Ubuntu Studio - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Ubuntu Studio is an officially recognized derivative of the Ubuntu

Ubuntu (operating system)

Ubuntu is a computer operating system based on the Debian Linux distribution and distributed as free and open source software. It is named after the Southern African philosophy of Ubuntu...

Linux distribution

A Linux distribution is a member of the family of Unix-like operating systems built on top of the Linux kernel. Such distributions are operating systems including a large collection of software applications such as word processors, spreadsheets, media players, and database applications...

, which is explicitly geared to general multimedia

Multimedia

Multimedia is media and content that uses a combination of different content forms. The term can be used as a noun or as an adjective describing a medium as having multiple content forms. The term is used in contrast to media which use only rudimentary computer display such as text-only, or...

production. The original version, based on Ubuntu 7.04, was released on May 10, 2007.

Real-time kernel

The real-time kernel

Kernel (computing)

In computing, the kernel is the main component of most computer operating systems; it is a bridge between applications and the actual data processing done at the hardware level. The kernel's responsibilities include managing the system's resources...

, first included with Ubuntu Studio 8.04, was modified for intensive audio, video or graphics work. The 8.10 release lacks this real-time kernel. It has been reimplemented in the 9.04 release and stabilized with the release of 9.10. 10.04, in contrast, does not include the real-time kernel by default. As of version 10.10, the real-time kernel is no longer available in the repositories.

Typically, computers used as audio workstations rely on hardware monitoring which may provide low latency, but does not allow the live signal to be manipulated beyond available hardware effects. To manipulate a live signal, software processing of the signal is necessary, which most audio work stations can only achieve with latencies greater than several tens of milliseconds. Thus, a notable advantage of the Linux real-time kernel is being able to achieve software processing with latencies well below the human perception threshold of 5 to 10ms.

The scheduler allows applications to request immediate CPU time, which can drastically reduce audio latency

Latency (audio)

Latency refers to a short period of delay between when an audio signal enters and when it emerges from a system...

.
In 9.10, the "Ubuntu Studio Controls" provided under System>Administration permit the user to "Enable Nice," allowing the use of wireless networking and proprietary graphics cards drivers while maintaining low audio latency free of XRUNs (audio drop-outs) in JACK. A more negative value entered for "Nice" reserves more CPU time for real-time audio processes.

Appearance and sound theme

Ubuntu Studio also includes custom artwork and a blue-on-black theme, as opposed to Ubuntu's default purple and orange. As with the main distribution of Ubuntu, if an accelerated graphics card and appropriate driver are used, the advanced desktop effects can be enabled. More advanced Compiz effects are available in the Synaptic Package Manager (i.e., Ubuntu repositories). In Karmic 9.10, a fresh sound theme replaces the default Ubuntu theme, with a reverberating melody at startup, and an occasional knock or ping from a button or prompt.

Access to Ubuntu repositories

An important advantage of Ubuntu Studio over most other Linux distributions employing the real-time kernel is access to the same repositories available to the main Ubuntu distributions through the Update Manager, Synaptic Package Manager, as well as through the Add/Remove Applications prompt. This allows for much more frequent operating system updates, and access to a much wider range of software.

Installation

There is currently no live version available of Ubuntu Studio, and no graphical installer. In addition, the disk image is about 1.8 GB, too large to fit on a standard CD, and as a result the recommended installation medium for Ubuntu Studio is a DVD

DVD

A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....

or USB flash drive

USB flash drive

A flash drive is a data storage device that consists of flash memory with an integrated Universal Serial Bus interface. flash drives are typically removable and rewritable, and physically much smaller than a floppy disk. Most weigh less than 30 g...

. Ubuntu Studio can also be installed on a pre-existing Ubuntu installation by installing the "ubuntustudio-desktop" package from Advanced Packaging Tool

Advanced Packaging Tool

The Advanced Packaging Tool, or APT, is a free user interface that works with core libraries to handle the installation and removal of software on the Debian GNU/Linux distribution and its variants...

.

In 9.10, the package "ubuntustudio-audio," shown during installation (and also available in the Synaptic Package Manager), cannot be installed without a working Internet connection.

A readily available internet connection is required after installation to maintain system components.

Software included

Audio

a2jmidid – a2jmidid is a daemon for exposing legacy ALSA sequencer applications in JACK MIDI system.
Ardour
Ardour (audio processor)
Ardour is a hard disk recorder and digital audio workstation application. It runs on Linux, Mac OS X and FreeBSD. Its primary author is Paul Davis, who is also responsible for the JACK Audio Connection Kit...

– a hard disk recorder and digital audio workstation application (Works with JACK).
Audacious – a lightweight audio player.
Audacity
Audacity
Audacity is a free software, cross-platform digital audio editor and recording application. It is available for Windows, Mac OS X, Linux and BSD.Audacity was created by Dominic Mazzoni while he was a graduate student at Carnegie Mellon University...

– a digital audio editor application.
BEAST – music composition and modular synthesis application.
Creox – A real-time guitar effects program (works with JACK).
FluidSynth
FluidSynth
FluidSynth, formerly known as iiwusynth, is a free open source software synthesizer which converts MIDI note data into an audio signal using SoundFont technology without need for a SoundFont-compatible soundcard. FluidSynth can act as a virtual MIDI device, capable of receiving MIDI data from any...

– Software Wavetable Synthesizer (Works with JACK).
Hydrogen
Hydrogen (software)
Hydrogen is an advanced drum machine created by Alessandro Cominu, an Italian programmer who goes by the pseudonym Comix. Its main goal is to provide professional yet simple and intuitive pattern-based drum programming....

– an advanced drum machine (Works with JACK).
JACK Audio Connection Kit
JACK Audio Connection Kit
JACK is a professional sound server daemon that provides real-time, low latency connections for both audio and MIDI data between applications that implement its API...

– a sound server daemon that provides low latency connections between applications for both audio and MIDI data.
Jack Rack – Virtual rackmount of LADSPA
LADSPA
LADSPA is an acronym for Linux Audio Developers Simple Plugin API. It is a standard for handling filters and effects, licensed under the GNU LGPL. It was originally designed for Linux through consensus on the Linux Audio Developers Mailing List, but works on a variety of other platforms...

DSP effects plugins (Works with JACK).
JAMin
Jamin
-America:A term used to describe someone of great stature . The term originated with the great Ben LePere back in the early 2000's...

– the JACK Audio Connection Kit Audio Mastering interface (Works with JACK).
LilyPond – a program for engraving sheet music
Mixxx
Mixxx
Mixxx is open source digital DJ'ing software that allows an individual to mix music using a personal computer, as a DJ would with a pair of physical turntables. It is specifically suited to the style of mixing known as beatmatching. - Overview :...

– a digital DJ-style mixing program
MusE
MusE
MusE is a free software MIDI/Audio sequencer with recording and editing capabilities. It was originally written by Werner Schweer and now is developed by the Muse development team....

– a MIDI/Audio sequencer using JACK
JACK Audio Connection Kit
JACK is a professional sound server daemon that provides real-time, low latency connections for both audio and MIDI data between applications that implement its API...

and ALSA
MuseScore
MuseScore
MuseScore is free and open source music notation software for Microsoft Windows, Mac and Linux. MuseScore is a WYSIWYG editor, complete with support for score playback and import–export of MusicXML and standard MIDI files...

– a music scorewriter for Linux, Microsoft Windows and Mac
Patchage – GUI access to patch MIDI and Audio software together for JACK.
Pure Data
Pure Data
Pure Data is a visual programming language developed by Miller Puckette in the 1990s for creating interactive computer music and multimedia works. While Puckette is the main author of the program, Pd is an open source project with a large developer base working on new extensions to it. It is...

– a programming environment for multimedia (Works with Jack).
Rosegarden
Rosegarden
Rosegarden is a free software digital audio workstation program developed for Linux with ALSA and QT4. It acts as an audio and MIDI sequencer, scorewriter and musical composition and editing tool...

– a digital audio workstation program (works with JACK). (Not included in latest release – it must be installed)
Tapiir – a software multitap delay with realtime audio I/O. (works with JACK).
Timemachine – Records the last 30 seconds of sound to the hard drive, so a 'one off' sound can be captured (Works with JACK).
TiMidity++ – a software synthesizer that is able to convert from MIDI to various formats.
Xwax
Xwax
xwax is open source vinyl emulation software. It was initially developed in 2006 as proprietary software. In May 2007 xwax was licensed under the GNU General Public License, making it the first open source software of this kind....

– a vinyl record emulator.
ZynAddSubFX
ZynAddSubFX
ZynAddSubFX is an open source software synthesizer for Linux, Mac OS X and Microsoft Windows.For sound generation it has three hybrid synth engines that combine additive, subtractive, Fourier and other synthesis methods...

– a complex yet easy to use subtractive, additive, FM synthesizer with DSP effects, and exceptional software synthesizer (Works with JACK).

Video

PiTiVi
PiTiVi
PiTiVi is a open source non-linear video editor developed by Collabora and contributors from the worldwide community. It is licensed under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public License. PiTiVi is designed to be intuitive video editing software that integrates well in the GNOME desktop...

– a video editing program (not included in latest release)
Kino
Kino (software)
Kino is a free software GTK+-based video editing software for Linux and other Unix-like operating systems. The development of Kino was started at the end of 2000 by Dan Dennedy and Arne Schirmacher...

– a non-linear digital video editor
Stopmotion – a stop-motion animation movie creator
VLC media player
VLC media player
VLC media player is a free and open source media player and multimedia framework written by the VideoLAN project.VLC is a portable multimedia player, encoder, and streamer supporting many audio and video codecs and file formats as well as DVDs, VCDs, and various streaming protocols. It is able to...

– a media player
Xjadeo – a simple video player that gets sync from JACK transport

Graphics

Agave – a color scheme generator
Blender
Blender (software)
Blender is a free and open-source 3D computer graphics software product used for creating animated films, visual effects, interactive 3D applications or video games. The current release version is 2.60, and was released on October 19, 2011...

– a 3D animation program
Enblend – an image compositing program
FontForge
FontForge
FontForge is a typeface editor program developed by George Williams. FontForge is free software and is distributed under the BSD license. FontForge is available for several operating systems and is localized in several languages.- Features :Fontforge supports many font formats, including...

– a typeface (font) editor program
GIMP
GIMP
GIMP is a free software raster graphics editor. It is primarily employed as an image retouching and editing tool and is freely available in versions tailored for most popular operating systems including Microsoft Windows, Apple Mac OS X, and Linux.In addition to detailed image retouching and...

– a raster graphics editor
Hugin
Hugin (software)
Hugin is a cross-platform open source panorama photo stitching and HDR merging program developed by Pablo d'Angelo and others. It is a GUI front-end for Helmut Dersch's Panorama Tools and Andrew Mihal's Enblend and Enfuse...

– photo stitching and HDR merging program
Inkscape
Inkscape
Inkscape is a free software vector graphics editor, licensed under the GNU General Public License. Its goal is to implement full support for the Scalable Vector Graphics 1.1 standard....

– a vector graphics editor
Scribus
Scribus
Scribus is a desktop publishing application, released under the GNU General Public License as free software. It is based on the free Qt toolkit, therefore native versions are available for Linux, Unix-like operating systems, Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows, and OS/2...

– a desktop publishing application
Synfig
Synfig
Synfig Studio is a free and open source 2D vector graphics and timeline-based computer animation program created by Robert Quattlebaum with additional contributions by Adrian Bentley....

– a 2D vector graphics and timeline-based animation program

External links

Ubuntu Studio homepage
Ubuntu Studio applications
Ubuntu Wiki
Boing Boing - Ubuntu studio - Linux for multimedia creation (2007-01-21) listing of distributions and applications with links
Linux Musicians community

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