What distro to choose? like, regarding, software, question

andy

I know that it is a question done one billion times but was the best distro to choose for you if have to do hard video encoding and manipulating.
Especially regarding this arguments:
- SPEEEEEEEEEEEEDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD (I have tons of file to convert)
- Easy to install (as I am quot;a littlequot; newbi), like nvidia video card support, audio support, etc
- Easy to install software: I need just mplayer (and mencoder) WITH FAAD SUPPORT, ffmpeg, avidemux2, dvdauthor

I've tried Debian and it seems fast but I couldn't get mplayer working with external faad support...

Tried Fedora (Core 4) but it's slooooooooowwwwwwwwwwwwwwww:
encoding with mencoder on Debian: 120 fps
on fedora 70 fps!!!!
Near the half...

I have looked some threads in this forums and I'm gonna try this:
- Slackware
- Mandrake
- Suse
- Gentoo
(common distro...)
- Dynedistro
- Garbure pho
- Mediain Linux
- VideoLinux

I need a stable and fast one to leave my box 24/7 converting like 324 GB of data in dvd!!!

HHHHHHHHHHHEEEEEEEEEEEEELLLLLLLLLPPPPPPPP MMMMMEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

For the easy to install i'd go for kanotix. It has a very good hardware detection and many comfortable scripts, for example to install video drivers. Also it's based on debian.
However if you want speed you should compile the programs you need yourself. That sould give you the max speed.

perhaps ubuntu since it's quite easy and based on debian (although you won't necessarily have 100% compatibility with regular debian repositories)

Ahhh, the question of questions...  

If ease of use is very important, the most userfriendly Distros are perhaps:
Ubuntu
SUSE
Mandriva

All stand apart from other distros as having extensive user-support with dedicated hardware-compatibility-databases and forums.

Ubuntu has a super-simple interface which you might see as a pro or a con. If you don't like GNOME, get the version called Kubuntu with KDE. It's hugely popular and though I don't know market-shares for distros it could well be the most-often installed distro these days.

SUSE (OpenSUSE) is highly polished, too, and possibly support most hardware. I'd wait for OpenSUSE version 10.1 which is due in April and shares some of the cool features of the SUSE Enterprise Desktop that Novell demonstrated at Brainshare 2006. Comes with KDE and GNOME

Mandrake is a KDE-based distribution that rivals SUSE in user-friendliness though it seems to fall back somewhat as of late. It also is not free.

Turn to for reviews.

Edit: BTW, the speed of mencoder should depend on your build of mencoder, not on your distro. Build it yourself if you can. If not get at least an i686-build.

but didn't get what I was searching...
Talking with a friend he said that Gentoo it's based on source and as a good quot;packet-managerquot; for compiling...
Don't know if it's too much for me...
I'll try that, if not I'm gonna switch to Mandrake or SUSE, even if I would like to get back to Debian...
Somebody here has succeded compiling mplayer on Debian with the support for NSV formats (the one from nullsoft - winamp) especially for the AAC and AAC+ codec?

I've tried Ubuntu for a week and is a very good distro (I was switching from win to linux and it help me much understanding the penguin, thanks to the good wiki founded on official website)

Anyway thanks alot.

Gentoo is not exactly reknown for being an 'easy to handle' distribution for someone new to Linux. I include myself in this category.

From the installer FAQ:
Gentoo is too hard to install and I feel like whining.

Please see /dev/null.

LOL  

As you're at it anyway, why not give VideoLinux a chance?

To have mplayer with nsv-support you need to install the codecs before compilation.
i was able to look a nsv-stream containing aac and avc.

Use Kanotix or SLAX (Tomas says not to install on HD, but it works nicely on HD).

Or, use any distro that works for you.
You can install stuff from source easily too (I use scripts to do this automated), then you have checked this.

If you want to have as many applications as possible, use SuSE DVD and
RPM install what you are still lacking.

Aah, stereotypes...  

I, for one, find Gentoo easier to maintain, than say Susie. Harder to get into business, sure, but easier in the long run.

Real-life story, a friend of mine asked me once to see what's up with his fresh Suse install: X starts but instantly gets all garbled. Well, that was easy part. Then it appeared, you can't actually see the cursor; you see mouse movement, but no cursor.
What they expect of windows convert to do in such cases? Reboot/reinstall, become console junkie? User-friendliness comes in price, eh?

That's Willie way, IMO, to ship preconfigured system with the defaults they find sane and very-well-hidden tricks if you ever feel like customizing it, which in fact put their well-built system under real risk of falling apart. So something broke, you have no clue what's the cause, format yer hdd and start over...

...or you can invest some time reading docs, asking questions on forums, yada-yada and live happily everafter (keeping in mind to stay clear of Reiser4 for the time being, not to mess with toolchain and other usual precautions)


Originally Posted by TeegedeckAs you're at it anyway, why not give VideoLinux a chance?

Why is it with Linux, someone has to start a new distro to provide a package of programs?


Originally Posted by akI, for one, find Gentoo easier to maintain, than say Susie. Harder to get into business, sure, but easier in the long run.

Of course you won't have grave problems once you got past the initial hurdles of Gentoo installation. Because once you've read enough to manage that, you have probably acquired enough expertise to cope with most problems of Gentoo easily.  [edit](Some revievs: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5)[/edit]

Seriously, the only way I see to mess-up a SUSE system is by upgrading your installation from non-stable repositories (when you don't really know what you're doing). A newbie should just update what the SUSE updater recommends and should live fine by that.

Originally Posted by akReal-life story, a friend of mine asked me once to see what's up with his fresh Suse install: X starts but instantly gets all garbled. Well, that was easy part. Then it appeared, you can't actually see the cursor; you see mouse movement, but no cursor.

Not exactly a typical case...

That reminds me of a friend of mine who installed a new version of ffdshow and his windows-explorer has been crashing frequently ever since. Devilish software, this ffdshow-thing. Originally Posted by DoobieWhy is it with Linux, someone has to start a new distro to provide a package of programs?

Because it is much, much easier to use a pre-configured WINE with Windows software than to try and figure it out for yourself. As you might have noticed one could say that distro has its origins right here... Also, why not? If there had been a Windows-distribution with pre-configured encoding software I'd have probably installed that one instead of standard Windows at the time.


Originally Posted by TeegedeckSeriously, the only way I see to mess-up a SUSE system is by upgrading your installation from non-stable repositories (when you don't really know what you're doing). A newbie should just update what the SUSE updater recommends and should live fine by that.
Not exactly a typical case...

For the record that was a fresh install off of Suse DVD.
You know that was second time I encounter Suse. Back in the days I was giving up Windows, I tried Suse and also had some _really_ silly problems.
Maybe bad luck, but I have some doubts in their reputation.

Oh boy, that must have been fun!  Which version was it?

Most user friendly OS is Ubuntu. Fastest is Gentoo. Gentoo is easy to install, it just takes a long time and a lot of work. I run Ubuntu, but this summer once I have some free time I will be switching to Gentoo.


Originally Posted by TeegedeckSeriously, the only way I see to mess-up a SUSE system is by upgrading your installation from non-stable repositories (when you don't really know what you're doing). A newbie should just update what the SUSE updater recommends and should live fine by that.
Not exactly a typical case...

I agree with Teegedeck.  I'm running SuSE-9.3 and SuSE-10.0 pcs in parallel, using a KVM switch to go back and forth.  Both versions work fine.

For application package management, one of the best ways to avoid frustrations (with dependencies) and potential instability is to install 3rd party package management.  Many SuSE users now immediately install the apt4rm/synaptic combination, or install Smart package manager.  Both of these software management packages are very good at installing (or in the case of Smart also very good at installing and removing) packaged applications (in rpms), while preserving dependencies.

Given that Novell/SuSE is delivered with multimedia in a partially crippled state, upgrading SuSE's multimedia (with such a software package manager) is essential after a fresh install, especially if one wishes to do a fast update of the multimedia from readily available 3rd party sources.

I believe SuSEs previous package management quot;relative weaknessquot; is now recognized in Novell/SuSE circles itself, as apt4rpm comes with SuSE-10.0, and SuSE-10.1 will portedly also come with Smart. (SuSE-10.1 will also purportedly include YaST software package management enhancements based on red carpet technology).


Originally Posted by TeegedeckBecause it is much, much easier to use a pre-configured WINE with Windows software than to try and figure it out for yourself.

OK.  But, what is it about Linux and WINE that leads people to start a new distro rather than just a download package of a pre-configured WINE along with the free Windows apps?

And, why are there people here saying Ubuntu or Mandriva are the easist distros.  Why not MEPIS and Xandros which come pre-configured with a lot of the software that new Linux users are going to want, for the sake of ease, but which Ubuntu and Mandriva leave out?


Originally Posted by DoobieAnd, why are there people here saying Ubuntu or Mandriva are the easist distros.

Everyone has their own opinion as to what distribution they like the best.  While some may think Ubuntu or Madriva are the easiest, you can be assured there are others who do NOT think that way.

Well, I managed to get MPlayer installed with all I needed in Debian using  this step-by-step tutorial. I'dont know if there is realy faad-support compiled then in, but I think so as I could listen AC3-Streams without a problem.

CDFS

P.S.: If you want a speedy distribution, look for a suitable kernel. If you have an emt64-enabled cpu, get a 64bit-version of the distribution as debian-AMD64 and compile mplayer there. Try to compile your kernel with only the modules realy needed by your system. It doesn't matter if it is debian, suse or some other distribution, speed comes from the kernel used.