RegiStax running under Linux ?
(by Ken Hough)RegiStax
has been written and compiled to run under Microsoft Windows, but Linux
users need not be denied the opportunity to use it. RegiStax
can be run under Linux via wine.
What is wine?
wine ('Wine Is Not an Emulator') provides a Microsoft Windows API under Linux so that many MS Windows applications can function correctly while running under the Linux operating system.
Not all Microsoft windows programs can be run via wine and some that will run, are not properly displayed, or perhaps do not run entirely as intended.
Fortunately, RegiStax can be run via wine, although depending on which version of RegiStax and of wine are being run, some aspects of the screen display might not appear quite as intended.
RegiStax v3: With older versions of wine, some tabbed pages appeared displaced, making access dificult. OK with recent versions of wine.
RegiStax v4: No problems found.
RegiStax v5: Bars and indexing marks associated with slider buttons are not shown. Otherwise, slider buttons and other aspects of the program work as intended.
When accessing AVI files via wine it is neccessary that they are in RGB format. (see note below)
wine is still being developed, so do check that you have the most recent version installed.
Installing and setting up wine:
Most Linux distros include wine either on installation CDs/DVDs, or on the appropriate on-line repositories. Otherwise wine can be found at: winehq.com
It is unlikely that wine will have been installed by default. First, use the installation/setup program of your particular Linux distro to check if it is present on your installation medium or on-line repositories. In the case of SUSE Linux use 'Yast', for Red Hat/Fedora use 'gpk-application', for Ubuntu use 'Synaptic'. Users of Debian Linux will no doubt be able to figure out the appropriate 'apt-get' command.
After installing wine, from a terminal window run 'winecfg'. Depending on the speed of your PC, this might take some time for the 'winecfg' window to appear. No additional native Microsoft Windows DLL files are needed. You can accept all of the default settings in the 'winecfg' window and simply click on 'OK'.
All of your wine directories and files will then be found under the .wine directory (note the '.' character indicating that this file is normally hidden). .wine will be found in your home directory.
(use 'dir -a ~/.wine' to find it)
Installing and setting up RegiStax:
Download and save the Registax installation file. Then from a terminal window, switch into the directory/folder holding the RegiStax installation file, then run the command 'wine ./NameofInstallationFile'. RegiStax5 for example, will then be installed into : ~/.wine/drive_c/Program Files/RegiStax 5
To run RegiStax, either switch into this directory and run 'wine RegiStax5.exe', or better still, create a desktop icon to automate the job.
Desktop Icons
During normal installation of Registax (ie under Microsoft Windows) desktop icons are generated. Depending on the versions used, these might or might not work under 'wine'Linux'.
To generate a KDE desktop icon, right click the mouse on an empty desktop, select 'Create New', and then 'Link to Application'. Then under the 'Application' tab, set 'Command' to the following:'wine "C:\Program Files\RegiStax 5\RegiStax5.exe"'
Will RegiStax run on my Linux system?
It isn't practical to test all possible combinations of Linux distros, desktop managers and PCs. I have personally run RegiStax on:
32bit Fedora v10 using KDE4.1.2 with wine v1.1.2
32bit Ubuntu v8.10 using Gnome v2.24.1 and KDE v4.1.2 with wine v1.0.1
32bit SUSE v10.1 using KDE v3.5.1 with wine v0.9.11
64bit SUSE v11.1 using KDE v3.5.10 with wine v1.1.14
64 bit Debian Linux v5 (Lenny) using KDE v3.5.10 and wine v1.1.36
Under recent versions of 'wine', Registax v5 might fail to start, resulting
in an error message to the effect that 'quartz.dll' cannot be found. If this
happens, replace the version of 'quartz.dll' found in
~/.wine/drive_c/windows/system32 with that from a Microsoft Windows XP
system. You should of course have a valid licence for the XP system.
It's very likely that RegiStax can be run on your PC.
RegiStax runs more slowly under wine than when running directly under Microsoft Windows. The Gnome or KDE desktop managers that are provided by default with most Linux distros are both are quite demanding of memory and CPU power. On relatively low spec PCs, try using a 'lightweight' desktop manager such as fvwm, icewm or windowmaker.
AVI file format and wine:
AVI (Audio Video Interleave) is a general purpose multimedia container format introduced by Microsoft. Sound and video data can be included in AVI files under various formats. Two formats relating to video are YUV and RGB. Microsoft Windows based applications commonly record AVI video data as YUV. Registax can handle video formated as YUV or RGB.
wine REQUIRES that AVI files are recorded as RGB. If a YUV encoded file is presented, an error message will be given that will include:
"Failed to start AVI decompression"
This means for example, that the application that you use to capture webcam images, must be capable of recording as RGB. I use wxAstroCapture which like RegiStax is a free application.
Fonts:
Comments given in previous notes relating to fonts can be ignored.
Optimum screen size in pixels:
RegiStax4 and ealier versions are designed to run on a 1024 x 768 pixel screen and will not resize to fit larger or smaller screens. For these earlier versions of RegiStax, the desktop screen display must therefore be set to at least 1024 x 768 pixels.
Registax5 allows for re-sizing to fill larger sized screens
Have fun!
Ken Hough 05/04/10
ref: RegiStax_Wine_notes_2
What is wine?
wine ('Wine Is Not an Emulator') provides a Microsoft Windows API under Linux so that many MS Windows applications can function correctly while running under the Linux operating system.
Not all Microsoft windows programs can be run via wine and some that will run, are not properly displayed, or perhaps do not run entirely as intended.
Fortunately, RegiStax can be run via wine, although depending on which version of RegiStax and of wine are being run, some aspects of the screen display might not appear quite as intended.
RegiStax v3: With older versions of wine, some tabbed pages appeared displaced, making access dificult. OK with recent versions of wine.
RegiStax v4: No problems found.
RegiStax v5: Bars and indexing marks associated with slider buttons are not shown. Otherwise, slider buttons and other aspects of the program work as intended.
When accessing AVI files via wine it is neccessary that they are in RGB format. (see note below)
wine is still being developed, so do check that you have the most recent version installed.
Installing and setting up wine:
Most Linux distros include wine either on installation CDs/DVDs, or on the appropriate on-line repositories. Otherwise wine can be found at: winehq.com
It is unlikely that wine will have been installed by default. First, use the installation/setup program of your particular Linux distro to check if it is present on your installation medium or on-line repositories. In the case of SUSE Linux use 'Yast', for Red Hat/Fedora use 'gpk-application', for Ubuntu use 'Synaptic'. Users of Debian Linux will no doubt be able to figure out the appropriate 'apt-get' command.
After installing wine, from a terminal window run 'winecfg'. Depending on the speed of your PC, this might take some time for the 'winecfg' window to appear. No additional native Microsoft Windows DLL files are needed. You can accept all of the default settings in the 'winecfg' window and simply click on 'OK'.
All of your wine directories and files will then be found under the .wine directory (note the '.' character indicating that this file is normally hidden). .wine will be found in your home directory.
(use 'dir -a ~/.wine' to find it)
Installing and setting up RegiStax:
Download and save the Registax installation file. Then from a terminal window, switch into the directory/folder holding the RegiStax installation file, then run the command 'wine ./NameofInstallationFile'. RegiStax5 for example, will then be installed into : ~/.wine/drive_c/Program Files/RegiStax 5
To run RegiStax, either switch into this directory and run 'wine RegiStax5.exe', or better still, create a desktop icon to automate the job.
Desktop Icons
During normal installation of Registax (ie under Microsoft Windows) desktop icons are generated. Depending on the versions used, these might or might not work under 'wine'Linux'.
To generate a KDE desktop icon, right click the mouse on an empty desktop, select 'Create New', and then 'Link to Application'. Then under the 'Application' tab, set 'Command' to the following:'wine "C:\Program Files\RegiStax 5\RegiStax5.exe"'
Will RegiStax run on my Linux system?
It isn't practical to test all possible combinations of Linux distros, desktop managers and PCs. I have personally run RegiStax on:
32bit Fedora v10 using KDE4.1.2 with wine v1.1.2
32bit Ubuntu v8.10 using Gnome v2.24.1 and KDE v4.1.2 with wine v1.0.1
32bit SUSE v10.1 using KDE v3.5.1 with wine v0.9.11
64bit SUSE v11.1 using KDE v3.5.10 with wine v1.1.14
64 bit Debian Linux v5 (Lenny) using KDE v3.5.10 and wine v1.1.36
Under recent versions of 'wine', Registax v5 might fail to start, resulting
in an error message to the effect that 'quartz.dll' cannot be found. If this
happens, replace the version of 'quartz.dll' found in
~/.wine/drive_c/windows/system32 with that from a Microsoft Windows XP
system. You should of course have a valid licence for the XP system.
It's very likely that RegiStax can be run on your PC.
RegiStax runs more slowly under wine than when running directly under Microsoft Windows. The Gnome or KDE desktop managers that are provided by default with most Linux distros are both are quite demanding of memory and CPU power. On relatively low spec PCs, try using a 'lightweight' desktop manager such as fvwm, icewm or windowmaker.
AVI file format and wine:
AVI (Audio Video Interleave) is a general purpose multimedia container format introduced by Microsoft. Sound and video data can be included in AVI files under various formats. Two formats relating to video are YUV and RGB. Microsoft Windows based applications commonly record AVI video data as YUV. Registax can handle video formated as YUV or RGB.
wine REQUIRES that AVI files are recorded as RGB. If a YUV encoded file is presented, an error message will be given that will include:
"Failed to start AVI decompression"
This means for example, that the application that you use to capture webcam images, must be capable of recording as RGB. I use wxAstroCapture which like RegiStax is a free application.
Fonts:
Comments given in previous notes relating to fonts can be ignored.
Optimum screen size in pixels:
RegiStax4 and ealier versions are designed to run on a 1024 x 768 pixel screen and will not resize to fit larger or smaller screens. For these earlier versions of RegiStax, the desktop screen display must therefore be set to at least 1024 x 768 pixels.
Registax5 allows for re-sizing to fill larger sized screens
Have fun!
Ken Hough 05/04/10
ref: RegiStax_Wine_notes_2