Problem with OSD

[TenTen]

Good evening,
suddenly my VLC stopped showing information about aspect ratio (16: 9, 4: 3, ...) and volume percentage (70%, 80%, ...).
The version in use is 3.0.11 and the O.S. is XP.
It could have been caused by pressing several keys at the same time: the wireless keyboard is on the sofa
I've already tried resetting preferences, disabling and re-enabling OSD, or checking the settings from another pc, but nothing changes.
The shortcut keys still work, but it is annoying not to see the values anymore.
Do you have any ideas?
Thank you all.

[Hitchhiker]

Current version is 3.0.12 https://www.videolan.org/

I don't know if installing the latest version will necessarily change the behaviour you're experiencing at the moment, but it's in your own interests to update due to a security vulnerability in 3.0.11

[TenTen]

I didn't know there was this new version, even though the update check says that the one I use is the latest.
Tonight I will try to install it and let you know.
Thanks for the reply.

[TenTen]

Nothing to do, even with v. 3.0.12 can't see OSD msgs.
I've uninstalled the old before.

[Hitchhiker]

Try changing the position where OSD messages normally appear (at the bottom by default). I have mine set to top right. Here's a pix.


(click to enlarge).

Are you sure you're pressing the correct key combination for volume control which is Ctrl + Up / Down arrow keys. Aspect ratio is simply the letter "a". You could try changing the font as well. I have mine set to Arial.

I tend to use the Fn keys on my Win 8.1 laptop for volume control, but maybe you're using a PC which won't have those.

[TenTen]

On my system the keys for volume control are Up and Down without Ctrl or Fn and they still works. For aspect ratio I confirm the "a" key.
All the keys work, but without showing the OSD info.
I tried also all the position, also mine was top right and it worked well for years.

And this is what appear in my OSD Preferences:

https://postimg.cc/9RPbPzBN

I found that:
- I can't change the position
- the title is not shown when starting the video
- I cannot change font and size
- I cannot change the font and shadow color

When I say "I can't change" it means that if I change it and save it, the previous one returns.

What could have happened?
Thanks for your patience Hitchhiker

[Hitchhiker]

The font shown in your screenshot appears to be called MG Shell Dlg 2, but that doesn't appear in the list of options in 3.0.12 so that's the most likely reason you're not seeing any display.


(click to enlarge)

Easiest thing to do will be to go to Windows Control Panel ----> Fonts and then delete the offending font. If you get a warning from the OS that you can't make changes using the account you're logged in with do the following.

1. Hit Windows key + R to open the Run command and type: netplwiz and click OK.
2. In the menu which opens click the user --- which should be you --- to highlight it and then click the Properties button.
3. Click the Group Membership tab in the following menu.
4. Click the Administrator radio button to turn it black and then click Apply / OK

You should now be able to make changes without them reverting to what they were before.

[TenTen]

Do you want smile? That font does not exist in ControlPanel/Fonts...
The O.S. is Xp pro and the default user is admin. That pc is connected to tv and i use it only to see movies.
I've tried also modifying the text rendering module from Automatic to "Dummy font renderer" or to "Disable", restarting every time Vlc, but nothing to do (then I set it up again to Automatic).

[Hitchhiker]

Do you want smile? That font does not exist in ControlPanel/Fonts...
The O.S. is Xp pro and the default user is admin. That pc is connected to tv and i use it only to see movies.
I've tried also modifying the text rendering module from Automatic to "Dummy font renderer" or to "Disable", restarting every time Vlc, but nothing to do (then I set it up again to Automatic).

I tracked down the oddly named font and it appears to be a workaround Microsoft uses to display glyphs in languages such as Greek. It's explained here. Why it would be added to Italian is a mystery since the Italian character set doesn't include those as far as I'm aware.

There's a VLC doc which explains how to change fonts in the Advanced menu, but it sounds like it won't be any good to you if changes will subsequently be undone later.

When did this problem with the OSD start? If it was quite recently you could try running Windows System Restore to wind back the clock to a time and date prior to the problem occurring.

[TenTen]

"When did this problem with the OSD start? If it was quite recently you could try running Windows System Restore to wind back the clock to a time and date prior to the problem occurring."

The only "foreign" sw installed is KM player that I use for hi resolution mkv movies, cause Vlc many times freeze the PC, forcing me to reboot the system (and leaving no trace of it in the event viewer). But that's a price to pay, since the GPU is integrated.
The problem appeared 3 or 5 days ago, I'll do so.
Thank you very much for cooperation.

[TenTen]

I reset the system to an earlier point a week ago and Vlc is back in place to v. 3.0.11 with Arial font and OSD functions working.
It offered me the update to 3.0.12.
When it finished the problem came up again and he had that font installed.
So I reverted to a previous day again: without accepting the update everything is fine now.
Thanks, but what a strange thing.

[Hitchhiker]

I reset the system to an earlier point a week ago and Vlc is back in place to v. 3.0.11 with Arial font and OSD functions working.
It offered me the update to 3.0.12.
When it finished the problem came up again and he had that font installed.
So I reverted to a previous day again: without accepting the update everything is fine now.
Thanks, but what a strange thing.

Sounds like there's a bug in the latest version although it may only affect Win XP. I haven't experienced it myself on Windows 8.1 in any event. You can file it as a bug on https://trac.videolan.org/vlc/ if you wish and include the link to this thread.

In the meantime watch out for what videos you open. Here's the link to the vulnerability which has been fixed in 3.0.12

[Vampiros]

This is likely caused by the same bug that causes the subtitles to not display. Just for information, this is apparently getting worked on a bit (see https://code.videolan.org/videolan/vlc/-/issues/25411).

[TenTen]

Thx Vampiros, but my old and glorious TV expired (was an excellent LCD Fujitsu Siemens i buyed in the 2000!). So I converted to a modern TV with an integrated video player.

[Vampiros]

That's a bit sad. But good to hear you can watch videos, and I hope it's with on-screen display.