Ubuntu Studio is an officially recognized derivative of Ubuntu aimed at dedicated multimedia production workstations.

Ubuntu Studio provides a suite of the best open-source applications aimed at the GNU/Linux audio, video and graphic enthusiast as well as the professional.

Completely free to use, modify and redistribute. Your only limitation is your imagination.

Since In order to better understand Ubuntu Studio let's contrast how Ubuntu Studio differs from Ubuntu.

Ubuntu Studio vs. Ubuntu

Some differences are immediately more evident between Ubuntu Studio and plain, vanilla Ubuntu. These would include a different theme and background and a different battery of installed applications. But Ubuntu Studio is more than just Ubuntu with a slick theme and extra packages installed. There are several subtle and prevasive differences.

Obvious Differences

Theme and Artwork - Gone is the familiar brown and orange, remember, we're creative human beings. Probably the most obvious difference is the slick, creative theme.

Multi-Media Applications - Ubuntu Studio is chock full of audio, video and graphical applications already installed including JACK, Ardour, GIMP and Kino.

Subtle, Powerful Differences

Real Time Kernel - Ubuntu Studio uses the Ingo Molnar PREEMPT patched real-time kernel (for more information about the real-time kernel see the RTWiki FAQ). This helps reduce the amount of latency which is extremely beneficial for audio work.

The low levels of latency that can be achieve in Linux with the real-time kernel can also surpass those available under Windows and Mac.

System Configuration - The Ubuntu Studio team has already configured the Ubuntu Studio system to help maximize the real-time kernel. The user is included in the audio group and the limits.conf file is specifically configured.

JACK Sound System - Along with the ubiquitous Pulse Audio sound server, the powerful JACK sound server is also included. And luckily it's all automagickally configured to work well togther already.