2008-12-18, 02:10
Aside from Arial, all of the other font types used in Mediastream (and the rest of the skins) cannot render Vietnamese characters with stacked accents, so instead of the char, there is just a blank space. This problem is mitigated if you choose Arial or Bigger Arial in system config, but this fontset still uses Title and TitleCaps fonts, which again cannot render Viet chars. For me, this shows up during music visualization, where all the names are mangled.
Another problem is that, because of the stacked accents, Viet fonts generally need more space for ascenders (i.e. above the char), so using title caps w/o increasing line space results in squished accents, making them hard to read.
Example (UTF-8 to view): ỂẲỜ ểắờ
My workaround for both problems is simply to substitute Arial Bold for TitleCaps in the relevant section. Particulars for those facing the same issue:
. Copy arialbd.ttf from \Windows\Fonts to ~\XBMC\media\fonts
. Edit ~\XBMC\skin\Mediastream\PAL\Fonts.xml for 4:3 screen (720p\Fonts.xml for widescreens)
. Search for "Arial Bigger" (whatever fontset chosen in system config)
. In Titles section, change LargeTitleCapsFont: arialbd.ttf, 24pt
. MediumSmallTitleCapsFont: arialbd.ttf, 15pt
. SmallTitleCapsFont: arialbd.ttf, 13pt
I would like to make the above font sizes larger, as right now they are only readable from 3-4', not the standard 10' rule that settop GUIs are supposed to use. To do that, I need to increase the line spacing. Any tips to do that would be appreciated.
As mentioned before, much of the GUI in Mediastream and other skins are generally designed for desktop use--i.e. using the 2' rule rather than the 10' rule--and many UI elements aren't legible at normal viewing distance. More attention to this would be helpful.
Another problem is that, because of the stacked accents, Viet fonts generally need more space for ascenders (i.e. above the char), so using title caps w/o increasing line space results in squished accents, making them hard to read.
Example (UTF-8 to view): ỂẲỜ ểắờ
My workaround for both problems is simply to substitute Arial Bold for TitleCaps in the relevant section. Particulars for those facing the same issue:
. Copy arialbd.ttf from \Windows\Fonts to ~\XBMC\media\fonts
. Edit ~\XBMC\skin\Mediastream\PAL\Fonts.xml for 4:3 screen (720p\Fonts.xml for widescreens)
. Search for "Arial Bigger" (whatever fontset chosen in system config)
. In Titles section, change LargeTitleCapsFont: arialbd.ttf, 24pt
. MediumSmallTitleCapsFont: arialbd.ttf, 15pt
. SmallTitleCapsFont: arialbd.ttf, 13pt
I would like to make the above font sizes larger, as right now they are only readable from 3-4', not the standard 10' rule that settop GUIs are supposed to use. To do that, I need to increase the line spacing. Any tips to do that would be appreciated.
As mentioned before, much of the GUI in Mediastream and other skins are generally designed for desktop use--i.e. using the 2' rule rather than the 10' rule--and many UI elements aren't legible at normal viewing distance. More attention to this would be helpful.
