- [~] Encoder mode information now uses a frame-owned integer alias grid over a packed 8-byte value allocation, matching current libaom's `mi_grid_base` and `mi_alloc` relationship without a managed object or reference per 4x4 entry. Every coded 4x4 cell covered by square, rectangular, or clipped edge blocks maps to its owning allocation entry before context-dependent symbols are written. At 4K, mode values occupy about 4.0 MiB and the alias grid about 2.0 MiB. Packed syntax, relative neighbor lookup, full block mapping, writer traversal, entropy, and OBU coverage pass 1,947 of 1,947 direct net11 VSTest cases in Release; complete mode decision still remains.
- [~] Encoder mode information now uses a frame-owned integer alias grid over a packed 8-byte value allocation, matching current libaom's `mi_grid_base` and `mi_alloc` relationship without a managed object or reference per 4x4 entry. Every coded 4x4 cell covered by square, rectangular, or clipped edge blocks maps to its owning allocation entry before context-dependent symbols are written. At 4K, mode values occupy about 4.0 MiB and the alias grid about 2.0 MiB. Packed syntax, relative neighbor lookup, full block mapping, writer traversal, entropy, and OBU coverage pass 1,947 of 1,947 direct net11 VSTest cases in Release; complete mode decision still remains.
- [~] The final-block decision workspace uses one reusable 10.3 KiB ImageSharp allocator owner. It contains 1,024 explicitly packed 10-byte final-block entries and the 341 preorder partition bytes required by a complete 128x128-through-8x8 quadtree, replacing separate managed arrays. Initial rental is clean, and the explicit per-superblock reset clears the complete owner so pooled palette, quantizer, prediction, and partition bytes cannot leak into the next decision pass. Exact allocation, size, reset, return, repeated-run, writer, entropy, and OBU coverage pass 1,948 of 1,948 direct net11 VSTest cases in Release; complete mode decision still remains.
- [~] The final-block decision workspace uses one reusable 10.3 KiB ImageSharp allocator owner. It contains 1,024 explicitly packed 10-byte final-block entries and the 341 preorder partition bytes required by a complete 128x128-through-8x8 quadtree, replacing separate managed arrays. Initial rental is clean, and the explicit per-superblock reset clears the complete owner so pooled palette, quantizer, prediction, and partition bytes cannot leak into the next decision pass. Exact allocation, size, reset, return, repeated-run, writer, entropy, and OBU coverage pass 1,948 of 1,948 direct net11 VSTest cases in Release; complete mode decision still remains.
- [~] Finalized transform coefficients and packed EOB/type state now use raster-ordered, per-superblock plane segments matching current libaom's coefficient-pool geometry. One ImageSharp allocator owner replaces libaom's separate coefficient, EOB, and entropy-context allocations while preserving the full 1024 luma and 256-per-chroma 4x4 state capacity of a 128x128 4:2:0 superblock. The transform-block boundary can populate the owner's quantized coefficient and state slices directly; mode-decision traversal still needs to select and invoke it.
- [~] Finalized transform coefficients and packed EOB/type state now use raster-ordered, per-superblock plane segments matching current libaom's coefficient-pool geometry. One ImageSharp allocator owner replaces libaom's separate coefficient, EOB, and entropy-context allocations while preserving the full 1024 luma and 256-per-chroma 4x4 state capacity of a 128x128 4:2:0 superblock. The transform-block boundary can populate the owner's quantized coefficient and state slices directly; mode-decision traversal still needs to select and invoke it.
- [~] Tile partition writing now follows current libaom's recursive `write_modes_sb` preorder traversal and `update_ext_partition_context` edge updates directly. The obsolete SVT-derived global geometry catalog and its unimplemented lookup are removed; transform geometry is derived in libaom's bounded 64x64 residual order, fixed intra transform-size symbols use the reference depth and neighbor contexts, frame-edge and segmentation syntax use mode-information units, and 128x128 CDEF units use libaom's 0-to-3 indexing and first-block strength ownership. Partition and mode analysis still need to populate these retained decisions; variable inter-transform syntax remains part of later inter-frame support.
- [~] Tile partition writing now follows current libaom's recursive `write_modes_sb` preorder traversal and `update_ext_partition_context` edge updates directly. Bottom-edge blocks use the horizontal-alike partition CDF and right-edge blocks use the vertical-alike CDF; byte-exact regressions cover both paths after the previous calls were found reversed. The obsolete SVT-derived global geometry catalog and its unimplemented lookup are removed; transform geometry is derived in libaom's bounded 64x64 residual order, fixed intra transform-size symbols use the reference depth and neighbor contexts, frame-edge and segmentation syntax use mode-information units, and 128x128 CDEF units use libaom's 0-to-3 indexing and first-block strength ownership. Writer, entropy, and OBU coverage passes 1,950 of 1,950 direct net11 VSTest cases in Release. Partition and mode analysis still need to populate these retained decisions; variable inter-transform syntax remains part of later inter-frame support.
- [~] The coefficient symbol encoder now reuses tile-lifetime level and context workspaces instead of allocating per transform, defers both coefficient rents until the first nonzero transform block, and disposes all tile scratch independently from the detached encoded bytes. Its range coder matches current libaom's 64-bit coding window, bulk big-endian byte flush, and backward carry propagation while using one byte of allocator scratch per estimated output byte instead of the former 16-bit pre-carry storage. The reference-type symbol encoder is passed normally through tile traversal, and the operation boundary owns the allocator-backed item payload stream for exactly one synchronous encode. Every remaining encoder fragment must be audited before it becomes active.
- [~] The coefficient symbol encoder now reuses tile-lifetime level and context workspaces instead of allocating per transform, defers both coefficient rents until the first nonzero transform block, and disposes all tile scratch independently from the detached encoded bytes. Its range coder matches current libaom's 64-bit coding window, bulk big-endian byte flush, and backward carry propagation while using one byte of allocator scratch per estimated output byte instead of the former 16-bit pre-carry storage. The reference-type symbol encoder is passed normally through tile traversal, and the operation boundary owns the allocator-backed item payload stream for exactly one synchronous encode. Every remaining encoder fragment must be audited before it becomes active.
- [~] The planar conversion, residual construction, forward transform, and forward quantizer use descending SIMD dispatch: Vector512, Vector256, Vector128, then scalar. Residual construction matches current libaom's exact source-minus-prediction arithmetic for 8-bit and high-bit-depth planes, preserves independent row strides and unaligned starts, and writes directly into caller-owned signed-short storage without allocation. Apply the same rule to every later hot-path family.
- [~] The planar conversion, residual construction, forward transform, and forward quantizer use descending SIMD dispatch: Vector512, Vector256, Vector128, then scalar. Residual construction matches current libaom's exact source-minus-prediction arithmetic for 8-bit and high-bit-depth planes, preserves independent row strides and unaligned starts, and writes directly into caller-owned signed-short storage without allocation. Apply the same rule to every later hot-path family.