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Re: [LUG] re video editing in Linux

 
2010/1/7 Grant Sewell <dcglug@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
On Thu, 7 Jan 2010 12:20:37 +0000
Vivi Griffin wrote:

> I would like to install my laptop to do video editing in Linux (not
> HD) but, have had no joy with a variety of different distros, for one
> reason or another. My laptop is an IBM Thinkpad X31 1.4ghz with 1gb
> ram. I don't want to do anything major - just videos for youtube etc.
>
> This is the history of what I have tried :
>
> 1) Mandriva 2010 - installed. I was able to add all the necessary
> multimedia plugins to do video editing and try out Kdenlive. However,
> after a few weeks my laptop suddenly slowed to a crawl (all
> applications) and my laptop was unusable for anything. was unable to
> rectify the problem, so had to re-install.
>
> 2) Ubuntu 9.10 - live CD loaded but, would not install.
>
> 3) Kubuntu 9.10 - live CD would not load.
>
> 4) PCLinuxOS 2009 - live CD would not load.
>
> 5) Suse 11.1 and Suse 11.2 - both loaded as live CD's and installed -
> 11.2 is working well. However, despite following the official advice
> on the suse forum exactly (there is a step by step tutorial devoted
> to this), dvd's and other media files will not play in any media
> player - I have tried xine, kaffeine, vlc and mplayer. Suse does rip
> and play MP3's. When I play dvds in SMPlayer, I can hear the sound
> but, that's all.
>
> I really need a laptop that will do video editing. I would like to use
> Kdenlive which means Linux. I would be prepared to buy a new laptop
> with Linux and other video editing utilities pre-installed. I don't
> care which distro I use as long as the multimedia works.
>
> Any advice would be really appreciated.
>
> Thanks
>
> Viv

Hi Viv,

Have you tried the older *buntu breeds?  It may mean a bit more work
up-front, but if you can install an older *buntu (maybe the one that's
specifically for media - can't remember its name) and then upgrade to
the newer one in-situ.

Alternatively, we could try and figure out why the *buntu 9.10s won't
install, or what's causing the slow-down on Mandriva 2010.


The Outcome

After testing, I have decided on Ubuntu Studio 8.04 (later versions may have been fine also but, many people on forums seem to rate this version quite highly so, I decided to stick with it).

Studio installed without any problems. I found an excellent step by step tutorial for installing it :

http://www.howtoforge.com/the-perfect-desktop-ubuntu-studio-8.04

I followed it exactly and ended up with a machine that would play all types of media faultlessly as well as plenty of video software tools for doing my video editing. I also have all my desktop software that I need for general purpose stuff. Even opera (my new preferred browser) works fine even though it is not supposed to be supported on 8.04.

I did try PCLinuxOS - several different versions but, had problems getting them to boot from an external CD drive (the X31 does not have an internal drive). In hindsight, it may have been my need to use an external cd drive that caused the other issues that I had with other distros that I tried previously as well.

Thanks very much to all of you that gave me advice. I may not have found the right distro for my needs and laptop, without your help.

Viv
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