AV Linux is NOT an actual Linux ‘Distribution’ in the proper sense, mainline Distributions are large organizations which have
full development teams and support infrastructure (ie Debian, Ubuntu, OpenSUSE etc.). AV Linux is a niche project
maintained by a single developer derived from the Debian/GNU Linux “Testing” Distribution which is utilized to
create a independent, focused and specialized platform for Multimedia Content Creation using Linux.
It is made available as a freely shared 32 and 64bit downloadable and installable ISO Image created
from a carefully pre-configured snapshot. AV Linux is essentially a collected and combined showcase
of the phenomenal work of Open-Source and Commercial Audio developers from all over the planet and
celebrates and presents their work organized in an easy-to-use fashion. In addition to a hardware-friendly
efficient XFCE4 Desktop a low-latency Audio environment is provided with a custom ‘RT’ kernel and JACK Audio
Connection Kit. Are you a Linux developer? A full, robust development suite is included for software
developers and the leading Audio/Video/Graphics applications are included or available!
Some of the included audio/video/graphical production tools:
- Ardour (MIDI digital audio workstation)
- Audicity (sound editor)
- Avidemux (video editor)
- Blender (3D computer graphics creation suite)
- Cinelerra-GG (NLE video editor)
- GNU Image Manipulation Program (photoshop)
- Harrison Mixbus 32C (Digital Audio Workstation)
- Inkscape (vector graphics creation and editing software)
- Kdenlive (NLE video editor)
- Musescore (music scores creator)
- OBS Studio (streaming/recording software)
- QjackCtl (JACK audio connection kit GUI interface)
- Reaper (reaper DAW, digital audio workstation and MIDI sequencer)
- VCL Media Player
- digital guitar amplifiers
- synthesizers
- plugins and MUCH MORE!
INSTRUCTIONS: How to boot with USB drive: (it may sometimes not boot or give errors when trying to boot into utilities, in such case, please shut down the computer, then try booting with USB again)
Apple MAC / Macintosh
- Turn on the computer and immediately hold Option / Alt key, then select: “EFI”
PC / Windows
- Restart your computer and wait for that first screen to pop up. Often, it'll say something like "Press F12 to Choose Boot Device" somewhere on the screen. Start tapping that key. If for any reason it won’t work – restart your PC and try again.
- Please note, for different computer brands, there may be different key for triggering the boot medium: The key is usually "F1," F2," F10," "Del" or "Esc.", here is the list of common brands and the corresponding boot menu keys:
>> ACER: Esc, F9, F12
>> Apple: Option / Alt key
>> ASUS: Esc, F8
>> COMPAQ: Esc, F9
>> DELL: F12
>> EMACHINES: F12
>> HP: Esc, F9
>> INTEL: F10
>> IBM LENOVO: F12 (or Fn+F12), F10, F8
>> NEC: F5
>> PACKARD BELL: F8
>> SAMSUNG: Esc, F12
>> SONY: F10, F11
>> TOSHIBA: F12
- Once the menu comes up, select the USB option and press Enter.
It may show: “Press any key to boot from USB” during which you have several seconds to press any key to continue - please observe the computer screen if it asks for it.
You can install Linux alongside Windows (Please note: Sometimes you need to Shrink the C:\ drive for some unallocated space in Windows first, before you can install Linux alongside! You can find instructions on how to do it HERE) and Apple MAC OS X (there is some advanced knowledge required to actually install Linux alongside Apple MAC OS X, but you can easily use it live (Desktop version only, Server – you have to install!) with the USB plugged in)! You can also install as many operating systems as you want. With multiple operating systems – at the initial boot it will give you a menu where you can select which operating system you want to boot. (You can as well erase the hard drive and install each OS as the only one)