[mythtv-users] Where is the mythfrontend configuration file...esp closed caption font definition

[Michael T. Dean]

On 11/21/2007 07:50 PM, David Pat Shui Fong wrote:
> Where can I find the configuration file of the mythtvfrontend?
>   

Settings are in the DB, not in any file.

> Using the mythfrontend GUI I can change the closed caption font, but 
> choosing 'default', 'small' or 'big' makes no difference.

Because 'default', 'small', and 'big' are values you can select for the
setting, "Font size" on the page relating to the OSD theme.  Captions
are /not/ themed.

>  Unfortunately, the 
> chosen font size is too big for my TV, a 42" plasma. In fact, the MonoSans 
> font is also too big for the 'black background' which is generated for closed 
> captions.
>   

This sounds like you may have a misconfigured X.  See

http://www.mythtv.org/wiki/index.php/Frequently_Asked_Questions#All_my_fonts_look_like_they_are_the_wrong_sizes.2C_how_can_I_correct_this.3F
http://www.mythtv.org/wiki/index.php/Display_Size
http://www.mythtv.org/wiki/index.php/Specifying_DPI_for_NVIDIA_Cards

> Some of the osd.xml definition files contain definitions for the subtitlefont, 
> but changing the size of the subtitlefont makes no difference to the closed 
> caption font size.
>   

Subtitles and captions are different things.

> So my questions are....
>
> 1. Can I change the closed caption font size directly in the mythtvfrontend 
> configuration file?
>   
No.  No file.

> 2. Can I create a definition for the closed caption font in the osd.xml files?
>   

No.  Captions aren't themed.

> 3. As a last resort, can I change the font used for closed captions in such a 
> way that it creates a font which is smaller than what is actually requested 
> by the mythtvfrontend?
Check your X configuration.  That should solve the issue.  If not, you
could create a "broken" font whose glyphs are too small for the given
font size, but that's a terribly ugly hack.

Note that analog captions do not provide an ability to use different
size fonts, but digital captions do provide a means for specifying font
size.  Therefore, analog captions are generally shown with a single font
using a single font size chosen by the vendor.

http://www.atsc.org/faq/faq_closed.html#What%20are%20native%20608%20closed%20captions
http://www.atsc.org/faq/faq_closed.html#What%20are%20native%20708%20closed%20captions
http://www.atsc.org/faq/faq_closed.html#What%20specific%20benefits%20can%20digital%20television%20bring%20to%20closed%20captioning%20services

And, here is an /excellent/ discussion of font sizes for captions:
http://screenfont.ca/fonts/today/captionsize/
and, especially:
http://screenfont.ca/biblio/#Biblio:040521-blockquote-370
which says, "Millerson ... recommended that minimum lettering size
should be 1/10 to 1/25 picture height."

Myth uses a font that's normalized to 27/480 of picture size (1/17.7778
picture size), which fits right into the recommended range.

Granted, these references are relatively biased toward North American
sources, but the caption size parts of them should apply regardless of
location.

So, first verify your X configuration.  If you get it properly
configured and still feel that the fonts are too large (the
EIA-608/CEA-608 fonts are perfectly sized on my 67" HDTV, so I can
almost guarantee that you've misconfigured your system--about 1/18 of
the screen size, making them easily readable from proper viewing
distance), let me know and I'll tell you how to change the font size.

Oh, and typically if you don't get a response, posting a second time
won't help you get one.  It often just means that either no one has any
answers for you or--far more likely--the person(s) who may have had
something to say have not found the time to say it, yet.  I saw your
first message and marked it so I would remember to respond, but didn't
have the time to provide the appropriate information until now.  I chose
to respond to the second post only because it also asked about the
configuration file, so with one reply I could respond to all the
questions in your 2 posts and the one ticket you created about this subject.

Mike