standard def fonts

procrastinator · 2008-09-04, 00:10

First off, huge thank you and well done to Team Razorfish: you've done an amazing job on this skin. Beautiful!

Anyway, for those of us who still have standard def TVs there's still a bit of a problem with the text sizes as certain bits of text are not really legible with the current sizes. I recently came across a script by chapado on this thread (http://xbmc.org/forum/showthread.php?t=36208) which i used to bump up the font sizes by 5pt across the board. This, though not a perfect solution, did a very good job with minimal aesthetic impact on my PAL 32" 16:9 TV. Below are screenshots to highlight differences and issues with standard font set vs 5pt larger.

1. settings screen

Firstly, imo, the +5pt font size is for the actual settings themselves is the minimum comfortably legible font size. The titles were fine, but obviously if you increase the size of the main body it might ruin the feel if you didn't do the same to some extent with the titles. The sub-menu was a little on the small size originally. As you can see a full 5pt increase over-steps the boundries though. A pt increase of 2-3 may be enough for these.

procrastinator · 2008-09-04, 00:12

2. Main menu

The main menu worked pretty well with the increase: no text in the menu/sub menu over-steps the boundries or disappears off

the side of the screen. That said, a full 5pt increase wasn't really necessary for all elements: menu fine, sub

menu a bit on the small side, maybe a 3pt increase wuld be sufficient, weather/clock 5pt or greater absolutely

necessary, though this does bring up a slight problem of lower boundry issues with the containing boxes (clock is a recurring issue - obviously!).

procrastinator · 2008-09-04, 00:13

hmmm, image links aren't working beyond 1st post for some reason...

any ideas why (I'm actually a complete n00b with forum posts i'm afraid)

procrastinator · 2008-09-04, 00:17

until then, here's text only version:

3. Movies
This screen was perhaps the worst for legibility. main body text absolutely needed to be at least 5pt bigger. everything looks a bit more cramped but ultimately not too bad, slight issue with scrolling text under 'movie details' overlapping with text above.

4. TV shows
The blurb describing the program definitely needed the full 5pt increase. While we're on the point this description does not scroll, would be handy if it did, otherwise you miss half the desc. program names probably don't need a full 5pt increase, maybe just 4, maybe! only real issue is 'first aired' text running out of room.

5. Weather
The weather in London is juuuust great at the moment isn't it!
the 5pt increase is perfect for this screen, though there is an big issue with the 'last refreshed' text overlapping. However, this even appears to be a minor problem with the standard font set

6. video playback
Again, the 5pt increase has worked well here. I wouldn't really go any smaller, especially as it hasn't really thrown up any issues

7. audio visualisation
this one's a bit tricky. increasing the font size has made it all very squashed. The artist/album section is ok with standard fonts, but needs at least a 2pt increase to make it comfortable. The other text is way to small to read without a full 5pt increase

Phewf!

Right, hope that helps, and that was the kind of thing you were after skunkm0nkee??

Once again, thanks to team Razorfish, you've done a superb job!

craigey1 · 2008-09-04, 00:32

Cheers for this. I have the same issue with the font size as I also am using a 32" standard def TV.

RE: the problem with the pics
the working links are something like:
http://img233.imageshack.us/img233/7...riginalvz2.jpg
but the ones that don't are like:
http://img230.imageshack.us/my.php?i...mainbigoz7.jpg

Hopefully you can figure it out from there.

procrastinator · 2008-09-04, 00:57

ooooh! Thanks Craigy1

REALLY sorry to everyone for creating such a convoluted thread *n00b alert!*

anyway, here goes again:

2. Main menu

The main menu worked pretty well with the increase: no text in the menu/sub menu over-steps the boundries or disappears off the side of the screen. That said, a full 5pt increase wasn't really necessary for all elements: menu fine, sub menu a bit on the small side, maybe a 3pt increase wuld be sufficient, weather/clock 5pt or greater absolutely necessary, though this does bring up a slight problem of lower boundry issues with the containing boxes (clock is a recurring issus - obviously!).

3. Movies

This screen was perhaps the worst for legibility. main body text absolutely needed to be at least 5pt bigger. everything looks a bit more cramped but ultimately not too bad, slight issue with scrolling text under 'movie details' overlapping with text above.

4. TV shows

The blurb describing the program definitely needed the full 5pt increase. While we're on the point this description does not scroll, would be handy if it did, otherwise you miss half the desc. program names probably don't need a full 5pt increase, maybe just 4, maybe! only real issue is 'first aired' text running out of room.

procrastinator · 2008-09-04, 01:01

5. Weather

The weather in London is juuuust great at the moment isn't it!
the 5pt increase is perfect for this screen, though there is an big issue with the 'last refreshed' text overlapping. However, this even appears to be a minor problem with the standard font set

6. video playback

Again, the 5pt increase has worked well here. I wouldn't really go any smaller, especially as it hasn't really thrown up any issues

7. audio visualisation

this one's a bit tricky. increasing the font size has made it all very squashed. The artist/album section is ok with standard fonts, but needs at least a 2pt increase to make it comfortable. The other text is way to small to read without a full 5pt increase

simonjp · 2008-09-04, 02:19

Another Brooker far, brilliant!

Thanks for looking into this; I've increased my font sizes by ~5pts by your suggestions and it makes a world of a difference. Give this a few more weeks and it might even be ready for the big-time; showing my housemate how to use it...

dxg836 · 2008-09-05, 12:25

Good bit of work. This obviously shows that the plot summary is too small. The weather information is too small & the Music vis info is too small (other than the title)

Everything else, I feel, is an acceptable size. Even for my humble 28" WS SDTV

Transmission3k · 2008-09-16, 20:33

I'm on a 27" standard def TV. The only font size I'm having any real problem with is the episode descriptions. Is there a way to just increase the font size for certain elements?

2008-09-04, 00:10	#1
procrastinator Junior Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 10	standard def fonts First off, huge thank you and well done to Team Razorfish: you've done an amazing job on this skin. Beautiful! Anyway, for those of us who still have standard def TVs there's still a bit of a problem with the text sizes as certain bits of text are not really legible with the current sizes. I recently came across a script by chapado on this thread (http://xbmc.org/forum/showthread.php?t=36208) which i used to bump up the font sizes by 5pt across the board. This, though not a perfect solution, did a very good job with minimal aesthetic impact on my PAL 32" 16:9 TV. Below are screenshots to highlight differences and issues with standard font set vs 5pt larger. 1. settings screen Firstly, imo, the +5pt font size is for the actual settings themselves is the minimum comfortably legible font size. The titles were fine, but obviously if you increase the size of the main body it might ruin the feel if you didn't do the same to some extent with the titles. The sub-menu was a little on the small size originally. As you can see a full 5pt increase over-steps the boundries though. A pt increase of 2-3 may be enough for these.

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2008-09-04, 00:12	#2
procrastinator Junior Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 10	2. Main menu The main menu worked pretty well with the increase: no text in the menu/sub menu over-steps the boundries or disappears off the side of the screen. That said, a full 5pt increase wasn't really necessary for all elements: menu fine, sub menu a bit on the small side, maybe a 3pt increase wuld be sufficient, weather/clock 5pt or greater absolutely necessary, though this does bring up a slight problem of lower boundry issues with the containing boxes (clock is a recurring issue - obviously!).

2008-09-04, 00:13	#3
procrastinator Junior Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 10	hmmm, image links aren't working beyond 1st post for some reason... any ideas why (I'm actually a complete n00b with forum posts i'm afraid)

2008-09-04, 00:17	#4
procrastinator Junior Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 10	until then, here's text only version: 3. Movies This screen was perhaps the worst for legibility. main body text absolutely needed to be at least 5pt bigger. everything looks a bit more cramped but ultimately not too bad, slight issue with scrolling text under 'movie details' overlapping with text above. 4. TV shows The blurb describing the program definitely needed the full 5pt increase. While we're on the point this description does not scroll, would be handy if it did, otherwise you miss half the desc. program names probably don't need a full 5pt increase, maybe just 4, maybe! only real issue is 'first aired' text running out of room. 5. Weather The weather in London is juuuust great at the moment isn't it! the 5pt increase is perfect for this screen, though there is an big issue with the 'last refreshed' text overlapping. However, this even appears to be a minor problem with the standard font set 6. video playback Again, the 5pt increase has worked well here. I wouldn't really go any smaller, especially as it hasn't really thrown up any issues 7. audio visualisation this one's a bit tricky. increasing the font size has made it all very squashed. The artist/album section is ok with standard fonts, but needs at least a 2pt increase to make it comfortable. The other text is way to small to read without a full 5pt increase Phewf! Right, hope that helps, and that was the kind of thing you were after skunkm0nkee?? Once again, thanks to team Razorfish, you've done a superb job!

2008-09-04, 00:32	#5
craigey1 Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 39	Cheers for this. I have the same issue with the font size as I also am using a 32" standard def TV. RE: the problem with the pics the working links are something like: http://img233.imageshack.us/img233/7...riginalvz2.jpg but the ones that don't are like: http://img230.imageshack.us/my.php?i...mainbigoz7.jpg Hopefully you can figure it out from there.

2008-09-04, 00:57	#6
procrastinator Junior Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 10	ooooh! Thanks Craigy1 REALLY sorry to everyone for creating such a convoluted thread n00b alert! anyway, here goes again: 2. Main menu The main menu worked pretty well with the increase: no text in the menu/sub menu over-steps the boundries or disappears off the side of the screen. That said, a full 5pt increase wasn't really necessary for all elements: menu fine, sub menu a bit on the small side, maybe a 3pt increase wuld be sufficient, weather/clock 5pt or greater absolutely necessary, though this does bring up a slight problem of lower boundry issues with the containing boxes (clock is a recurring issus - obviously!). 3. Movies This screen was perhaps the worst for legibility. main body text absolutely needed to be at least 5pt bigger. everything looks a bit more cramped but ultimately not too bad, slight issue with scrolling text under 'movie details' overlapping with text above. 4. TV shows The blurb describing the program definitely needed the full 5pt increase. While we're on the point this description does not scroll, would be handy if it did, otherwise you miss half the desc. program names probably don't need a full 5pt increase, maybe just 4, maybe! only real issue is 'first aired' text running out of room.

2008-09-04, 01:01	#7
procrastinator Junior Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 10	5. Weather The weather in London is juuuust great at the moment isn't it! the 5pt increase is perfect for this screen, though there is an big issue with the 'last refreshed' text overlapping. However, this even appears to be a minor problem with the standard font set 6. video playback Again, the 5pt increase has worked well here. I wouldn't really go any smaller, especially as it hasn't really thrown up any issues 7. audio visualisation this one's a bit tricky. increasing the font size has made it all very squashed. The artist/album section is ok with standard fonts, but needs at least a 2pt increase to make it comfortable. The other text is way to small to read without a full 5pt increase

2008-09-04, 02:19	#8
simonjp Junior Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Posts: 5	Another Brooker far, brilliant! Thanks for looking into this; I've increased my font sizes by ~5pts by your suggestions and it makes a world of a difference. Give this a few more weeks and it might even be ready for the big-time; showing my housemate how to use it...

2008-09-05, 12:25	#9
dxg836 Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Posts: 40	Good bit of work. This obviously shows that the plot summary is too small. The weather information is too small & the Music vis info is too small (other than the title) Everything else, I feel, is an acceptable size. Even for my humble 28" WS SDTV

2008-09-16, 20:33	#10
Transmission3k Junior Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 13	I'm on a 27" standard def TV. The only font size I'm having any real problem with is the episode descriptions. Is there a way to just increase the font size for certain elements?

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