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View Full Version : VSFilter’s TextSub on VirtualDub2 partially fails with a specific font


SilSinn9801
11th April 2026, 19:57
I am using VirtualDub2 build 44282 (AMD64) together with VSFilter. Its TextSub filter has problems printing subtitles from an Advanced Substation Alpha (.ass) file that invokes a specific font named DK Cool Crayon (downloadable from fontspace.com). The font loads & prints fine with TextSub, EXCEPT whenever a capital M is encountered within a Dialogue line; at that point, not only does the uppercase M fail to print (anything before that M prints fine), but also everything else following that M within that same Dialogue line fails to print. (Every other M-less Dialogue line after that problematic line prints fine.)
With regards to this specific .ass file (crafted by an anime fansubber for the Seigyoku repository on GitHub), the problem happens twice:

When trying to print a line containing just “Male”: instead it prints nothing at all.
When printing a line that says “How to Multiply Decimals”: instead it only prints “How to”.

The only workaround I have for this is to switch to a different font for such two Dialogue lines starting with or containing uppercase M.

I initially encountered this problem while using a 2014 version of VSFilter (2.41.322, the one last developed by the MPC-HC Team). I replaced that version with the latest one (3.2.0.810) attributed to Gabest & downloaded from pinterf’s xy-VSFilter repository. Although this newer version improved the display of DK Cool Crayon text, it still fails to print that font’s capital M or anything following it within the line.

I have no confirmation on whether DK Cool Crayon also does this capital-M problem to TextSub under other environments (besides VirtualDub2) or if it also causes the same issue to other subtitling engines (like those used by mpv & other media players). I only know its capital-M glyph displays fine on Windows 10’s Character Map, BabelStone’s BabelPad, & many other text applications unrelated to subtitle software.

EDIT: Tested the font in mpv (muxed together an MKV video file with the Seigyoku .ass title, attaching the DK Cool Crayon.ttf font file), it had no issues printing capital M at all. So, the font issue appears to be specific to either VSFilter or VirtualDub2 (or maybe both?)

v0lt
12th April 2026, 15:36
I would recommend sharing your subtitle file and font so others can try it out.

I would also recommend trying different VSFilter implementations:
VSFilter 2.37 (https://sourceforge.net/projects/guliverkli/files/VSFilter/VSFilter%202.37/) (only x86)
VSFilter MPC-HC 1.7.13 (https://github.com/mpc-hc/mpc-hc/releases/) (see standalone filters)
VSFilterMod r5.2.6 by sorayuki (https://github.com/sorayuki/VSFilterMod/releases)
xy-VSFilter 3.0.0.306 by Cyberbeing (https://github.com/Cyberbeing/xy-VSFilter/releases/tag/3.0.0.306)
xy-VSFilter v3.2.0.810 (20240123) by pinterf (https://github.com/pinterf/xy-VSFilter/releases)
xy-VSFilter with libass (20251008) by Masaiki (https://github.com/Masaiki/xy-VSFilter/releases)

The test build of VirtualDub2 v2.5.2 (https://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=2030251#post2030251) contains another version of the VSFilter plugin from the MPC-BE project.

SilSinn9801
12th April 2026, 20:43
> I would recommend sharing your subtitle file and font so others can try it out.
DK Cool Crayon font’s download link: https://www.fontspace.com/dk-cool-crayon-font-f19627
Seigyoku subtitle file that invokes DK Cool Crayon (for translated text overlays on scenes involving a classroom chalkboard): https://github.com/SleepyBat/Seigyoku/blob/main/Ongoing%20Projects/Mahou%20no%20Shimai%20LuluttoLilly/Mahou%20no%20Shimai%20LuluttoLilly%20-%2001.ass

> I would also recommend trying different VSFilter implementations:
The pinterf version you linked to is the second version I had already tested (as you can read on my original post in the thread), so you can cross it out (the font problem manifested there on my end). I will try to test the other AMD64 versions.

> The test build of VirtualDub2 v2.5.2 contains another version of the VSFilter plugin from the MPC-BE project.
Is this like an updated fork of the official VirtualDub2 project? Because I hadn’t seen the original dev releasing a new version for years, so I thought the program was dead.

Emulgator
14th April 2026, 10:59
Just opened that font in FontForge, and well, without further ado: Unnecessarily fuzzy.
Did somebody throw a crayon writing scan on Adobe Illustrator and then did not care to reduce the mess ?
Oh, and then ask for a license fee..
That M may have too many elements (beziers) maybe ?
More than 1000..1500 seem to be leaving leaving the path of compatibility.
https://forum.glyphsapp.com/t/limit-on-number-of-points/11267