@everyone : thanks for your comments, I am really glad you notice a difference! I am sure it is much too soon for another codec test, but Doom9's most recent test along with one from c't, were part of the reason I started this work.
@bond : I am not exactly sure what nanDub-tuning means, but this work is all in the core codec, improving its decision logic. Good idea re version information. I will change it in the DLL to read "RealVideo 9 EHQ". that way it is easier to see which version is which. Until then, you could always keep backup copies in appropriately named folders
@31 Flavas : good example on where visual improvement can be found. I have a clip provided by Sirber, with foreground objects moving across a pure white background. At 350 kbps, the improvement is much higher than I had hoped for.
@zedude : interestingly enough, that reduction in number of bits/pix is just about what I have noticed as well during my experiments. As an example, if I were previously using 0.18 bits/pix for a certain clip, I can now use 0.15 or even 0.145.