[x264-devel] x264 Development Newsletter: Vol 16 (MBAFF edition!)

[Jason Garrett-Glaser]

This is the sixteenth x264 development newsletter. This is a regular
email containing updates on fixes and improvements in the most recent
x264 push, along with updates on what's coming next.  Previous
versions can be found in the mailing list archives.

Fixes:

Fix slice-max-size/slice-max-mbs + sliced-threads (regression in
r1944, didn't hit stable branch).

Check for invalid pixfmts when using user-specified pixfmts in the lavf demuxer.

Fix a buffer overflow in b-adapt 2 with rc-lookahead > 248

Add more validation of input parameters to fix crashes with insane
--merange parameters.

Fix bugs with ratecontrol reconfiguration and multiple threads.

Use float constants in QP rounding in ratecontrol to eliminate output
differences between gcc 3.4.x and 4.5.x builds.

Fix zone bitrate/QP handling in 2-pass mode: previously, changes could
have been a few dozen frames off-target.

Fix a bug in nal buffer reallocation/resizing.

Improvements:

MBAFF support is now in!  Typical compression improvement is around
15% for an ordinary 1080i HDTV source.

Faster pixel_memset, for speedier edge padding.

Slightly faster x86 CABAC asm.

Improved build system with support for disabling the static lib and
CLI, and other common build system features requested by distros.

Upcoming:

--device and automatic --level restriction support is in the works, as
part of Google Code-In.  The patch is done, but needs review.

A per-option help system is in the works, as part of Google Code-In.
The patch is done, but needs editing of the help entries.

x262 is under development: a best-in-class MPEG-2 encoder built using
the x264 framework.  Both P and B-frames are done and working.

xvp8 is under development: a best-in-class VP8 encoder built using the
x264 framework.

Google Summer of Code is coming soon: Trellis ME and H.264/MVC support
are the two projects.  Wish the students luck!

Jason Garrett-Glaser

The x264 Team