,""workout music," etc. How does the uMusic intelligent playback system learn my preferences? The uMusic intelligent playback system learns from every song it plays, collecting information about your listening preferences. If you listen to a song all the way through, uMusic assumes you like the song. If you skip a song, uMusic assumes you're not in the mood for the song at that time. If you feel strongly about a song ­ pro or con ­ you can give the music a "+"or "­" rating using the remote. The system uses this information to play music that is similar to music you have accepted, and avoid music that is similar to what you have rejected. Can I delete tracks from the system? Yes. If you find that there are tracks you never want to listen to in any preset, you can delete tracks, albums or individual artists. Can I make a playlist if I want to? The uMusic intelligent playback system allows you to create one playlist of your own in addition to the nine uMusic system presets. You can either search the library for specific tracks and add them to the list, or press and hold the "playlist" button when you hear a song you want to add. Can I connect a computer or iPod/pocket PC to the Lifestyle® system and download MP3s? You can connect a computer or iPod/pocket PC to the Lifestyle® system and use it to play music, but you cannot download or transfer MP3s into the uMusic system. 4 Q A & LIFESTYLE ® 48 DVD HOME ENTERTAINMENT SYSTEM Can I store MP3s from a CD-R? Any CD-R burned as an audio CD can be stored into the uMusic system. In order for the uMusic system to make associations among songs, it needs to input the music from original CDs or exact duplicates. CD-Rs burned as data discs with MP3 files cannot be stored, but they can be played on the system. What is Bose® link? Bose® link is our proprietary technology that allows Bose products located in up to 14 different rooms to play sources from a single Lifestyle® system and its connected components. Bose® linkcompatible products (such as a 3·2·1 home entertainment system or Lifestyle® stereo amplifier) in various rooms can communicate with the Lifestyle® system independently, with their own volume, mute and on/off controls. In addition, in a Bose® link-enabled room you can choose between two independent audio streams coming from the Lifestyle® media center. What is an audio stream? An audio stream is similar to a TV channel ­ different channels have different content.With Bose® link, the streams have content from the different audio sources generated or enabled by the Lifestyle® system. For example, one stream might have music from the internal CD player, while the other stream could be the FM tuner, or even a connected component such as a TV. How does an audio stream differ from a zone? An audio stream-based approach offers far more flexibility than the traditional zone approach. In a zone approach, audio systems in different rooms are physically linked together. Two rooms in a zone, such as the master bedroom and the kitchen, must always have the same audio output.With the stream approach, each room gives the listener a choice between the two audio streams, so the person in the kitchen can listen to the radio while the person in the bedroom listens to a CD. What is the ADAPTiQ® audio calibration system? Factors such as a room's size and shape, the placement of speakers and where someone sits to listen affect sound in different ways. Furthermore, everyone's room arrangement is different.The ADAPTiQ audio calibration system is an innovative Bose technology that analyzes and adjusts the system's sound to ensure a quality Bose performance regardless of the room. The ADAPTiQ system is available with all DVD-based Lifestyle® systems. How does the ADAPTiQ audio calibration system work? The ADAPTiQ audio calibration system is activated while setting up the Lifestyle® system during a simple process that takes from ten to fifteen minutes. Microphones on a special headset worn by the user sample the sound from the system at five different locations throughout the room, analyzing the response from the speakers at each location. The ADAPTiQ system then makes the necessary adjustments to the Lifestyle® system so it will automatically deliver a quality Bose performance, customized for that particular room and its listeners, time after time. Will the ADAPTiQ audio calibration system work on any system? No. The ADAPTiQ audio calibration system is a proprietary technology available only with the Bose Lifestyle® 48, 38, 28 and 18 systems. The technology is integrated only with DVD-based Lifestyle® systems. 5 Q A & LIFESTYLE ® 48 DVD HOME ENTERTAINMENT SYSTEM If I change speaker locations or move the system to another room, can the ADAPTiQ® system be recalibrated? When going through the ADAPTiQ system process, I'm instructed to sit in five listening locations. How important are these locations? If I choose not to use the ADAPTiQ system, can I turn it off? Yes. Simply run the ADAPTiQ system setup procedure again when you rearrange your furniture, change your speaker placement or move the Lifestyle® system to a different room. There are no limits on how many times the ADAPTiQ audio calibration system can be reset. It is important to get a variety of measurements so the system can evaluate your room. We recognize that there may be fewer than five listening locations in some rooms, which is why it is suggested that customers stand (or sit on the floor) to simulate five different listening locations. Yes, you can turn off the ADAPTiQ audio calibration system. Using the remote, go to the onscreen display (OSD) and choose AUDIO SETUP. Within the menu, highlight ADAPTiQ and toggle to OFF. After using the ADAPTiQ system, can I still modify the performance of my system? Yes. With the ADAPTiQ system, you still have treble, bass and surround volume control, so you can further adjust the sound to your liking. ADVANCED TECHNOLOGIES Why did Bose® develop Videostage® 5 decoding circuitry and what are its customer benefits? After customers experience 5.1-encoded media played back through a digital home theater system, they can appreciate the added realism provided by discrete stereo sound in the surround channels. However, most conventional systems can deliver discrete five-speaker surround only from specially encoded software ­ 5.1 DVDs, for example. However, proprietary Videostage 5 circuitry allows customers to get a five-speaker surround experience from almost any source ­ including surround-encoded VHS tapes, stereo CDs, even monaural TV programs. Videostage 5 decoding circuitry provides the listener with the following benefits: · A five-speaker surround sound experience from surround-encoded VHS tapes and stereo TV programs ­ Videostage 5 decoding and post-processing circuitry delivers a five-speaker experience from a surround-encoded program by decoding the signal into front left, front center, front right and two independent channels of surround (both left and right).This performance is similar to that of a 5.1-encoded DVD disc, and is automatically engaged. · A five-speaker surround sound experience from mono TV shows ­ The nextgeneration Lifestyle® home entertainment systems, using Videostage 5 decoding circuitry, can deliver a five-speaker surround sound experience even from mono TV shows.With Dolby® Digital 1.0 (monaural) program material, the five-speaker surround sound experience is delivered automatically. If a TV broadcast or VHS tape is in mono, customers can enjoy a full five-speaker surround sound experience by pressing and holding the "five-speaker" button to engage the monaural decoder. (They will hear a chime, and then they will hear all five speakers come on.) · Five-speaker surround sound from stereo CDs ­ Many conventional home theater systems are challenged when playing stereo CDs through all five speakers. However, Bose® proprietary Videostage 5 decoding circuitry delivers a realistic listening experience continued on next page 6 Q A & LIFESTYLE ® 48 DVD HOME ENTERTAINMENT SYSTEM with the vocalist or predominant instrument appearing centered, the backup instruments remaining spacious, and ambient instrumentation appearing in the surround channels. If customers would rather listen through two speakers, they simply press the "Speaker 2-3-5" button on the remote control and select the two-speaker mode. Are there any other advantages offered by Videostage® 5 decoding circuitry compared with conventional decoding technology? Yes. Most of the decoding technology available today was originally designed to work in commercial movie theaters ­ a significantly different environment from most homes. Because Bose specifically engineered Videostage 5 decoding circuitry to reproduce the experience of the cinema in a living room, the Lifestyle® system offers your customers important advantages: · Deep, low notes from a single source ­ Videostage 5 decoding and postprocessing circuitry sums the lower frequencies from all channels into the single Acoustimass® module, which can easily be hidden out of sight. Integrating all the low-note production into one source reduces unpredictable acoustic effects that may be caused by placement of multiple low-note enclosures in the room. · Improved on-screen localization ­ In most homes, the center channel speaker is placed above or below the TV screen.With the Videostage 5 circuitry in the Lifestyle® system, output from the three front Jewel Cube® cube speaker arrays is integrated to establish a sonic image of the center channel information in the center of the screen. Most of the other decoders available today tend to steer the center channel information directly to the center speaker ­ an arrangement that works well in movie theaters, where the center speakers are set directly behind the screen, but perhaps not so well in homes, where the center speaker is generally above or below the TV picture. · Advanced surround channel controls ­ The Lifestyle® system includes surround controls that allow you to adjust the direction that the surround channel information comes from, so you feel enveloped by sound. In addition, the Lifestyle® system preserves the surround information that Hollywood intended. Unlike the surround controls of most conventional systems, the Lifestyle® system control does not just turn down the surround, but actually fades it from rear to front, so the information in the surround channels is not lost ­ even if you fade the sound all the way to the front. What are the benefits of the hideaway Acoustimass® module? In order to meet the demands of today's movie soundtracks, the Acoustimass module delivers low frequencies with more clarity, even at very loud levels. Utilizing a proprietary hybrid technology, Bose combines several approaches to low-frequency reproduction, allowing prodigious airflow at the lowest frequencies without port compression or other audible artifacts.You can hide the module out of sight and all the sound seems to come from the tiny cube speakers. Can the Lifestyle® system decode a DTS® or Dolby® Digital 5.1 program? Yes. Lifestyle® home entertainment systems have DTS and Dolby Digital decoding ­ so they are ready for 5.1-encoded programs from DVD, DSS or DTV. And because it is a Lifestyle® system, no recalibration is required to enjoy 5.1 sound. It takes only the push of one button to enjoy the digital 5.1 experience. What is the benefit provided by Digital Dynamic Range® compression circuitry? When enjoying home theater, listeners must often be sensitive to the needs of others ­ neighbors, sleeping children or a significant other ­ who should not be disturbed. As volume is decreased in most conventional home theater systems, the ability to hear the quieter portions continued on next page 7 Q A & LIFESTYLE ® 48 DVD HOME ENTERTAINMENT SYSTEM (particularly dialogue) diminishes. That's because the quieter sections of the soundtrack approach or even fall below the ambient "noise floor" of most living spaces. So listeners must "ride the volume control" ­ turning the volume up to hear soft dialogue, then quickly down again to suppress an explosion or other loud audio effect. Bose® proprietary Digital Dynamic Range® compression circuitry lets listeners hear dialogue clearly, yet still experience the impact of special effects even at low listening levels. This feature is automatically engaged for all video sources, but can be easily turned off if desired. How does the Lifestyle® system deliver proper signal processing both for movies and music? Today's home entertainment systems must be able to accurately reproduce soundtracks from video programming and music from compact discs. Movie soundtracks are typically designed to reproduce with a boost in the low frequencies, which can often prove overwhelming when listening to music. Most home theater systems do not automatically adjust for this. The Lifestyle® system automatically delivers a suitable low-frequency boost for movie soundtracks, and removes it when a CD or the radio plays. As a result, the listener enjoys appropriate lows both for movie soundtracks and music reproduction ­ all from a single system without complex controls. What is the benefit of the multi-room/multi-source expansion capability included with the Lifestyle® system? It makes the system more versatile. The Lifestyle® media center offers two independent audio outputs that can deliver different audio sources to two separate areas of the home simultaneously. Just add Bose powered loudspeakers (a wide variety is available to fit your customers' needs and budgets) and a remote control for each additional room. Customers can enjoy home theater in one room and a radio program in another ­ all from the same media center. CONTROL INTEGRATION What additional equipment can the Lifestyle® system control? One easy-to-use radio frequency remote controls all functions of the Lifestyle® system and provides access to the most frequently used commands for the TV, VCR, and cable box or satellite receiver. In addition, the system can control many important functions of a connected personal video recorder or CD jukebox. Also, with the supplied TV power detector, the system knows whether to turn the TV on or off, so one button can turn on the Lifestyle® system and the TV. Sound from the system and video from the TV can be activated with a single button press. Can the Lifestyle® system be controlled by universal or learning remote controls? In addition to its radio frequency remote, the Lifestyle® system has an infrared (IR) control system which includes an IR receiver and an IR transmitter, plus an extensive multi-brand IR commands database. Additionally, published Bose® IR codes enable the IR remotes to control the Lifestyle® system. CONNECTIVITY What additional equipment can be connected to the Lifestyle® system? What can customers do if they have a satellite receiver with "Optical Output" only? The Lifestyle® system's media center houses four audio inputs for TV, VCR, AUX and Cable/Sat. Each input has L/R analog and a coaxial digital connection. The Lifestyle® system's media center has an optical digital input that can be assigned to one of the four audio inputs. Simply identify which input the optical connection should be associated with in the on-screen menu, and make the necessary cable connections. 8 Q A & LIFESTYLE ® 48 DVD HOME ENTERTAINMENT SYSTEM SERVING THE CUSTOMER What accessories are compatible with the Lifestyle® system? · Floor stands ­ (pair), UFS-20 (Black,White or Silver) · Wall bracket ­ (single), UB-20 (Black,White or Silver) · Table stand ­ (single), UTS-20 (Black,White or Silver) · Bose® link-enabled powered speakers and systems, including the 3·2·1 system and 3·2·1 GS system · Lifestyle® SA-2 stereo amplifier, Lifestyle® SA-3 stereo amplifier · Controllers: Personal® music center II, RC-38S remote control To order accessories, call your nearest Bose dealer or contact Bose Customer Service at 1-800-367-4008. Be sure to specify color, using the model numbers above. How should I present the Lifestyle® 48 system to customers? As the premier Lifestyle® DVD home entertainment system, the Lifestyle® 48 system offers: · The best balance of performance, elegance and simplicity of any Bose home entertainment system. · A high-quality, elegant media center with a DVD/CD player, AM/FM tuner and the ability to store 340 hours worth of music. · Hideaway Acoustimass® module and five Jewel Cube® speakers that fit into practically any décor. · uMusicTM intelligent playback system. · ADAPTiQ® audio calibration system, ensuring high-quality, customized sound in almost any room. · Bose® link expansion capability. Every customer considering a home theater purchase should experience the benefits of Lifestyle® home entertainment systems. Their unique blend of performance, elegance, simplicity and expandability, made possible through patented and proprietary Bose technologies and integrated systems design, make Lifestyle® systems truly unique. We also believe that when customers discover these benefits first hand ­ the lifelike, dramatic sound, ease of operation, innovative listening approaches, and creative solutions to the problems posed by conventional home theater ­ they will be motivated to join the Bose family. Lifestyle® systems, with the ADAPTiQ® audio calibration system,"listen," learn and adapt to their surroundings.The uMusic intelligent playback system takes this a step further, by "learning" a listener's musical tastes, and playing selections they most likely want to hear. Lifestyle® systems offer high-performing, elegant, intuitive home theater...only from Bose. 9