Dynamic Content “jitters” or “jumps around” when Playing

Here is a troubleshooting scenario.  If it is noticed that dynamic content, such as a game clock, “jitters” or “jumps around” while it is playing, it is probably an issue caused by the type of font which was selected for the content. If the font being used for the content is not a fixed-width font, the differences in the widths of different characters will cause the text to appear to “jitter” or “jump around” on the display.

For example, compare the following fonts. In the first font, notice how every character is the same width – even 1’s and 0’s. This is not the case in the 2nd font.

If using a fixed-width font, such as Courier New, the digits for the minutes and seconds on a game clock will always appear in the same place. If using a variable-width font, such as Berlin Sans FB, the placement of the digits for the minutes and seconds will depend on the displaying number. As the digits change, the positioning of the clock’s digits will change as well.

For more information on this and our supported fonts, see this knowledgebase article- Dynamic Content “jitters” or “jumps” around when playing.

This post is by Danielle, Daktronics Trainer.