VLC 3.0.0 osd problem (subtitles) 16.04.01 LTS

Question

I've been dealing with this for months and I cannot solve it. VLC 3.0 won't display OSD, i.e. subtitles, the on screen volume bar or any display. This worked fine up until the 3.0 version.

Here's what I've tried.

1. Purging VLC, and trying to force the 2.2.4 version through Synaptic. Doesn't work, just overwrites to the latest 3.0. version.

2. I tried installing just the VLC, then the NOX, and DATA, but it always returns to 3.0. The system is Ubuntu unity 16.04.01 and VLC installed through the command line.

3. I've tried configure make install of the 2.2.4 tar.gz which didn't work. I couldn't configure it.

4. Installing the older *.deb file of the 2.2.4 didn't work as it lacked dependencies.

5. I have purged all the PPA containing the stable daily versions of VLC; and still I get the 3.0.0. through the command line.

6. I have tried using aptitude and apt-cache to install the specific version 2.2.4 by using:

   sudo aptitude install «pkg»=«version»
   

   through the command line. However, dependecy issues arise, and I cannot downgrade VLC.

It's driving me nuts! Is this a bug or something? I cannot seem to get rid of it!

Thank you.

Answer 1

The only way you can install VLC 3.0 through a PPA is by adding the master-daily PPA to your system and that PPA is probably still there.

1. Type:

   sudo apt-get purge vlc
   sudo add-apt-repository --remove ppa:videolan/master-daily
   sudo apt-get update
   

   to uninstall vlc and remove that PPA from your system.

2. Type the following three commands to delete all vlc settings from your home folder:

   rm -R ~/.config/vlc  
   rm -R ~/.cache/vlc
   rm -R ~/.local/share/vlc
   

3. Install vlc from the repos the usual way.

Answer 2

There's no need to revert to an older version. Here's a solution that worked for me with VLC 3 from the master-daily repository:

Tools > Preferences > Video > change the output field from Default to x11 video output (XCB).

Found it in a similar thread here.