GoKawiilVLC blur benchmark shows C# matching C after optimization
A developer rewrote VLC's Gaussian blur video filter from its original C implementation into C# using .NET Native AOT, running both versions inside the same VLC build on identical frames to compare speed. After an initial line-by-line port and two subsequent source tweaks, the C# version's performance came within 8% of the native C code.
GoKawiil's interpretation of the reporting above, not reported fact.
The experiment suggests managed languages like C# with ahead-of-time compilation could become viable for performance-sensitive media processing code that has traditionally required C or C++, potentially lowering the barrier for contributors to projects like VLC. However, this is one filter benchmark from one developer, so broader claims about C# matching C across all video processing workloads remain unproven.
- A VLC Gaussian blur filter was ported line-by-line from C to C# using .NET Native AOT.
- After two source-level optimizations, the C# version ran within 8% of the native C implementation's speed.
- The test used byte-identical output comparisons within the same VLC instance to ensure a fair benchmark.
Source: martinfinkel.com, 2026-10-21
Published there as: “C vs. C#: racing VLC's Gaussian blur”
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