Current Release: 3.0R1 Snapshot 20100201 (English Locales Only)
                                                                  



AV Linux 3.0 is a LiveDVD ISO image that is a self-contained, full-featured computer Operating System. It was created using the Debian GNU/Linux Testing branch and Remastersys. This LiveDVD ISO image can be downloaded, burned onto any DVD-R(W) and then booted and demonstrated on virtually any recent Windows PC without any effect on the existing OS. If the user desires it can be installed to the Hard Drive either on it's own or "dual-boot" with an existing Windows or Linux OS. Once installed AV Linux transforms the user's computer into a full-blown Audio/Video Workstation ready to use! The User Interface features the very lightweight and efficient LXDE 0.5.0 Desktop Environment. It's well-rounded program selection covers most every common everyday computer tasks featuring a full complement of the best F/OSS Multimedia Applications available allowing users to enjoy Multitrack Audio Recording and Mixing, Video Capturing, Editing and Converting, DVD Authoring and Creation, iPod Tools and much more. AV Linux also contains  Hard Drive utilities making it an excellent troubleshooting and rescue solution.


At the heart of AV Linux is a customized i686 2.6.31.12-rt20 Linux Kernel that features "realtime" preemption, 1000hz Timer and PAE (Physical Address Extension) support. This means that even though it is a 32 bit Operating System it is not limited to 4GB of RAM, in fact it can utilize up to 64GB of RAM! This has been done in consideration of those with newer systems many of which come routinely with more than 4GB of RAM. PAE is supported by Intel Pentium Pro, Pentium 3, Pentium 4, CoreDuo and Quad Processors. also by AMD Athlon, AthlonXP, X2, and Phenom Processors.
**PLEASE NOTE: Many Pentium "M" mobile processors do not support PAE**
**If you aren't sure check the manufacturers data sheet to confirm whether your CPU has PAE support**
AV Linux proudly showcases the incredible work of the following developers and partners:
Debian/GNU Linux, Debian Pkg-Multimedia Team, LXDE, Tony Brijeski (Remastersys), RevLinux (geekconnection.org), Paul Davis and Ardour Team (JACK, Ardour), Alessandro Cominu (Hydrogen) LinuxMusicians.com, Christian Marillat (debian-multimedia.org), Matthew Weatherford (WinFF), Mike Start (linuxDSP), Rui Nuno Capela (Qjackctl, QSynth, Qtractor, rtirq), Hermann Meyer, James Warden (Guitarix, JCGui) Dave Robillard (LASH, SLV2), Chris Cannam, D. Michael McIntyre (Rosegarden,), Nick Copeland (Bristol Synths) Peder Hedlund (Bristol Launcher), Torben Hohn (FST), Jonathan Thomas (Openshot), Salsaman (LiVES), Adam Williamson (Cinelerra) Th3Rob (TechniX themes), Daniel Grimm (Black White Icons) FreeGraphics.com.


(L-R) 1.AV Linux LXDE Desktop  2.Ardour 2.8.4 with linuxDSP, Calf, LV2fil, Invada LV2, JACK Client and LADSPA  Plugins
            


Audio Recording:
- Ardour 2.8.6 w/ LV2 Support + Hundreds of LADSPA Plugins
- VST(i) Support via FST 1.8 (run as external JACK Clients) and DSSI-VST 0.8
-  linuxDSP JACK Client Plugins and JACK Patchbay + new linuxDSP MX Series LV2 plugins!
- Invada LV2 Plugins, Calf Plugins 0.0.19 (GIT) SWH LV2 Plugins,
- ALSA-Tools GUI's for Echo, RME, and M-Audio Soundcards, ffado mixer, Tascam US-122,224,428 support, ALSA utils
- Hydrogen 0.9.4, Audacity 1.39, Bristol Synths 0.40.7, Jamin 0.98 from CVS
- JACK 0.118 w/FFADO 2.0 Firewire Support
- Qjackctl 0.3.5, QSynth 0.3.4, QSampler 0.2.2, Qtractor 0.4.5
- Sooperlooper live looper 1.6.13
- WineASIO 0.7.5, Linuxsampler 1.0, ZynAddSubFX 2.4.0
- Snd and mhwaveedit soundfile editors
- FOR BETA TESTING ONLY - Rosegarden "Thorn 10.02" Qt4 Port - Report bugs to the Rosegarden developers mailing list

Video Editing/Conversion:
- Avidemux 2.5.2, Cinelerra 4.1 from GIT, DeVeDe 3.15, Bombono DVD 0.5.2
- Handbrake GTK DVD Ripper/Converter 0.9.4, WinFF ffmpeg GUI 1.1.1
- Kino 1.3.4,  Openshot 1.0, LiVES 1.1.8, 

Graphics and Printing Applications:
- GIMP 2.6.7, Gtkam 0.1.16.2, GPicview 0.2.1, mtPaint 3.31, Xpdf 3.02, Xsane 0.996
 
Network/Internet:
-  Mozilla Iceweasel 3.5.6, Kompozer 0.8b1,
- XChat IRC 2.8.6, Transmission Bittorrent 1.76
- Wicd Network Manager 1.6.2.2, FileZilla 3.3.0

Media Players:
- ALSAPlayer 0.99.80, Mplayer SVN, Songbird 1.4, VLC Media Player 1.0.4, LX Music 0.4.2

System Tools/Utilities:
- Remastersys Backup, Control Panel and Installer, GRUB Startup Manager 1.9.3
- WINE 1.1.37, Compiz 0.8.2, Emerald Themer 0.8.2, Fusion-Icon
- Synaptic 0.63, PCManFM 0.5.2, Unetbootin 377
- Realtime Configuration Scan, SGFXI nVidia & ATI Drivers Installer Script

Miscellaneous:
- Grip CD Ripper 3.3.1, Floola 5.4, Gnomebaker CD/DVD Burning 0.6.4, X-CDRoast 0.98 ,gtkPod 0.99.14
 Gedit Text Editor 2.28


In addition to supporting most onboard and common Audio Cards AV Linux also has OOTB Support for many common Pro Audio/MIDI Interfaces like M-Audio, Tascam, Echo and RME. A growing list of Firewire Audio Interfaces are also working with FFADO and FreeBOB. For Video DV Camcorders and other Firewire Video devices (Canopus) as well as many Hauppage Conexxant based Capture Cards are also supported.


If you are an experienced Linux user, packager or developer you will be at home with the included number of development libraries, compilers, build utilities and packaging helper applications available and ready to use. GIT, SVN, and CVS are also included.
- Download the most recent ISO file (See "Download the ISO" section below)
- Burn the ISO file to a DVD-R or RW using your existing Burning Software
- Set your Computer BIOS to Boot from your DVD Drive if it doesn't by default
- Boot Into the AV Linux ISO to Test and Demo with no changes to your existing OS
- To Install launch the Remastersys Installer (Experience with Drive Partitioning is Recommended)


AV Linux is "Image-based" which makes it necessary to be installed a little differently than a regular Linux distribution. It is suggested to create a single ext3 Partition at least 15GB in size and a Swap Partition of 1GB. It's "/home" should be included on the Root Partition and not used for permanent data in the usual Linux fashion. For Audio and Video work it is most beneficial to have data on a separate physical drive if possible or at the very least on a separate partition not involved in the Installation process for safety's sake. A secondary consideration is the 4GB limit of Remastersys Backup, by not using the /home folder for data storage it is much easier to create Backups that conform to the 4GB limit. Since AV Linux is primarily updated with complete new ISO's starting out with this suggested installation method paves the way for quick and easy upgrades or reinstallations, safe data and easy backups.


**IMPORTANT - Remastersys Installer Info**
The Remastersys installer requires at least one ext3 Partition and a Swap Partition and will launch "GParted" to create them if needed. If you already have the recommended existing partitions simply close GParted and select your existing Partitions. ANY Partition targeted by the Installer INCLUDING an existing /home Partition will be formatted! The Remastersys Installer DOES NOT currently have the capability to preserve an existing /home. A workaround is to transfer the contents of your existing /home to a different or external Drive and copy the content back to your newly created AV Linux /home folder after an install.

 - AV Linux intentionally has no boot splash, boot warnings including messages about "ftrace" and "udev" are totally harmless.
- Realtime Kernel is now the default. For an optional "Desktop" Kernel please click the "Packages" link at the top of the page.
 - Use Preferences --> Startup Manager to select a different Default Kernel from the stock "avlinux" Kernel if needed.
- AV Linux can be put on a bootable USB Key using the included Unetbootin
 - Check out the "Extra Goodies" folder in your user's home for useful extras.
- Mounting of drives and USB storage is primarily done through PCmanFM.
- To automatically mount all drives at boot use Remastersys Control Panel --> System Management
- Use the Remastersys Control Panel for System Administration and much more..
- System Tools --> SGFXI can be used to install proprietary ATI and nVidia graphics drivers.
- Use Preferences --> Add Launcher to Desktop Tool to create Desktop Icons in LXDE
- Use Network --> Wicd to detect and connect to Wired and Wireless Networks
- Some users may need to change "eth1" to "eth0" in the Wicd Preferences in case of wired connection problems.
- The PCManFM File Manager has no "Trash". Deleted files are deleted permanently.
- To get FireWire/DV working add yourself as user to the "disk" group using Remastersys Control Panel
 

AV Linux is intentionally "Image-based". It's full featured set of applications should be more than adequate for most users to get started quickly. However since it is built with Debian/GNU Linux it also conforms to and has access to a huge amount of Software through the Debian Repository System. User's can add or remove software with the included "Synaptic Package Manager".  AV Linux contains cutting edge current Packages from the Testing and Unstable branches of Debian, which should be treated much differently than using the Stable branch. Any software applications should be installed or removed with care and any updating should be done only as needed and with caution. For more detailed info read here: http://geekconnection.org/remastersys/forums/index.php?topic=240.0

AV Linux is a collection of mostly "Free Open Source Software". This is unfortunately a very misleading term, while it is true that that most open source software costs nothing to download, the  term "free" is interpreted in various ways throughout the Linux world. AV Linux costs nothing to download and try however if you use it regularly donations of any size are appreciated and needed to cover the numerous costs associated with web hosting, hardware maintenance, and of course the numerous hours of development and maintenance to provide it. If there are not sufficient donations to carry the project it may have to be discontinued or a different "pay to download" method employed to distribute it.

 

Debian/GNULinux comes with no guarantee so neither does AV Linux. I accept no responsibility for any hardware/software malfunctions or data loss resulting from it's use. It is important to note that AV Linux contains some software that is not open-source and is distributed under a special licensing arrangement with the original developer, re-distributing AV Linux is a violation of this license.


- Some QT3 and QT4 apps appear without the Openbox WM in unmaximized windows. A workaround is to right click and maximize the windows from the taskbar icons on the LX Panel. Alternately the included Compiz/Emerald WM can be used (Requires 3D Graphics Drivers)
  

**IMPORTANT**
AV Linux now uses snapshots between official releases to help keep the current stages of development available for users to download without having to start from a dated ISO and manually update. The naming scheme of the ISO files use a YEAR/MONTH/DAY number in the ISO filename, the newest snapshots will have the most recent date. It is very strongly recommended to obtain ISO images from this site directly. There are many forums, blogs, LiveCD providers and torrents of AV Linux with links that are outdated and versions being distributed without permission or consent. To ensure the most recent version with the correct matching md5s please download from here. If you are a third party wishing to to share or promote AV Linux please link to this website and not the ftp ISO folder.

Click on the folder to access the ISO ftp.

I would like to take the opportunity to thank those who have tried AV Linux for their Input, Support, Comments and Encouragement. It is truly gratifying to meet Linux Audio and Video enthusiasts from all over the world. It is my hope that AV Linux will live up to it's "Install and Create" mandate and facilitate Multimedia Content Creation for Linux users.
- Glen MacArthur a.k.a. GMaq

Document made with KompoZer