The linux DAW thread

[TechHaus]

Correct. Resolve doesn't have licensing for those formats and instead uses the OS's. Apple is deep in AAC (if you've ever ripped a cd in itunes, this is the default), and Windows also licenses it.

The workaround most use is an ffmpeg script that converts to wav or flac.

For professional on set audio work it is a non-issue because the sound guy would be capturing .wav anyway.

For consumer cameras and phones that wrap the video with lossy audio codecs, you will have to do an extra conversion.

[TechHaus]

And i could be wrong about this, waiting for a street car and don't feel like googling, but I think the recommended OS for Resolve is Rocky Linux - even over Windows and Mac.

One last note, you will need an Nvidia GPU/ cuda to run it.

[audiojunkie]

Correct. Resolve doesn't have licensing for those formats and instead uses the OS's. Apple is deep in AAC (if you've ever ripped a cd in itunes, this is the default), and Windows also licenses it.

The workaround most use is an ffmpeg script that converts to wav or flac.

For professional on set audio work it is a non-issue because the sound guy would be capturing .wav anyway.

For consumer cameras and phones that wrap the video with lossy audio codecs, you will have to do an extra conversion.

Ah, that makes sense. I use ffmpeg for most of those things too.

[audiojunkie]

And i could be wrong about this, waiting for a street car and don't feel like googling, but I think the recommended OS for Resolve is Rocky Linux - even over Windows and Mac.

One last note, you will need an Nvidia GPU/ cuda to run it.

Ah, Nvidia. That would be the deal breaker for me. I know that a lot of people like Nvidia, but I do a lot of VM stuff and prefer not using Nvidia LKMs (loadable kernel modules) with my virtual machines. I like all of my hardware being "in-tree kernel drivers" and pick my hardware carefully to make sure it remains that way.

[mabian]

REAPER (and Bitwig and Renoise) run like dreams on Linux! So smooth.

The only downsides that I encounter using Linux, are that Davinci Resolve doesn't support AAC / MP3, so I have to do an extra conversion for my files from time to time (or edit them first in REAPER and output wav), and that I can't use VST plugins in Resolve or OBS (not sure if they work on other OS's). All compromises I can deal with. But those are the big / only ones. Both Resolve and OBS have their own native fx and those are usable for what I need to do.

Resolve kind of counts as a DAW because it has the Fairlight page!

Resolve's AAC issue is why I tried dual booting at first, but quickly abandoned it after I got a sour taste of Windows. Gross. Committed to Linux and no regrets 8 years later.

So those are limitations in Davinci Resolve that aren't in the Windows version, I'm guessing?

Yes but the studio version works, the free davinci doesn't have some codecs because they are not available in the os.

[TechHaus]

REAPER (and Bitwig and Renoise) run like dreams on Linux! So smooth.

The only downsides that I encounter using Linux, are that Davinci Resolve doesn't support AAC / MP3, so I have to do an extra conversion for my files from time to time (or edit them first in REAPER and output wav), and that I can't use VST plugins in Resolve or OBS (not sure if they work on other OS's). All compromises I can deal with. But those are the big / only ones. Both Resolve and OBS have their own native fx and those are usable for what I need to do.

Resolve kind of counts as a DAW because it has the Fairlight page!

Resolve's AAC issue is why I tried dual booting at first, but quickly abandoned it after I got a sour taste of Windows. Gross. Committed to Linux and no regrets 8 years later.

So those are limitations in Davinci Resolve that aren't in the Windows version, I'm guessing?

Yes but the studio version works, the free davinci doesn't have some codecs because they are not available in the os.

Good point to bring up the differences. Studio can edit h.264 and h.265, which regular can not.

But no AAC on either. And h.264 and h.265 use AAC. So when you import those videos, they are silent on Linux. ffmpeg workflow is still necessary.

When I'm not being lazy, I use my little Zoom recorder for audio and then sync them later.

One other point worth mentioning is that everyone recommended i get the dongle for pro, because the sign in verification method was more difficult on Linux. Never tried it without the dongle so I don't know. Plan on getting a second dongle that is bundled in with some hardware on black friday, probably.

[farlukar]

Ah, Nvidia. That would be the deal breaker for me.

I bought a new Nvidia card 2 years ago (because better FLOPS per Watt than AMD) but the drivers are an absolute pain in the arse. And that's not even considering their AI bullshit.
Seriously, buy an AMD GPU.

[TechHaus]

Ah, Nvidia. That would be the deal breaker for me.

I bought a new Nvidia card 2 years ago (because better FLOPS per Watt than AMD) but the drivers are an absolute pain in the arse. And that's not even considering their AI bullshit.
Seriously, buy an AMD GPU.

I hear this from folks, but luckily have had zero issues, myself.

I've had AMD in this computer before, too, but couldn't use Resolve. There are some folks who do get Resolve working with AMD and Intel gpu's but requires major hax.

EDIT, actually that is another reason I tried dual booting in Windows - because I had an AMD card at the time.

EDIT 2 - I used to have crazy screen tearing with my AMD but I am sure that is fixed by now in 2026 - but just noting that it wasn't all smooth sailing over there, either.

[TechHaus]

And i could be wrong about this, waiting for a street car and don't feel like googling, but I think the recommended OS for Resolve is Rocky Linux - even over Windows and Mac.

One last note, you will need an Nvidia GPU/ cuda to run it.

Ah, Nvidia. That would be the deal breaker for me. I know that a lot of people like Nvidia, but I do a lot of VM stuff and prefer not using Nvidia LKMs (loadable kernel modules) with my virtual machines. I like all of my hardware being "in-tree kernel drivers" and pick my hardware carefully to make sure it remains that way.

Yeah, I plan on getting a second used pc soon (to hopefully save a lot of money on ram and nvme's) and I will probably go AMD with that one for these types of reasons. Some folks haven't repriced their used computers to meet the current market prices.

I just need my video editing workstation to have Nvidia.

I actually had two Radeon Pro gpus in a pc for a while. The 5700 Radeon Pro equivalents are super cheap right now. Like $100. I know they are old but for that price I might get two.

[farlukar]

luckily have had zero issues, myself.

Well yeah when it works, it just works, but over the years I've had it break down on updates/upgrades multiple times.
And like the sucker I am, I bought another one

[audiojunkie]

And i could be wrong about this, waiting for a street car and don't feel like googling, but I think the recommended OS for Resolve is Rocky Linux - even over Windows and Mac.

One last note, you will need an Nvidia GPU/ cuda to run it.

Ah, Nvidia. That would be the deal breaker for me. I know that a lot of people like Nvidia, but I do a lot of VM stuff and prefer not using Nvidia LKMs (loadable kernel modules) with my virtual machines. I like all of my hardware being "in-tree kernel drivers" and pick my hardware carefully to make sure it remains that way.

Yeah, I plan on getting a second used pc soon (to hopefully save a lot of money on ram and nvme's) and I will probably go AMD with that one for these types of reasons. Some folks haven't repriced their used computers to meet the current market prices.

I just need my video editing workstation to have Nvidia.

I actually had two Radeon Pro gpus in a pc for a while. The 5700 Radeon Pro equivalents are super cheap right now. Like $100. I know they are old but for that price I might get two.

You probably know this, but in case you don't, here are some tips for getting the best Linux experience:

If at all possible, find a system that was advertised as "Linux Certified" by the manufacturer, even if used.

Otherwise:
If buying a desktop, get an AMD CPU with an AMD GPU.
If buying a laptop, get an Intel CPU with an Intel GPU.

Confirm each component is Linux compatible with "In-tree" kernel drivers. This is probably one of the most important things for a problem-free experience.

When shopping for a used system, bring along a live linux distro on a USB flash drive to check and be sure that everything works in linux. When choosing your live distro, look for a distro that has a very up-to-date kernel, good hardware detection tools preinstalled, and a working pipewire/audio stack--such as Fedora Workstation on a Live USB.

[audiojunkie]

Ah, Nvidia. That would be the deal breaker for me.

I bought a new Nvidia card 2 years ago (because better FLOPS per Watt than AMD) but the drivers are an absolute pain in the arse. And that's not even considering their AI bullshit.
Seriously, buy an AMD GPU.

It has gotten better with Nvidia in very recent times, but it's still not as good as using an AMD or Intel GPU. The newer Nvidia stuff has moved to open source for the kernel component of their drivers, which helps A LOT. But the drivers are still LKMs instead of in-tree kernel drivers. And further, the userspace component is still proprietary. So Intel and AMD are still much better for Linux use....but little by little Nvidia is starting to come around.

[audiojunkie]

luckily have had zero issues, myself.

Well yeah when it works, it just works, but over the years I've had it break down on updates/upgrades multiple times.
And like the sucker I am, I bought another one

If I was a gambling man, I'd make a bet that you were using Ubuntu at the time. Ubuntu has been infamous for that. Back when I used Ubuntu, I experienced those issues too. I've been really happy with Fedora on my Lenovo Thinkpad X1 Yoga.

[Grizzellda]

I'm running REAPER on Linux as my primary DAW. Not as an experiment, as a production environment for a real project.
The setup is not plug-and-play but it is not mysterious either. JACK or PipeWire for low-latency audio, a realtime kernel helps, and REAPER's Linux port is genuinely good. The VST3 ecosystem on Linux is smaller than Windows but it is growing. Most of what I need runs.
What I have learned: the Linux audio stack rewards people who want to understand what their system is actually doing. If that sounds like you, the friction pays off.
I'm building a VST3 FM synthesizer in this environment: Kaiku, free, open. Linux first.

github.com/jmcgill-public/kaiku

Työkalut ovat kunnossa. Musiikki on tehtävä itse.
The tools are fine. The music you have to make yourself.

Sounds good. I wanna hear more about putting together a Linux audio system. Learning!!!

It is capable of real good, deep O.S. level audio performance, from what I understand. Again, learning!!!

Alot of the apps that I wanna run are for Windoze...so gotta go with that...

But still, I just kinda feel that Linux is looming, waiting in the wings...it just makes sense!!! Hey, it is ''free''!

Oh, and by the way, what the heck does ''free'' even mean??? NOTHING IN LIFE IS FREE!!!