IDCT prescale + Lanczos3  vs  pure Lanczos3

Input: Nembrotha_kubaryana_(Nudibranch).jpg (2253×1691). --idct-min-factor 2.5. Images render at intrinsic pixel size — no CSS scaling.
Firefox would skip the IDCT path on this image — 2253 × 1691 isn't a whole number of MCU blocks (8 × 8), so trailing-MCU padding could smear into visible pixels (crbug.com/890745, libjpeg-turbo#297). The IDCT renders below show what would happen if the gate were lifted; in stock Firefox with this commit, output matches the pure-Lanczos column.
Space or click the button toggles every pair at once. Click a single image to toggle just that pair. Hold Shift while clicking the toolbar button to swap continuously.
1/2 barely target 451 × 338 · IDCT 1/2 → 1127×846 · Lanczos ratio ˜ 2.50×
IDCT pure
IDCT ● click to flick PURE ● click to flick
IDCT+Lanczos ⇄ pure Lanczos @ 451×338
diff abs diff ×10
pixel delta, amplified 10×
1/2 heavy target 226 × 169 · IDCT 1/2 → 1127×846 · Lanczos ratio ˜ 5.01×
IDCT pure
IDCT ● click to flick PURE ● click to flick
IDCT+Lanczos ⇄ pure Lanczos @ 226×169
diff abs diff ×10
pixel delta, amplified 10×
1/4 barely target 225 × 169 · IDCT 1/4 → 564×423 · Lanczos ratio ˜ 2.51×
IDCT pure
IDCT ● click to flick PURE ● click to flick
IDCT+Lanczos ⇄ pure Lanczos @ 225×169
diff abs diff ×10
pixel delta, amplified 10×
1/4 heavy target 113 × 85 · IDCT 1/4 → 564×423 · Lanczos ratio ˜ 4.99×
IDCT pure
IDCT ● click to flick PURE ● click to flick
IDCT+Lanczos ⇄ pure Lanczos @ 113×85
diff abs diff ×10
pixel delta, amplified 10×
1/8 barely target 113 × 85 · IDCT 1/8 → 282×212 · Lanczos ratio ˜ 2.50×
IDCT pure
IDCT ● click to flick PURE ● click to flick
IDCT+Lanczos ⇄ pure Lanczos @ 113×85
diff abs diff ×10
pixel delta, amplified 10×
1/8 heavy target 56 × 42 · IDCT 1/8 → 282×212 · Lanczos ratio ˜ 5.05×
IDCT pure
IDCT ● click to flick PURE ● click to flick
IDCT+Lanczos ⇄ pure Lanczos @ 56×42
diff abs diff ×10
pixel delta, amplified 10×