ASS subtitles not displaying any more

[dumbeblonde]

I'm running Mac 10.8.5 with the latest VLC 2.2.6

I fired up VLC to watch an MKV I'd recently created.
A message appeared to the effect that it was "updating fonts, which should take less than a minute." It took quite a bit longer.

However, since then, ASS fonts do not display, in MKV or MP4 files. The fonts were muxed into the MKV, and the MP4 I tried - the ass file was separate. Either way, nothing displays. Only UTF8 text srt subs display now.

So I completely uninstalled VLC (preferences and all) and reinstalled a new copy. Made no difference.

Please help as I have several videos I need to work on. Thanks.

EDIT: I tried installing the only earlier version I could find ( v2.0.10) and it will not install at all. Error box says: "not recognised". (I downloaded it twice, just to be sure it wasn't a d/l fault.)

[Doctor X]

Solution

Subtitles Show Up in Some, Not All, mkv or Stop Showing Up on VLC 2.2.6

After spending a day reloading, following directions, resetting, sacrificing a virgin--no one important--I noted in one of these unresolved complaint threads a recommendation to download the Nightly Build.

Here is the Current as of today. The page for the builds in case you find them hard to find:

https://nightlies.videolan.org/build/macosx-intel/last/

Downloaded -> Fired it Up -> WORKED. I tested this on a number of .mkv that have failed or started to fail.

Mods/Admins/Powers That Be: I will copy/paste this on a few other threads where there is no solution to this problem. This is not an attempt to "spam" or increase my numbers. Just want to help!

--J.D.

[gmile]

Can confirm subtitles for a particular MKV didn't work in 2.2.5.x and 2.2.6. They are working now with latest 3.0.0 nightly build.

@Doctor X Thank you for posting a workaround!

[Doctor X]

Do be aware that the Nightly Build is "buggy" as expected. For me, it tends to repeatedly crash with 1080p .mkv. SOooooo . . . keep 2.2.6 and if it does NOT show the subtitles then use the Nightly Build for that .mkv.

Though, be patient if it keeps crashing.

--J.D.

[bran]

I'm having issues with .srt files playing on .mkv video in VLC 2.2.6 and nightly build 3.0.0-git Vetinari. Using Mac 10.11.6

Even with the .srt and .mkv files within the same folder subs wont be added. I add them manually and it shows under "Subtitle Track" but it will not show up on video.

Below is a screen grab. Ive turned the background colour to yellow, and the text colour to black.

[mystuffhere]

I can confirm ASS subtitles are not working for me which is infuriating and is ludicrous that it happened in the first place. Before you go on the VLC is free, spare time, etc, etc, speech, how is it that the MPC-HC/BE guys can release a new version or new features without ridiculous regressions? Please explain that one? Not only that but it's been 2 months since the OP with no fix... Some contributors need to be banned from VLC for life... such a sorry pack of losers...

[yetisyny]

This bug with .ASS subtitles exists in versions 2.2.5, 2.2.5.1, and 2.2.6 on macOS. The last stable version not affected was 2.2.4, so if this bug bothers you as it does me, use version 2.2.4 for now. The 3.0.0 nightly builds are not affected by this bug either but they are unstable.

As far as a new stable release that will fix this bug, the bug has been resolved in the current 2.2.x branch code on October 22, 2017 (see https://trac.videolan.org/vlc/ticket/18583, it is marked as fixed on that date). However the latest nightly build from the 2.2.4 branch is a 2.2.7-pre nightly build from September 14, prior to this bug being fixed. Once 2.2.7 comes out as a stable version it will have this fix, it seems that they have already updated the changelog (see https://www.videolan.org/developers/vlc-branch/NEWS).

Currently on the changelog it says for version 2.2.7 (which has not come out yet):

Code: Select all

Changes between 2.2.6 and 2.2.7: -------------------------------- Mac OS X: * Fix compatibility with macOS High Sierra * Fix regression in ASS subtitle decoding * Fix crash during automatic update. Some users might need to manually update to the newest version.

So I have a very very simple suggestion to anyone afflicted by this macOS-specific .ASS subtitle display bug. Use version 2.2.4 stable of VLC Media Player for now, until version 2.2.7 comes out. Then upgrade to version 2.2.7 once it comes out as stable. Avoid using the stable versions 2.2.5, 2.2.5.1, or 2.2.6, or any of the 2.2.x nightly builds from September 2017 or earlier. I don’t know when version 2.2.7 is scheduled to be released, but once it is released it will have the fix. And if any more nightlies of the 2.2.x branch are made prior to then, or any release candidates are made, they will also have the fix, if they come out after October 22, 2017, when the fix was made in the 2.2.x branch code according to the bug tracker.

So just use 2.2.4 until 2.2.7 comes out, then switch to 2.2.7 once it is out. That is all you need to do to avoid this bug. There are a few bugs in 2.2.4 that are fixed in the current 2.2.6 stable release, yes, but they are mostly just important to Windows users, if you are on a Mac I recommend 2.2.4 for now. Here is the download page for 2.2.4: https://www.videolan.org/vlc/releases/2 ... l#download

Another option is to use another free open-source media player such as mpv, available at https://mpv.io/, currently at version 0.27.0. Mpv does not have as much of a GUI as VLC does, and it is a bit more prone to crashes, and I personally prefer VLC, but having more than 1 media player installed on your computer is helpful and if something does not play properly in one player but does in another, it works out very well. And unlike most other alternatives, which are proprietary and cost money, it is free and open-source just like VLC Media Player and it is also based off of many of the same software dependencies so it uses the same exact library, libass, to decode .ASS subtitles, as one example, and as another example, the biggest dependency for both programs is FFmpeg which decodes all sorts of video and audio. So if you run into bugs that occur in VLC Media Player and not in mpv, then those are likely bugs specific to VLC Media Player rather than bugs in its dependencies. If you run into bugs that occur in both programs, they are likely bugs in the dependencies and not in VLC Media Player itself. This subtitle display issue is a VLC-specific issue that does not occur at all in mpv, as one example.

[guysomm]

Solution

Subtitles Show Up in Some, Not All, mkv or Stop Showing Up on VLC 2.2.6

After spending a day reloading, following directions, resetting, sacrificing a virgin--no one important--I noted in one of these unresolved complaint threads a recommendation to download the Nightly Build.

Here is the Current as of today. The page for the builds in case you find them hard to find:

https://nightlies.videolan.org/build/macosx-intel/last/

Downloaded -> Fired it Up -> WORKED. I tested this on a number of .mkv that have failed or started to fail.

Mods/Admins/Powers That Be: I will copy/paste this on a few other threads where there is no solution to this problem. This is not an attempt to "spam" or increase my numbers. Just want to help!

--J.D.

Made an account just to thank you!

[dfuhrmann]

Please note that the official version 2.2.8 now fixes the ass issues as well.

[dumbeblonde]

@DoctorX: My very grateful thanks to you, as well as other contributors.
And apologies for the late acknowledgement. Had 2 deaths in family since posting; horrid end to year.

Very pleased to be back to normal and able to continue creating subs for my vids.
B.

[Doctor X]

@dumbeblonde belated condolences and glad you are back!