Linux Installation

Already using Windows and curious about running Void Video on Linux? This guide walks you through Debian 13 with KDE Plasma or XFCE, from making an installation USB to getting your first picture. No previous Linux experience is required.

Debian is the operating system, like Windows. KDE Plasma and XFCE provide the desktop, application menu, and file manager. We recommend KDE Plasma for a modern Windows-like desktop, or XFCE for a lighter desktop with a traditional, Windows XP-like layout. Start with the desktop setup; automatic startup without the desktop is optional once everything works.

Your connections stay the same: source → capture card → Void Video → graphics card → projector or TV.

A few differences from Windows

On Windows	In this guide
Start menu	The desktop application menu
File Explorer	Dolphin (KDE) or Thunar (XFCE)
PowerShell or Command Prompt	Konsole (KDE) or Terminal (XFCE)
Run as administrator	A command beginning with sudo; enter your login password when asked
Your user folder	Your home folder, written as ~ or $HOME in commands
Driver .exe installer	Linux driver packages; your Windows installers will not work here

Copy commands one line at a time and press Enter. Text such as YOUR_USER or RELEASE is a placeholder to replace, not something to type literally. Linux filenames are case-sensitive: VoidVideo and voidvideo are different names.

Before you start

Have the following ready:

• A PC meeting the hardware requirements, with the capture card installed.
• A USB stick for the Debian installer, another computer to prepare it, and an internet connection. Wired Ethernet makes installation easier.
• A backup of anything on the disk you intend to install onto.
• Your Void Video download/account access and a keyboard connected to the processor PC.

Connect the source to the capture card input and the projector or monitor to the GPU output. A capture card's HDMI input is not a monitor output.

Use the Debian installer linked below. Choose KDE Plasma or XFCE during installation; do not download the separate operating system called KDE Linux. Complete the installation onto a disk before setting up drivers.

1. Install Debian 13

1. Download the current Debian 13 amd64 netinst ISO from Debian Downloads. Here, amd64 means ordinary 64-bit Intel or AMD PCs. It does not refer to the graphics card.

2. Write the downloaded ISO to a USB stick using Rufus or balenaEtcher. In Rufus, select the ISO and USB stick, then click Start. In Etcher, choose Flash from file, select the ISO, choose the USB stick with Select target, then click Flash! Wait for the process to finish. Either tool erases the selected USB stick, so check the selected drive carefully. If you are installing Debian on a separate drive and want extra protection for Windows, shut down and unplug the PC, then disconnect the Windows SSD before installation. Reconnect it with the PC powered off after Debian is installed. This option does not apply when both systems will share one drive.

3. Boot the processor PC from that USB stick and select Graphical install. Follow the language, keyboard, and network prompts.

4. At the root-password screen, leaving the root password blank lets Debian configure the first normal user for sudo. Create that user's name and password. If you choose a separate root password, use the recovery instructions below to grant your normal user administrator access.

5. Read each installation menu carefully, especially the disk selection and final list of changes. Guided use of an entire disk erases that disk. For a first Linux setup, a spare PC or separate disk makes it easier to keep your existing Windows installation. Debian and Windows can share the same drive, using separate partitions; you choose which system to start when the PC boots. Follow Debian’s dual-boot preparation guide and preserve the Windows partitions rather than choosing the entire-disk option.

6. At Software selection, keep Debian desktop environment and standard system utilities, select KDE Plasma or Xfce, and deselect other desktops you do not want.

7. Finish installation, remove the USB stick when prompted, and reboot.

The network installer downloads selected packages during installation. Debian's installation manual covers alternative disk layouts and account setup.

If the installer screen goes blank

Restart from the Debian USB and choose Install instead of Graphical install. This uses text menus and still lets you install KDE Plasma or XFCE. You will have a normal desktop after installation.

Use the arrow keys, Tab, and Enter to navigate, and Space to select desktop options. Follow the same installation steps above.

If the text installer also gives a blank screen, ask for help and include your graphics-card model and the downloaded ISO filename.

2. Open a terminal and update Debian

Open Konsole in KDE or Terminal in XFCE from the application menu. Paste with Ctrl+Shift+V. Run commands in order and read each result. Password prompts show no characters while you type.

Ctrl+C stops most programs running in the terminal and returns to the prompt; it is not the terminal’s copy shortcut. Use Ctrl+Shift+C to copy text. Let software installations finish instead of interrupting them. In Void Video, use F9 to quit.

Check administrator access:

sudo whoami

The expected answer is root. Continue below if you see it.

If you see “not in the sudoers file”

If your user is not in the sudoers file, run su -, enter the root password, then run the following as root, replacing yourname with your normal username:

apt install sudo
usermod -aG sudo yourname
exit

Log out of the desktop and back in before retrying sudo whoami.

Update Debian first. apt is Debian’s software installer; it downloads packages and updates for you:

sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade
sudo reboot

After restarting, reopen the terminal. Install the two tools used later in this guide to identify your hardware and check graphics support:

sudo apt install pciutils vulkan-tools

These are setup and troubleshooting tools, not requirements for running Void Video. You do not need to learn their package names; the guide shows when to use them.

Driver build tools such as build-essential, dkms, and linux-headers-amd64 are separate. Some NVIDIA and capture-card drivers need them; follow the driver instructions below rather than installing them as a general Void Video requirement.

Check NetworkManager

Void Video requires NetworkManager. A normal KDE Plasma or XFCE installation includes it, but a minimal Debian installation may not. Install it if needed and ensure it is running:

sudo apt install network-manager
sudo systemctl enable --now NetworkManager
nmcli device status

If it is already installed, APT will tell you. Your Ethernet or Wi-Fi connection should appear as connected. If it says unmanaged, ask for help before changing the connection configuration. Keep NetworkManager installed when switching to startup without the desktop.

Optional utilities

We recommend htop for CPU and memory monitoring, and nvtop for NVIDIA graphics monitoring. See Linux Utilities for installation, controls, and connecting from Windows using SSH. These tools are optional.

3. Set up the graphics driver

Use Linux GPU Drivers and follow the section for your GPU:

• AMD Radeon: install the Debian Radeon driver packages.
• Intel integrated, Arc A-series, and Arc B-series: choose the instructions for your graphics model.
• NVIDIA: choose by card family and install a current compatible driver from NVIDIA.

That guide also explains how to obtain newer drivers than Debian's base release provides. Reboot after kernel/driver changes, then run:

vulkaninfo --summary

Look for the intended physical GPU. A software renderer such as llvmpipe or lavapipe alone is not a usable graphics setup for Void Video. On NVIDIA's vendor driver, also check nvidia-smi; it does not replace the Vulkan check.

4. Install the capture card driver

Follow the existing guide for the card you installed:

Card	Linux setup
Blackmagic DeckLink	DeckLink Setup → Linux, then verify the card and input
Magewell Pro Capture / Eco Capture	Magewell Setup → Linux, then verify capture

Choose the vendor package for your card family, architecture, and kernel. Install the capture driver after settling on the GPU/kernel version. Complete any firmware update and reboot requested by the vendor.

Magewell's Windows Capture Runtime DLL is not needed on Linux; the Void Video Linux package includes the SDK runtime. Blackmagic requires its Linux Desktop Video package.

After restarting, confirm that the card appears in Void Video's Capture → Input menu. The final check is a picture from your connected source.

If a driver will not load with Secure Boot enabled

Secure Boot is a PC firmware setting also used by Windows. Some Linux drivers need an extra approval step. Follow the driver's signing or key-enrollment instructions if prompted, then reboot. Keep any error message when asking for help.

5. Install Void Video in a permanent folder

Download the Linux x86_64 .tar.gz from Downloads. Keep the entire extracted package together in a user-writable folder, such as ~/Applications/VoidVideo. Extract the whole archive, not just the executable. Use a folder owned by your normal account so Void Video can save settings and install updates.

For a fresh installation, replace RELEASE below with the exact downloaded filename:

mkdir -p "$HOME/Applications/VoidVideo"
tar -xzf "$HOME/Downloads/VoidVideo-RELEASE-linux-x86_64.tar.gz" -C "$HOME/Applications/VoidVideo"
cd "$HOME/Applications/VoidVideo"
ls
./VoidVideo -h

ls should show VoidVideo in this directory. If your archive contains an enclosing directory, enter that directory instead and use its path in subsequent steps. If the executable bit was lost during copying, restore it with chmod +x VoidVideo.

List Vulkan GPUs, then start with a file log:

./VoidVideo -l
./VoidVideo -f --log

-f starts fullscreen. If automatic GPU selection chooses the wrong device, use the index shown by -l, for example ./VoidVideo -g 1 -f --log. Indices can change after hardware or driver changes. Run Void Video as your normal user, not with sudo.

6. Verify a picture before enabling autostart

1. Turn on the source and select a signal format supported by the capture card.
2. Press M → Capture → Input and select the connected card/input.
3. Check Capture information, then confirm that moving video appears.
4. Use D for diagnostics and F9 to quit. Esc goes back in menus; it does not quit playback.
5. Continue with First Run and Display Settings. Get one known output mode working before enabling automatic refresh-rate changes.

The launch command above saves a log in logs/voidvideo.txt inside your Void Video folder. Keep this file if you need help.

Once you have a working picture, follow Linux Autostart to open Void Video after login or boot straight into it on a dedicated PC.

If something fails

What you see	What to do
Administrator access is denied	Open the “not in the sudoers file” instructions in step 2.
A driver installation fails	Save the error message. Confirm you downloaded the Linux package for your card and Debian version.
No graphics card appears in the graphics check	Return to the graphics driver guide, complete installation, and reboot.
The capture card is missing	Return to its linked setup guide and check the driver installation.
The card appears, but shows No signal	Check the selected input, HDMI connections, and source output settings. Keep the application log if it still fails.
Video drops or the picture freezes	Note the source resolution and refresh rate, graphics card, and Void Video version. Include the application log when asking for help.

Describe how your source, receiver or splitter, capture card, and display are connected. If more hardware details are needed, copy the output of these commands:

uname -r
lspci -nnk
vulkaninfo --summary