diff --git a/libavcodec/Makefile b/libavcodec/Makefile
index e81d316ce0..95bcb1702e 100644
--- a/libavcodec/Makefile
+++ b/libavcodec/Makefile
@@ -760,9 +760,9 @@ OBJS-$(CONFIG_REMOVE_EXTRADATA_BSF)       += remove_extradata_bsf.o
 OBJS-$(CONFIG_TEXT2MOVSUB_BSF)            += movsub_bsf.o
 
 # thread libraries
-OBJS-$(HAVE_PTHREADS)                  += pthread.o
-OBJS-$(HAVE_W32THREADS)                += pthread.o
-OBJS-$(HAVE_OS2THREADS)                += pthread.o
+OBJS-$(HAVE_PTHREADS)                  += pthread.o frame_thread_encoder.o
+OBJS-$(HAVE_W32THREADS)                += pthread.o frame_thread_encoder.o
+OBJS-$(HAVE_OS2THREADS)                += pthread.o frame_thread_encoder.o
 
 # inverse.o contains the ff_inverse table definition, which is used by
 # the FASTDIV macro (from libavutil); since referencing the external
diff --git a/libavcodec/frame_thread_encoder.c b/libavcodec/frame_thread_encoder.c
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..40213cde2f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/libavcodec/frame_thread_encoder.c
@@ -0,0 +1,263 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright (c) 2012 Michael Niedermayer <michaelni@gmx.at>
+ *
+ * This file is part of FFmpeg.
+ *
+ * FFmpeg is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
+ * modify it under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public
+ * License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either
+ * version 2.1 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
+ *
+ * FFmpeg is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+ * but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+ * MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU
+ * Lesser General Public License for more details.
+ *
+ * You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General Public
+ * License along with FFmpeg; if not, write to the Free Software
+ * Foundation, Inc., 51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA 02110-1301 USA
+ */
+
+#include "frame_thread_encoder.h"
+
+#include "libavutil/fifo.h"
+#include "libavutil/avassert.h"
+#include "libavutil/imgutils.h"
+#include "avcodec.h"
+#include "internal.h"
+#include "thread.h"
+
+#if HAVE_PTHREADS
+#include <pthread.h>
+#elif HAVE_W32THREADS
+#include "w32pthreads.h"
+#elif HAVE_OS2THREADS
+#include "os2threads.h"
+#endif
+
+#define MAX_THREADS 64
+#define BUFFER_SIZE (2*MAX_THREADS)
+
+typedef struct{
+    void *indata;
+    void *outdata;
+    int64_t return_code;
+    unsigned index;
+} Task;
+
+typedef struct{
+    AVCodecContext *parent_avctx;
+    pthread_mutex_t buffer_mutex;
+
+    AVFifoBuffer *task_fifo;
+    pthread_mutex_t task_fifo_mutex;
+    pthread_cond_t task_fifo_cond;
+
+    Task finished_tasks[BUFFER_SIZE];
+    pthread_mutex_t finished_task_mutex;
+    pthread_cond_t finished_task_cond;
+
+    unsigned task_index;
+    unsigned finished_task_index;
+
+    pthread_t worker[MAX_THREADS];
+    int exit;
+} ThreadContext;
+
+static void * attribute_align_arg worker(void *v){
+    AVCodecContext *avctx = v;
+    ThreadContext *c = avctx->internal->frame_thread_encoder;
+    AVPacket *pkt = NULL;
+
+    while(!c->exit){
+        int got_packet, ret;
+        AVFrame *frame;
+        Task task;
+
+        if(!pkt) pkt= av_mallocz(sizeof(*pkt));
+        if(!pkt) continue;
+        av_init_packet(pkt);
+
+        pthread_mutex_lock(&c->task_fifo_mutex);
+        while (av_fifo_size(c->task_fifo) <= 0 || c->exit) {
+            if(c->exit){
+                pthread_mutex_unlock(&c->task_fifo_mutex);
+                goto end;
+            }
+            pthread_cond_wait(&c->task_fifo_cond, &c->task_fifo_mutex);
+        }
+        av_fifo_generic_read(c->task_fifo, &task, sizeof(task), NULL);
+        pthread_mutex_unlock(&c->task_fifo_mutex);
+        frame = task.indata;
+
+        ret = avcodec_encode_video2(avctx, pkt, frame, &got_packet);
+        pthread_mutex_lock(&c->buffer_mutex);
+        c->parent_avctx->release_buffer(c->parent_avctx, frame);
+        pthread_mutex_unlock(&c->buffer_mutex);
+        av_freep(&frame);
+        if(!got_packet)
+            continue;
+        av_dup_packet(pkt);
+        pthread_mutex_lock(&c->finished_task_mutex);
+        c->finished_tasks[task.index].outdata = pkt; pkt = NULL;
+        c->finished_tasks[task.index].return_code = ret;
+        pthread_cond_signal(&c->finished_task_cond);
+        pthread_mutex_unlock(&c->finished_task_mutex);
+    }
+end:
+    av_free(pkt);
+    pthread_mutex_lock(&c->buffer_mutex);
+    avcodec_close(avctx);
+    pthread_mutex_unlock(&c->buffer_mutex);
+    av_freep(&avctx);
+    return NULL;
+}
+
+int ff_frame_thread_encoder_init(AVCodecContext *avctx){
+    int i=0;
+    ThreadContext *c;
+
+
+    if(   !(avctx->thread_type & FF_THREAD_FRAME)
+       || !(avctx->codec->capabilities & CODEC_CAP_INTRA_ONLY))
+        return 0;
+
+    if(!avctx->thread_count) {
+        avctx->thread_count = ff_get_logical_cpus(avctx);
+        avctx->thread_count = FFMIN(avctx->thread_count, MAX_THREADS);
+    }
+
+    if(avctx->thread_count <= 1)
+        return 0;
+
+    if(avctx->thread_count > MAX_THREADS)
+        return AVERROR(EINVAL);
+
+    av_assert0(!avctx->internal->frame_thread_encoder);
+    c = avctx->internal->frame_thread_encoder = av_mallocz(sizeof(ThreadContext));
+    if(!c)
+        return AVERROR(ENOMEM);
+
+    c->parent_avctx = avctx;
+
+    c->task_fifo = av_fifo_alloc(sizeof(Task) * BUFFER_SIZE);
+    if(!c->task_fifo)
+        goto fail;
+
+    pthread_mutex_init(&c->task_fifo_mutex, NULL);
+    pthread_mutex_init(&c->finished_task_mutex, NULL);
+    pthread_mutex_init(&c->buffer_mutex, NULL);
+    pthread_cond_init(&c->task_fifo_cond, NULL);
+    pthread_cond_init(&c->finished_task_cond, NULL);
+
+    for(i=0; i<avctx->thread_count ; i++){
+        AVCodecContext *thread_avctx = avcodec_alloc_context3(avctx->codec);
+        if(!thread_avctx)
+            goto fail;
+        *thread_avctx = *avctx;
+        thread_avctx->internal = NULL;
+        thread_avctx->priv_data = av_malloc(avctx->codec->priv_data_size);
+        if(!thread_avctx->priv_data) {
+            av_freep(&thread_avctx);
+            goto fail;
+        }
+        memcpy(thread_avctx->priv_data, avctx->priv_data, avctx->codec->priv_data_size);
+        thread_avctx->thread_count = 1;
+        thread_avctx->active_thread_type &= ~FF_THREAD_FRAME;
+
+        //FIXME pass private options to encoder
+        if(avcodec_open2(thread_avctx, avctx->codec, NULL) < 0) {
+            goto fail;
+        }
+        av_assert0(!thread_avctx->internal->frame_thread_encoder);
+        thread_avctx->internal->frame_thread_encoder = c;
+        if(pthread_create(&c->worker[i], NULL, worker, thread_avctx)) {
+            goto fail;
+        }
+    }
+
+    avctx->active_thread_type = FF_THREAD_FRAME;
+
+    return 0;
+fail:
+    avctx->thread_count = i;
+    av_log(avctx, AV_LOG_ERROR, "ff_frame_thread_encoder_init failed\n");
+    ff_frame_thread_encoder_free(avctx);
+    return -1;
+}
+
+void ff_frame_thread_encoder_free(AVCodecContext *avctx){
+    int i;
+    ThreadContext *c= avctx->internal->frame_thread_encoder;
+
+    pthread_mutex_lock(&c->task_fifo_mutex);
+    c->exit = 1;
+    pthread_cond_broadcast(&c->task_fifo_cond);
+    pthread_mutex_unlock(&c->task_fifo_mutex);
+
+    for (i=0; i<avctx->thread_count; i++) {
+         pthread_join(c->worker[i], NULL);
+    }
+
+    pthread_mutex_destroy(&c->task_fifo_mutex);
+    pthread_mutex_destroy(&c->finished_task_mutex);
+    pthread_mutex_destroy(&c->buffer_mutex);
+    pthread_cond_destroy(&c->task_fifo_cond);
+    pthread_cond_destroy(&c->finished_task_cond);
+    av_fifo_free(c->task_fifo); c->task_fifo = NULL;
+    av_freep(&avctx->internal->frame_thread_encoder);
+}
+
+int ff_thread_video_encode_frame(AVCodecContext *avctx, AVPacket *pkt, const AVFrame *frame, int *got_packet_ptr){
+    ThreadContext *c = avctx->internal->frame_thread_encoder;
+    Task task;
+    int ret;
+
+    av_assert1(!*got_packet_ptr);
+
+    if(frame){
+        if(!(avctx->flags & CODEC_FLAG_INPUT_PRESERVED)){
+            AVFrame *new = avcodec_alloc_frame();
+            if(!new)
+                return AVERROR(ENOMEM);
+            pthread_mutex_lock(&c->buffer_mutex);
+            ret = c->parent_avctx->get_buffer(c->parent_avctx, new);
+            pthread_mutex_unlock(&c->buffer_mutex);
+            if(ret<0)
+                return ret;
+            new->pts = frame->pts;
+            av_image_copy(new->data, new->linesize, (const uint8_t **)frame->data, frame->linesize,
+                          avctx->pix_fmt, avctx->width, avctx->height);
+            frame = new;
+        }
+
+        task.index = c->task_index;
+        task.indata = (void*)frame;
+        pthread_mutex_lock(&c->task_fifo_mutex);
+        av_fifo_generic_write(c->task_fifo, &task, sizeof(task), NULL);
+        pthread_cond_signal(&c->task_fifo_cond);
+        pthread_mutex_unlock(&c->task_fifo_mutex);
+
+        c->task_index = (c->task_index+1) % BUFFER_SIZE;
+
+        if(!c->finished_tasks[c->finished_task_index].outdata && (c->task_index - c->finished_task_index) % BUFFER_SIZE <= avctx->thread_count)
+            return 0;
+    }
+
+    if(c->task_index == c->finished_task_index)
+        return 0;
+
+    pthread_mutex_lock(&c->finished_task_mutex);
+    while (!c->finished_tasks[c->finished_task_index].outdata) {
+        pthread_cond_wait(&c->finished_task_cond, &c->finished_task_mutex);
+    }
+    task = c->finished_tasks[c->finished_task_index];
+    *pkt = *(AVPacket*)(task.outdata);
+    c->finished_tasks[c->finished_task_index].outdata= NULL;
+    c->finished_task_index = (c->finished_task_index+1) % BUFFER_SIZE;
+    pthread_mutex_unlock(&c->finished_task_mutex);
+
+    *got_packet_ptr = 1;
+
+    return task.return_code;
+}
diff --git a/libavcodec/frame_thread_encoder.h b/libavcodec/frame_thread_encoder.h
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..398c7f5fac
--- /dev/null
+++ b/libavcodec/frame_thread_encoder.h
@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright (c) 2012 Michael Niedermayer <michaelni@gmx.at>
+ *
+ * This file is part of FFmpeg.
+ *
+ * FFmpeg is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
+ * modify it under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public
+ * License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either
+ * version 2.1 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
+ *
+ * FFmpeg is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+ * but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+ * MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU
+ * Lesser General Public License for more details.
+ *
+ * You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General Public
+ * License along with FFmpeg; if not, write to the Free Software
+ * Foundation, Inc., 51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA 02110-1301 USA
+ */
+
+#include "avcodec.h"
+
+int ff_frame_thread_encoder_init(AVCodecContext *avctx);
+void ff_frame_thread_encoder_free(AVCodecContext *avctx);
+int ff_thread_video_encode_frame(AVCodecContext *avctx, AVPacket *pkt, const AVFrame *frame, int *got_packet_ptr);
+
diff --git a/libavcodec/internal.h b/libavcodec/internal.h
index 198483a2f5..50f00ef152 100644
--- a/libavcodec/internal.h
+++ b/libavcodec/internal.h
@@ -82,6 +82,8 @@ typedef struct AVCodecInternal {
      */
     uint8_t *byte_buffer;
     unsigned int byte_buffer_size;
+
+    void *frame_thread_encoder;
 } AVCodecInternal;
 
 struct AVCodecDefault {
diff --git a/libavcodec/utils.c b/libavcodec/utils.c
index e3a4e93883..39a208d74e 100644
--- a/libavcodec/utils.c
+++ b/libavcodec/utils.c
@@ -40,6 +40,7 @@
 #include "libavutil/opt.h"
 #include "imgconvert.h"
 #include "thread.h"
+#include "frame_thread_encoder.h"
 #include "audioconvert.h"
 #include "internal.h"
 #include "bytestream.h"
@@ -851,7 +852,14 @@ int attribute_align_arg avcodec_open2(AVCodecContext *avctx, AVCodec *codec, AVD
     if (!HAVE_THREADS)
         av_log(avctx, AV_LOG_WARNING, "Warning: not compiled with thread support, using thread emulation\n");
 
-    if (HAVE_THREADS && !avctx->thread_opaque) {
+    entangled_thread_counter--; //we will instanciate a few encoders thus kick the counter to prevent false detection of a problem
+    ret = ff_frame_thread_encoder_init(avctx);
+    entangled_thread_counter++;
+    if (ret < 0)
+        goto free_and_end;
+
+    if (HAVE_THREADS && !avctx->thread_opaque
+        && !(avctx->internal->frame_thread_encoder && (avctx->active_thread_type&FF_THREAD_FRAME))) {
         ret = ff_thread_init(avctx);
         if (ret < 0) {
             goto free_and_end;
@@ -931,7 +939,7 @@ int attribute_align_arg avcodec_open2(AVCodecContext *avctx, AVCodec *codec, AVD
     avctx->pts_correction_last_pts =
     avctx->pts_correction_last_dts = INT64_MIN;
 
-    if(avctx->codec->init && !(avctx->active_thread_type&FF_THREAD_FRAME)){
+    if(avctx->codec->init && (!(avctx->active_thread_type&FF_THREAD_FRAME) || avctx->internal->frame_thread_encoder)){
         ret = avctx->codec->init(avctx);
         if (ret < 0) {
             goto free_and_end;
@@ -1301,6 +1309,9 @@ int attribute_align_arg avcodec_encode_video2(AVCodecContext *avctx,
 
     *got_packet_ptr = 0;
 
+    if(avctx->internal->frame_thread_encoder && (avctx->active_thread_type&FF_THREAD_FRAME))
+        return ff_thread_video_encode_frame(avctx, avpkt, frame, got_packet_ptr);
+
     if (!(avctx->codec->capabilities & CODEC_CAP_DELAY) && !frame) {
         av_free_packet(avpkt);
         av_init_packet(avpkt);
@@ -1661,6 +1672,11 @@ av_cold int avcodec_close(AVCodecContext *avctx)
     }
 
     if (avcodec_is_open(avctx)) {
+        if (avctx->internal->frame_thread_encoder && avctx->thread_count > 1) {
+            entangled_thread_counter --;
+            ff_frame_thread_encoder_free(avctx);
+            entangled_thread_counter ++;
+        }
         if (HAVE_THREADS && avctx->thread_opaque)
             ff_thread_free(avctx);
         if (avctx->codec && avctx->codec->close)