From ASCII / kaffeine 1.2.2 (using xine as frontend) I was used to smooth video play on the same hardware.

It changed with chimaera (kaffeine 2.0.18 using libVLC instead of xine). During whole screen video moves in HD (for instance during panning shots) the video was stuttering. No big jumps, just visible a way you don't know if it's stuttering or not - and the more annoying.

Searching the web I found and followed a lot of suggestions (decoder, buffer, hardware accelleration settings...). None of it worked.

The solution was simply to turn off deinterlacing in kaffeine as well as in vlc. It also removed a moiree effect from high contrast edges. No sawtooth patterns at edges (which formerly were removed by deinterlacing).

Obviously less is more. Sometimes.