AV20-AV35-AVM Control Consoles

* AV35
* AV20
* AVM

AVM

* 20W Operating Guide
* 35W Operating Guide

## History

On May 24, 2010, Bose introduced four new Lifestyle systems: the V35, V25, T20, and T10. These new systems can support up to six HD devices and feature "Unify" technology that guides users through the installation and setup of the systems. The V35 features "Jewel Cube" speakers, the V25 and T20 use "Direct/Reflect" speakers and the T10 employs "Virtually Invisible" cube speakers.

All four products are 5.1 channel systems with four HDMI 1.4a, two component and three composite inputs. There is one HDMI 1.4a video output that scales input video up to 1080p output resolution. They support three non-HDMI audio inputs: optical, coax and RCA. The products support DTS, Dolby Digital, Dolby TrueHD, and uncompressed multi-channel PCM (aka LPCM). They also feature a USB jack for firmware updates and to view pictures, and a BoseLink in.

The V35 and V25 models use the AV35 media center and feature an included iPod dock compatible with all iPods/iPhones (with the exception of the iPod Shuffle) two USB jacks & extra RCA inputs to support BoseLink expansion. The T20 and T10 use the AV20 media center and does not have the iPod Dock, excludes a radio, one USB jack and cannot expand.

## Connecting to a 4K TV

*Main article: Connecting a Lifestyle AV20 or AV35 receiver to a 4K TV*

Please follow the instructions here to find out the best way to connect your media center to a 4K TV.

## Features

### Audio Format Support

I would like to point out what cables can support what formats:

* RCA - Stereo (aka PCM/LPCM 2.0)
* Digital Coax/SPDIF & TOSLink/Optical (as does HDMI ARC) - PCM 2.0, Dolby Digital 5.1, & DTS 5.1
* Regular HDMI - All above & Uncompressed Audio (aka LPCM 5.1, Dolby TrueHD 5.1, DTS Master Audio 5.1, etc.)

**All** systems mentioned support **PCM 2.0**, **DTS**, **Dolby Digital**, **Dolby TrueHD**, & **LPCM**. So to get the best audio quality I would change all audio settings on your 3rd party devices to **LPCM**.

This way you can listen to Dolby Digital Plus, lossless DTS-HD Master Audio & anything else (aside from 3D positioning on Atmos/DTS:X) supported by your 3rd party device via LPCM without losing any sound quality.

You may see people say that the control consoles support **DTS Master Audio "core"**, DTS Master Audio Core means that it will only playback an embedded regular DTS signal.

### AdaptIQ

*Main article: AdaptIQ*

The key feature of the system is the ADAPTiQ audio calibration system, which allows for the system to adapt to the owner's personal living room environment. The system plays tones through each speaker and listens with a microphone headset worn by the user, and based on what it "hears", the media center will calibrate and equalize each speaker to compensate for any acoustic abnormalities in the room. In this manner, any *Lifestyle* system will sound the same in any living room as the professional demonstration.

### Unify

This system guides users through installation of any products connect to the system through an on-screen wizard. It uses a reverse lookup to recognize the remote of 3rd party products to program its own universal remote.

"The Unify intelligent integration system makes it easy to get your system up and running. It walks you through setup, step by step. As you connect components to the console, the system recommends the best connectors via onscreen messages—and even lets you know you’ve made the right connection."

"Unify technology also simplifies programming your Bose universal RF remote to control your Lifestyle® system and most anything attached to it. During setup, the Unify system identifies each connected component, and automatically teaches the Bose remote to control it. It even works when you hide the console or components away behind the doors of your entertainment center. Plus, you'll view system information on the Bose remote's LCD screen."

### iPod/iPhone Dock

The AV35 (20W) & AVM (20W) control consoles included an iPod/iPhone dock. The dock was not included with AV35 (35W) or AVM (35W) control consoles, but it still can operate with it.

The dock is compatible with all 30 pin iPods/iPhones (with the exception of the iPod Shuffle). A Lightning to 30-pin Adapter is required to use with iPods/iPhones made after 2012. The AV20 control consoles and does include an iPod/iPhone dock.

#### Download files

 **AVM (35W)** | VideoWave series III

#### Release Notes

Below lists the software updates released for this media center.

## BoseLink vs SoundTouch versions

The AV20, AV35, & AVM control console's were sold from 2010 until 2016. But halfway through they were modified.

1. 2010-2013: BoseLink multi-room
	1. Please read this post about BoseLink as the AV18/AV38/AV48 expansion room remotes are incompatible with them.
	2. There are ways to use some BoseLinked speakers without having a compatible control console connected to them.
2. 2013-2016: SoundTouch/WiFi multi-room ONLY for AV35 & AVM (You need the external adapter for wifi)
	1. There are two generations of the adapter. The SoundTouch Series II wireless adapter includes Bluetooth, but neither feature AirPlay.
	2. FYI. Bose sold another item called the SoundTouch Wireless Link adapter. This has a confusingly similar name but is not designed specifically for Bose SoundTouch control consoles.

### Product labels

Bose added a "**STCH**" to the very bottom right of the control console's label to distinguish a SoundTouch version from the previous "BoseLink" model. You can also discover which one you have by checking the control consoles wattage. The "BoseLink" version requires **20W of power**, while the SoundTouch version requires **35W of power**.

### BoseLink on All 20W control consoles

*Main article: BoseLink*

BoseLink was an expansion technology that allowed up to 15 rooms to listen to music throughout the home.

* "BoseLink out" allows an AV35 (20W) Lifestyle system to be the host for music expansion throughout the home.
* "BoseLink in" allows one to connect to a Main BoseLink Out system, either wired or wireless. Once connected to the main system listeners use a local radio frequency remote to communicate back to the main system thus allowing it to control the volume and to select the audio source for that room.

BoseLink in was included in the all 20W control consoles sold from 2010-2013 and the AV35 (20W) control consoles was the only one with BoseLink out capabilities.

#### Expansion remotes with the AV35 (20W)

The PMC III or RC352S remotes to control your BoseLinked AV35 (20W). This is an updated version of the PMCII or RC48S2 which were designed for the Model AV18-AV38-AV48 Media Centers and are incompatible with the AV35 (20W).

To use the PMC III :

1. Be sure the console is running software version 01.07.00 or greater
2. Press the **Setup** button on the PMC III
3. Tip the **Navigation** bar down to highlight the Room Code option, then press the **Right Arrow** button
4. Highlight the Room Code that matches the room code of the expansion product and press the **Navigation** bar in to select it
5. Press the **Left Arrow** button to exit the Setup menu

If the remote does not activate the expansion room, the default house code and/or house code mode may have changed. Try setting the remote to House Code 0 (switches 1, 2, 3 and 4 down).

You can find the house code and pair any expansion remotes to the Lifestyle V35 using the Unify menu by following these steps:

* On the control console, press **Setup**. The Setup menu with the Unify logo should appear on the TV screen - if it doesn't, select the correct TV input
* On the main remote, press **Down** until "Homewide" is highlighted
* Press **OK**
* Press **Up** or **Down** to highlight "House code"
* Press **OK**
* Press **Up** or **Down** to highlight "Standard". The default is "15". Changing this selection will change the house code setting to "0" for Standard, "0A" for Alternative
* On the expansion remote, press **Stop**. The system's house code setting will change to match the expansion remote
* On the main remote, press **Exit** to leave the menu

You can also do this from the system information screen using these steps:

* On the control console, press **Setup**. The Setup menu with the Unify logo should appear on the TV screen - if it doesn't, select the correct TV input
* Press and hold **Setup** until the System Information Screen displays
* Change switches 1, 2, 3 and 4 under the battery cover on the back of the expansion remote to match the four lines shown to the right of the number on line 11. If six lines are shown, change switches 5 and 6 as well

### SoundTouch on AV35/AVM (35W) control consoles

*Main article: SoundTouch*

After a firmware update to a compatible AV35/AVM (35W) control consoles, a "SoundTouch wireless adapter" would add SoundTouch capabilities to the system.

The adapter plugs into the "BoseLink in"/"BoseLink" port at the back of the AV35/AVM (35W) control console. This powers the adapter and allows it to send sound to the receiver. You must also have a micro USB-B to USB-A cable to connect the "Setup-A" port on the adapter to the control consoles rear USB port. This will allow your control console to have on screen control.

There are two generations of the adapter.

1. The SoundTouch wireless adapter was sold from 2014-2015.
2. The SoundTouch Series II wireless adapter was sold from 2015-2017 and added Bluetooth capabilities.

The "SoundTouch wireless adapter" did not include AirPlay.

## The AVM control console

*Main article: VideoWave*

The AVM control console was designed for the VideoWave which was a Bose TV that was sold from 2010 to 2015.

It has many of the same features and functions as a AV35, but it is missing:

* 1x BoseLink Out
* 1x AM Radio 2.5mm port
* 1x FM Radio RF Coax F-type connector
* 1x 2.5mm Homewide antenna port (for BoseLink expansion)
* 3x RCA inputs on HDMI 1-3 (analog audio needed for BoseLink expansion)
* Does not have any RCA, Optical, or Digital Coax TV Audio input connections
* uses a specialised video out connector to connect to the VideoWave's TV monitor.

While it never included "BoseLink out" it did have SoundTouch capabilities added like an AV35 (35W) if used with a SoundTouch Series II wireless adapter.

### Click pad

The Click Pad universal RF remote has only a few buttons on it – Power, Input, Channel, Volume, Mute, and Back. In the center, there's a directional pad, surrounded by a touch pad that takes up about a third of the remote's space. The touch pad is essentially a universal remote, with most controls on the screen. When you connect a device like a TiVo or an iPod to the VideoWave, it embeds the controls into the system itself.

When you put your finger on the touchpad, the picture on the screen shrinks, and around it appears a rectangle menu with all the controls for what you're looking at—you'll see different menus for an iPod than for a TiVo, both of which are different than a Blu-ray player.

Using the touch pad, which Bose calls the "click pad," you scroll around the screen and click the proper menu button on the pad itself. The positions are absolute, so once you learn where "Guide" is on the screen, just a tap in that spot on the click pad. Navigating the guide works with the directional pad, which handled all the on-screen menus well. The remote is designed to replace all the remotes for your various devices and systems.

## The AV20 & AV35 control consoles

From 2010 until 2016 Bose sold these control consoles with multiple different systems

### The Basic difference between the AV20/AV35

I broadly go over some of their differences and similarities in this upgrade guide.

* the **AV35** (**20W & 35W**) version adds : Radio, iPod Dock, & a Remote with an LCD screen
* the **AV35** (**20W**) version adds : BoseLink Out expansion
* the **AV35** (**35W**) version adds : SoundTouch capabilities

Videostage 5
1 Headphone out

AV20 (35W)
* 1x *Non-functioning* BoseLink in (might be labelled "Service")

**Options found on all AV20 & AV35 control consoles**
Video:
* 1x HDMI 1.4a video output (Max 1080p)
* 4x HDMI 1.4a video inputs (3 rear & 1 front) (Max 1080p)
* 2x Component video inputs
* 3x Composite video inputs (2 rear & 1 front)

Audio (excluding HDMI Audio):
* 3x Digital Coax audio inputs
* 3x Digital Optical audio inputs
* 3x RCA audio inputs (2 rear & 1 front)
* 1x Front 3.5mm headphone audio out

Other:
* 1x Front USB port
* 1x 3.5mm data port
* 1x 3.5mm IR extension output
* 1x Subwoofer port (Might be labelled "Acoustimass Module" or  "Audio Out")
* 1x Kensington Security Slot
* 1x Power port
* 1x BoseLink Out

AV35 (35W)
* 1x SoundTouch port (labeled BoseLink in)
* 1x *Non-functioning* BoseLink out

Color:
* AV20 - Silver
* AV35 - Black

**Options not found on AV20 control consoles**
* 3x RCA inputs on HDMI 1-3 (analog audio needed for BoseLink expansion)
* 1x FM Radio RF Coax F-type connector
* 1x AM Radio 2.5mm port
* 1x iPod/iPhone dock connector

Other:
* LCD screen on RC35 remote
* 1x 2.5mm Homewide antenna port (for BoseLink expansion)

*AV20*

*AV35*

*RC20T*

*RC-X20*

*RC35T-L*

*RC-X35L*

An AV35 control console requires either 3 or 4 items to be operational (excluding the subwoofer & speakers):

1. AV35 control console (there are two versions of the AV35)
	1. BoseLink multi-room (20W)
	2. SoundTouch/WiFi multi-room (35W)
		1. With SoundTouch Series II wireless adapter.
2. RC35T-L or RC-X35L RF remote
3. AV35 power brick (20W/35W)

### TV Audio Out

The AV20 & AV35 control consoles do not support HDMI ARC or CEC, but you can output HDMI audio being sent to your control console to your TV.

*TV Speakers:*

* *On: Sends HDMI audio to your TV (audio from the TV is not affected by plugging headphones into the control console or by pressing Mute or Volume on the remote)*
* ***Off**: (Default) Sends HDMI audio to the Lifestyle system speakers*

### AV20 & AV35 Remotes

The AV35's remote has an LCD screen on it & the AV20 does not. The RGYB buttons are found on RC-X20 & RC-X35L remotes. You can use an AV35 remote with an AV20 control console.

### Speakers

*See also: LSPS III*

*See also: Jewel Cube speakers*

*See also: Jewel Cube speakers series II*

*See also: Direct/Reflecting cube speakers*

*See also: Direct/Reflecting cube speakers series II*

*See also: Virtually Invisible cube speakers*

*See also: Lifestyle 135 Speaker array*

*See also: Lifestyle 235 Acoustimass module*

### Lifestyle systems that use the AV20/AV35

A table showing which subwoofer and control console came with each system:

I found this image online a little while ago. The V25 uses the AV35 and the T20 uses the AV20, both use the same sub and speakers, so the control console is the only difference between the two systems.

## References

1. ↑ Listed as Defender\_5.5x8.5\_AIM\_3L.fm in manual
2. ↑ owners guide page 33 "This product contains one or more free or open source software programs originating from third parties and distributed as part of the STLinux software package. Visit www.stlinux.com/download for further details. This free and open source software is subject to the terms of the GNU General Public License, GNU Library/Lesser General Public License, or other different and/or additional copyright licenses, notices, and disclaimers. To understand your rights under these licenses, please refer to the specific terms of the licenses, notices, and disclaimers, which are provided to you in an electronic file, named “licenses.pdf,” located within the product’s control console."
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Twice - Bose To Simplify Home-Theater Setup With Onscreen Displays
4. ↑ pocket-lint Bose Unify - the simpler home cinema system?
5. ↑ 3D Update
6. ↑ 3D Update Manual added with version 010600
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Lifestyle 525 Series III home entertainment system Bose.com 2015 July 11
8. ↑ Bose.com 20W Software and firmware versions
Bose.com 35W Software and firmware versions
9. ↑ Today - Singapore first country outside the US to get Bose VideoWave
10. ↑ PCWorld - A Bose TV? Sounds Good - Literally
11. ↑ PCMag - Bose VideoWave HDTV: Hands On