diff --git a/mythtv/libs/libmythtv/captions/subtitlereader.cpp b/mythtv/libs/libmythtv/captions/subtitlereader.cpp
index 6005dc9088c..4a064af11f9 100644
--- a/mythtv/libs/libmythtv/captions/subtitlereader.cpp
+++ b/mythtv/libs/libmythtv/captions/subtitlereader.cpp
@@ -57,7 +57,8 @@ void SubtitleReader::SeekFrame(int64_t ts, int flags)
 
 bool SubtitleReader::AddAVSubtitle(AVSubtitle &subtitle,
                                    bool fix_position,
-                                   bool allow_forced)
+                                   bool allow_forced,
+                                   bool  isExternal)
 {
     bool enableforced = false;
     bool forced = false;
@@ -66,7 +67,7 @@ bool SubtitleReader::AddAVSubtitle(AVSubtitle &subtitle,
         forced = forced || static_cast<bool>(subtitle.rects[i]->flags & AV_SUBTITLE_FLAG_FORCED);
     }
 
-    if (!m_avSubtitlesEnabled)
+    if (!m_avSubtitlesEnabled && !isExternal)
     {
         if (!forced)
         {
@@ -87,6 +88,19 @@ bool SubtitleReader::AddAVSubtitle(AVSubtitle &subtitle,
         enableforced = true;
     }
 
+    if (m_textSubtitlesEnabled && !isExternal || m_avSubtitlesEnabled && isExternal)
+    {
+        FreeAVSubtitle(subtitle);
+        return enableforced;
+    }
+
+    // Sanity check to prevent seg fault
+    if (subtitle.num_rects > 1000)
+    {
+        FreeAVSubtitle(subtitle);
+        return enableforced;
+    }
+
 #ifdef DEBUG_SUBTITLES
     if (VERBOSE_LEVEL_CHECK(VB_PLAYBACK, LOG_DEBUG))
     {
diff --git a/mythtv/libs/libmythtv/captions/subtitlereader.h b/mythtv/libs/libmythtv/captions/subtitlereader.h
index 8ca67bdf7a4..5102e94c626 100644
--- a/mythtv/libs/libmythtv/captions/subtitlereader.h
+++ b/mythtv/libs/libmythtv/captions/subtitlereader.h
@@ -56,7 +56,7 @@ class SubtitleReader : public QObject
 
     AVSubtitles* GetAVSubtitles(void) { return &m_avSubtitles; }
     bool AddAVSubtitle(AVSubtitle& subtitle, bool fix_position,
-                       bool allow_forced);
+                       bool allow_forced, bool isExternal);
     void ClearAVSubtitles(void);
     static void FreeAVSubtitle(AVSubtitle &sub);
 
diff --git a/mythtv/libs/libmythtv/captions/subtitlescreen.cpp b/mythtv/libs/libmythtv/captions/subtitlescreen.cpp
index 659059f842e..552d6f823e3 100644
--- a/mythtv/libs/libmythtv/captions/subtitlescreen.cpp
+++ b/mythtv/libs/libmythtv/captions/subtitlescreen.cpp
@@ -1846,7 +1846,9 @@ void SubtitleScreen::DisplayAVSubtitles(void)
 
     AVSubtitles* subs = m_subreader->GetAVSubtitles();
     QMutexLocker lock(&(subs->m_lock));
-    if (subs->m_buffers.empty() && (kDisplayAVSubtitle != m_subtitleType))
+    if (subs->m_buffers.empty()
+      && (kDisplayAVSubtitle != m_subtitleType)
+      && (kDisplayTextSubtitle != m_subtitleType))
         return;
 
     MythVideoOutput *videoOut = m_player->GetVideoOutput();
@@ -1898,7 +1900,11 @@ void SubtitleScreen::DisplayAVSubtitles(void)
 #endif
             }
             lock.relock();
+            subs->m_needSync = false;
 
+            // extra check to avoid segfault
+            if (subs->m_buffers.empty())
+                return;
             AVSubtitle subtitle = subs->m_buffers.front();
             if (subtitle.end_display_time < currentFrame->m_timecode.count())
             {
@@ -2060,7 +2066,6 @@ void SubtitleScreen::DisplayAVSubtitles(void)
 #ifdef USING_LIBASS
     RenderAssTrack(currentFrame->m_timecode, assForceNext);
 #endif
-    subs->m_needSync = false;
 }
 
 int SubtitleScreen::DisplayScaledAVSubtitles(const AVSubtitleRect *rect,
diff --git a/mythtv/libs/libmythtv/captions/textsubtitleparser.cpp b/mythtv/libs/libmythtv/captions/textsubtitleparser.cpp
index 00b451fea8f..edeb3822342 100644
--- a/mythtv/libs/libmythtv/captions/textsubtitleparser.cpp
+++ b/mythtv/libs/libmythtv/captions/textsubtitleparser.cpp
@@ -255,7 +255,7 @@ int TextSubtitleParser::ReadNextSubtitle(void)
     sub.start_display_time = av_q2d(m_stream->time_base) * m_pkt->dts * 1000;
     sub.end_display_time = av_q2d(m_stream->time_base) * (m_pkt->dts + m_pkt->duration) * 1000;
 
-    m_parent->AddAVSubtitle(sub, m_decCtx->codec_id == AV_CODEC_ID_XSUB, false);
+    m_parent->AddAVSubtitle(sub, m_decCtx->codec_id == AV_CODEC_ID_XSUB, false, true);
     return ret;
 }
 
@@ -275,8 +275,8 @@ void TextSubtitleParser::LoadSubtitles(bool inBackground)
     }
 
     // External subtitles are now presented as AV Subtitles.
-    m_parent->EnableAVSubtitles(true);
-    m_parent->EnableTextSubtitles(false);
+    m_parent->EnableAVSubtitles(false);
+    m_parent->EnableTextSubtitles(true);
     m_parent->EnableRawTextSubtitles(false);
 
     local_buffer_t sub_data {};
diff --git a/mythtv/libs/libmythtv/decoders/avformatdecoder.cpp b/mythtv/libs/libmythtv/decoders/avformatdecoder.cpp
index 6950e70cc9f..f2019fd0ef0 100644
--- a/mythtv/libs/libmythtv/decoders/avformatdecoder.cpp
+++ b/mythtv/libs/libmythtv/decoders/avformatdecoder.cpp
@@ -3969,7 +3969,7 @@ bool AvFormatDecoder::ProcessSubtitlePacket(AVStream *curstream, AVPacket *pkt)
 
         bool forcedon = m_parent->GetSubReader(pkt->stream_index)->AddAVSubtitle(
                 subtitle, curstream->codecpar->codec_id == AV_CODEC_ID_XSUB,
-                m_parent->GetAllowForcedSubtitles());
+                m_parent->GetAllowForcedSubtitles(), false);
          m_parent->EnableForcedSubtitles(forcedon || isForcedTrack);
     }
 
diff --git a/mythtv/libs/libmythtv/mythplayercaptionsui.cpp b/mythtv/libs/libmythtv/mythplayercaptionsui.cpp
index 1b1a92ef209..8ec3a75ff5b 100644
--- a/mythtv/libs/libmythtv/mythplayercaptionsui.cpp
+++ b/mythtv/libs/libmythtv/mythplayercaptionsui.cpp
@@ -216,6 +216,8 @@ void MythPlayerCaptionsUI::EnableCaptions(uint Mode, bool UpdateOSD)
     if (kDisplayTextSubtitle & Mode)
     {
         m_captionsOverlay.EnableSubtitles(kDisplayTextSubtitle);
+        AVSubtitles* subs = m_subReader.GetAVSubtitles();
+        subs->m_needSync = true;
         msg += tr("Text subtitles");
     }
 
@@ -423,7 +425,7 @@ bool MythPlayerCaptionsUI::HasCaptionTrack(uint Mode)
     if (Mode == kDisplayNUVTeletextCaptions)
         return true;
     // External subtitles are now decoded with FFmpeg and are AVSubtitles.
-    if ((Mode == kDisplayAVSubtitle) && m_captionsState.m_externalTextSubs)
+    if ((Mode == kDisplayAVSubtitle || Mode == kDisplayTextSubtitle) && m_captionsState.m_externalTextSubs)
         return true;
     if (!(Mode == kDisplayTextSubtitle) && m_decoder->GetTrackCount(toTrackType(Mode)))
         return true;