MPlayer/MEncoder - artefacts in Sherpye compile?

[blizard]

Why is there a difference in frame per second rate (FPS) between Celtic Druids and Sherpya, when i use the same setting for both (see code). With Sherpya I had a speed around 30 FPS and with CD around 16-20 FPS. Size for file was larger for Sherpya for a pure video encoding.

dev-SVN-r25279-4.2.2 (Celtic Druid) (437 888 KB)
Sherpya-SVN-r25803-4.2.2 (439 015 KB)

"G:\MPlayer\mencoder.exe" -vf harddup,crop=688:560:16:10,scale=688:-2,hqdn3d -sws 2 -priority idle -o "K:\Redigering\Svampebob Firkant_20080123_16351700_automen.avi" -ovc x264 -x264encopts crf=20:threads=auto:frameref=3:bframes=2:deblock:direct_pred=auto:level=41:partitions=none:me=hex:me_range=4:subq=5:chroma_me:mixed_refs:brdo:bime:trellis=0:weight_b:nr=0 -nosound "C:\Svampebob Firkant\Svampebob Firkant_20080123_16351700.mpg"
"G:\MPlayer\mencoder.exe" "K:\Redigering\Svampebob Firkant_20080123_16351700_automen.avi" -o "K:\Redigering\Svampebob Firkant_20080123_16351700_automen.h264" -of rawvideo -ovc copy -nosound
"P:\AutoMen\mp4box.exe" -add "K:\Redigering\Svampebob Firkant_20080123_16351700_automen.h264" -fps 25.000 "K:\Redigering\Svampebob Firkant_20080123_16351700_automen.mp4"

I then used SMPlayer and MPC+FFDSHOW to see if there was any visual difference between both. From what I could see it looked like Sherpya had some artefacts and CD looked more clear. Is it correct that Sherpyas compile is different in some way in handling H.264? I used MPlayer to create a PCM from both compile and both matched exactly in size for WAV file, so from that I take that both version must be very much the same, but there is a difference which make Sherpya x264 encoder faster with some artefacts.

Could this difference be because CD use pthreadGC2.dll and Sherpya do not?

[LoRd_MuldeR]

Could this difference be because CD use pthreadGC2.dll and Sherpya do not?

I think the reason why "pthreadGC2.dll" is not needed, is that pthread was linked statically.
So no, this should not cause the problem...

Maybe those MEncoder builds were compiled against different versions of x264 and/or libavcodec...

[blizard]

I think the reason why "pthreadGC2.dll" is not needed, is that pthread was linked statically.
So no, this should not cause the problem...

Maybe those MEncoder builds were compiled against different versions of x264 and/or libavcodec...

It is possible and there is also some difference in how Sherpya make use YV12 during re-sizing in decoding from CD. The only two thing I am sure about is that Sherpya showed a higher FPS during encoding process and that something was different from CD when I used SMPlayer (with CD compile of MPlayer first time) and the same could be noticed in MPC+FFDSHOW, but this is only a minor effect in visual on my CRT at 1600 x 1200 resolution which involve bicubic re-size to fit screen.

I prefer the speed of Sherpya, but more the more calm look from Celtic Druid... :D

The only thing it boils down to is how do you compare different build for visual quality when there is so many thing that can be the cause for a faster encoding, but might give some less visual stable image (as the artefact looks like when I don't use my glasses, a kind of ringing effect on the boarder between white and colour)? Re-sizing filter, encoder and other setting in back ground like colour space compression might be at work and it is hard to know which is which. Is there any way to compare image quality like for sound (ABX)?

____
I also compared MPLayer by drag and drop the same file onto both compile and there is a difference in colour. In this case there is no re-size filter set. There is something different, but I can not pin point what. Both use Directx as video driver.

[LoRd_MuldeR]

First of all there should be no difference in output quality between different builds of the same code. So either one build was compiled from outdated sources or it was not compiled properly. Another possibility is that one of the builds incorporates "unofficial" patches the other one doesn't...