r/gnome • u/Slow-Delay-9842 • 9h ago
Question Best OOTB Gnome distro?
I was wondering is there any other distro than Ubuntu that does not require you to find some codecs or install anything else after installing OS itself?
Even when i tried fedora workstation and i love how it looks and what it provides… i found out you need to find some commands and put them in terminal just to install codecs and let me tell you… i never knew if that actually worked or i found different ones or bad one etc but i want my system to have every codec and driver installed.
But this is just pathetic that you need to manually find some codecs and drivers to use your os. Why it cannot be a toggle while installing it?
Ubuntu got it all… but nobody likes snaps right?
So my question is.. are there any distros with gnome that would have everything installed (codecs)?
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u/MasterGeekMX 7h ago
But this is just pathetic that you need to manually find some codecs and drivers to use your os. Why it cannot be a toggle while installing it?
Because of legal reasons. Some of those codecs are under non-free licenses, and because Fedora operates under Red Hat and thus US law, they cannot ship them.
Still, the setup of RPM Fusion is a one-time thing, so it is a set and forget situation, so I don't mind it at all.
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u/ux92 8h ago
Bluefin. It's Fedora Silverblue with batteries included.
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u/Slow-Delay-9842 8h ago
Need to check it out! Thank you <3
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u/PureWoodpecker7335 1h ago
Bluefin for real. One of the most underrated Linux operating systems. Stress free and very difficult to break.
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u/jdigi78 9h ago
i never knew if that actually worked or i found different ones or bad one etc
this is just pathetic that you need to manually find some codecs and drivers to use your os.
If it didn't make a difference to you why does it matter? The only time I ever ran into codec issues on Fedora was using ffmpeg in terminal. If you use flatpaks from flathub the codecs are bundled with the software.
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u/Slow-Delay-9842 9h ago
I mean this is exacly the problem. Are these necessary for the system to work properly? If yes then why tf you have to manually install it and check some old reddit posts or wiki. If they are not necessary what are the downsides? It just always made me like i dobt even know if i installed them correctly or i did something bad to my os and now it works slower. Just as a linux noob its so confusing.
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u/xplosm 8h ago
Distros like Fedora and openSUSE can absolutely work properly with just their main, official repos. You can browse any website, listen to any streaming music service, have video conferences, watch YT videos, tiktoks if that's your jam, and even watch any streaming service.
Most people want to use the capabilities of their expensive GPUs and use hardware acceleration for some of those activities. For that, many codecs that enable that are behind encumbered laws, some patents expired, some not yet for small pieces of code that are part of the bundle. Some people might still have videos encoded with some strange algorithm and so not included in the main repos.
For moderns hardware you wouldn't notice the difference between hardware acceleration. If you create content that might not be the case and would need the encoders that rely in hardware acceleration to speed up your workflow.
If anything, your anger should be directed at moronic c-suits and patent troll lawyers that just need an excuse to send any open source project to the court and end it prematurely.
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u/jdigi78 8h ago
Red Hat is based in the US so they can't bundle the codecs due to patent restrictions. Other distros operate in countries that don't recognize software patents. For ffmpeg its a single command to install. Like I said the issue is irrelevant if you just install flatpaks from flathub.
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u/GolbatsEverywhere Contributor 8h ago
You don't want most codecs installed, because most codecs are unnecessary attack surface.
You do want useful/popular codecs installed. Sadly, some of these are illegal. Perhaps you can imagine why Fedora is not going to add a checkbox to install those. Sorry, but there's nothing to discuss here. Fedora will include them when the relevant patents expire, and not sooner.
Nowadays, Fedora supports MP3 and H.264, so the main remaining problem is H.265. It will be a very long time before that can be included.
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u/AnEgoCom 8h ago
Fedora doesn't come with those codecs because they are proprietary and Fedora is very strict with only shipping foss ootb. But if you want to install them it's not difficult if you search for it online. If you want something more "functional" from the start, you could go with Ubuntu or maybe Zorin
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u/KyuyriiByakko 8h ago
Have you tried Ultramarine? If I'm not mistaken, it comes with the codecs and it's based on Fedora.
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u/Stunning-Mix492 9h ago
I have a good experience on Nixos but it's definitively not OOTB
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u/jdigi78 8h ago
They're struggling with copy/pasting a single command to add codecs to Fedora and you suggest NixOS? lol
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u/Slow-Delay-9842 8h ago
https://github.com/devangshekhawat/Fedora-45-Post-Install-Guide. I guess thats a single command lmao, i mean people are making a whole POST INSTALL GUIDES for an OS. Thats just says everything about it.
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u/jdigi78 8h ago
Why are you following a random guide on github? I can already see the UTC time section sets something that is already the default, and actually does the opposite of fix what it claims. Not to mention 45 is not released yet. https://rpmfusion.org/Howto/Multimedia The first 2 are the only you'd realistically need as an average user.
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u/Slow-Delay-9842 8h ago
I just copied what other person posted here. There are many other GUIDES but its not just one command and now imagine something break after one because of the hardware setup or something and now you are fckd. Maybe ill stick with fedora and try to install it properly.. tomorrow want to install one OS with gnome on other SSD.
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u/Hauptideal 5h ago
Fedora is the best distro for GNOME. Ubuntu is fine, but you'll have to undo all their changes to GNOME, i.e. disable the dock etc.. Noone forces you to use snaps.
If you really care about out of the box experience and can't stand two commands to install Fusion rpm, there is Ultramarine. It's Fedora with batteries included, everything set up including Fusion repos. Install and go. It hooks into the original, official Fedora repos, not some sketchy downstream mirror. There is even a script that converts Fedora to Ultramarine on the fly.
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u/WhichArmadilloWasIt 8h ago edited 8h ago
Copy and pasting the codec commands really isn't as difficult or annoying as you think it is. Just gotta read the RPMFusion documentation, copy/paste like ten lines of code, and everything is done. No need to do anything else. The reason they don't ship them is because of legal reasons, not because they purposefully want it to be painful for you.
And to answer your question, you can try Zorin but every time I've tried it I run into issues. Ubuntu has a package that gives you a vanilla GNOME session rather than their modified GNOME. The snap problem is way overblown. You could always install GNOME on Mint, but you'll have to do some tweaking.
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u/evnzky 9h ago
Solus Os gnome edition. Install, update. Done. All codecs, drivers (amd) already set up. Nvidia driver installation in two clicks. Secure boot support also works. Super fast, great distro for home use.
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u/HeyKid_HelpComputer 8h ago
I wanted to use Solus but for some reason the most recent time I tried like a month ago any package updates or install caused me massive lag in my Bluetooth mouse
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u/zeanox 8h ago
you would probably have to go with something ubuntu based, like zorin.
I hate the setup of fedora as well, but this dude makes it pretty easy to get going: https://github.com/devangshekhawat/Fedora-45-Post-Install-Guide
I would say either that or ubuntu/zorin
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u/Slow-Delay-9842 8h ago
Yea.. i mean i love everything about fedora but just cant understand why it requires so much to do after installing it. It would be a perfect one but im just too scared i will fuk it up somehow.
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u/GottaDrinkMoreCoffee 3h ago
The system you're looking for is Ubuntu...
but nobody likes snaps right?
No one actually cares
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u/HeyKid_HelpComputer 8h ago
Debian seemed to come with all codecs for when I installed it. I've been very pleasantly surprised by it.
Obviously stable is 48 but if you use testing you'd be on the latest Gnome 51.
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u/Slow-Delay-9842 8h ago
Cant google anything nowadays, but AI says debian does not have them installed. Weird :x
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u/HeyKid_HelpComputer 7h ago
I could play 100% of my videos on a fresh install of Debian 13.
Fedora for example I can maybe play 10% of my videos. So I guess it just depends on your video codecs.
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