diff --git a/.gitlab-ci.yml b/.gitlab-ci.yml
index 78c4d078fcbf882ab53a80688a096619ad4a89e0..6a77da6faa189ff5f89f4143798c8cbfd755cf80 100644
--- a/.gitlab-ci.yml
+++ b/.gitlab-ci.yml
@@ -21,14 +21,18 @@ variables:
   TESTCASE_TIMEOUT_STV: 900
   TESTCASE_TIMEOUT_LTV: 2400
   TESTCASE_TIMEOUT_STV_SANITIZERS: 1800
+  CI_REGRESSION_THRESH_MLD: "0.1"
+  CI_REGRESSION_THRESH_MAX_ABS_DIFF: "50"
+  CI_REGRESSION_THRESH_SSNR: "-1"
+  CI_REGRESSION_THRESH_ODG: "-0.05"
   GIT_CLEAN_FLAGS: -ffdxq
   MANUAL_PIPELINE_TYPE:
-    description: "Type for the manual pipeline run. Use 'pytest-mld' to run MLD test against reference float codec." # Not implemented yet, but may be good to have a manual pipeline trigger
+    description: "Type for the manual pipeline run. Use 'pytest-compare' to run comparison test against reference float codec."
     value: 'default'
     options:
       - 'default'
-      - 'pytest-mld'
-      - 'pytest-mld-long'
+      - 'pytest-compare'
+      - 'pytest-compare-long'
       - 'pytest-saturation-smoke-test'
       - 'evs-26444'
       - 'sanitizer-stv'
@@ -54,12 +58,12 @@ workflow:
     - if: $CI_PIPELINE_SOURCE == 'web' && $MANUAL_PIPELINE_TYPE == 'default' # for testing
       variables:
         IVAS_PIPELINE_NAME: 'Web run pipeline: $CI_COMMIT_BRANCH'
-    - if: $CI_PIPELINE_SOURCE == 'web' && $MANUAL_PIPELINE_TYPE == 'pytest-mld'
+    - if: $CI_PIPELINE_SOURCE == 'web' && $MANUAL_PIPELINE_TYPE == 'pytest-compare'
       variables:
-        IVAS_PIPELINE_NAME: 'Run MLD tool against float ref: $CI_COMMIT_BRANCH'
-    - if: $CI_PIPELINE_SOURCE == 'web' && $MANUAL_PIPELINE_TYPE == 'pytest-mld-long'
+        IVAS_PIPELINE_NAME: 'Run comparison tools against float ref: $CI_COMMIT_BRANCH'
+    - if: $CI_PIPELINE_SOURCE == 'web' && $MANUAL_PIPELINE_TYPE == 'pytest-compare-long'
       variables:
-        IVAS_PIPELINE_NAME: 'Run MLD tool against float ref (long test vectors): $CI_COMMIT_BRANCH'
+        IVAS_PIPELINE_NAME: 'Run comparison tools against float ref (long test vectors): $CI_COMMIT_BRANCH'
     - if: $CI_PIPELINE_SOURCE == 'web' && $MANUAL_PIPELINE_TYPE == 'pytest-saturation-smoke-test'
       variables:
         IVAS_PIPELINE_NAME: 'Run saturation smoke-test: $CI_COMMIT_BRANCH'
@@ -97,7 +101,7 @@ stages:
     echo "Commit time was $CI_COMMIT_TIMESTAMP"
     date | xargs echo "System time is"
 
-.setup-codec: &setup-codec
+.build-reference-and-dut-binaries: &build-reference-and-dut-binaries
   - current_commit_sha=$(git rev-parse HEAD)
   ### build reference binaries
   - git checkout $REFERENCE_BRANCH
@@ -113,9 +117,8 @@ stages:
   - make clean
   - make -j
 
-
-.mld-test-setup-codec: &mld-test-setup-codec
-  - *setup-codec
+.build-and-create-reference-outputs: &build-and-create-reference-outputs
+  - *build-reference-and-dut-binaries
 
   ### prepare pytest
   # create short test vectors
@@ -157,9 +160,19 @@ stages:
 .activate-Werror-linux: &activate-Werror-linux
   - sed -i.bak "s/^# \(CFLAGS += -Werror\)/\1/" Makefile
 
-.rules-pytest-mld:
+.rules-pytest-to-ref-short:
   rules:
-    - if: $CI_PIPELINE_SOURCE == 'web' && $MANUAL_PIPELINE_TYPE == "pytest-mld"
+    - if: $CI_PIPELINE_SOURCE == 'web' && $MANUAL_PIPELINE_TYPE == "pytest-compare"
+    - if: $CI_PIPELINE_SOURCE == 'push' && $CI_COMMIT_BRANCH == $CI_DEFAULT_BRANCH
+    - if: $CI_PIPELINE_SOURCE == 'push'
+      when: never
+    - if: $CI_PIPELINE_SOURCE == 'schedule'
+      when: never
+
+# TODO: only temporary as long the MR encoder tests should not compare to main
+.rules-pytest-to-ref-enc-short-temp:
+  rules:
+    - if: $CI_PIPELINE_SOURCE == 'web' && $MANUAL_PIPELINE_TYPE == "pytest-compare"
     - if: $CI_PIPELINE_SOURCE == 'push' && $CI_COMMIT_BRANCH == $CI_DEFAULT_BRANCH
     - if: $CI_PIPELINE_SOURCE == 'merge_request_event' && $CI_MERGE_REQUEST_TARGET_BRANCH_NAME == "main" # only have MR pipelines for MRs to main
     - if: $CI_PIPELINE_SOURCE == 'push'
@@ -167,10 +180,16 @@ stages:
     - if: $CI_PIPELINE_SOURCE == 'schedule'
       when: never
 
-.rules-pytest-mld-long:
+.rules-pytest-to-main-short:
+  rules:
+    - if: $CI_PIPELINE_SOURCE == 'merge_request_event' && $CI_MERGE_REQUEST_TARGET_BRANCH_NAME == "main" # only have MR pipelines for MRs to main
+    - if: $CI_PIPELINE_SOURCE == 'push'
+      when: never
+
+.rules-pytest-long:
   rules:
     - if: $PYTEST_MLD_LONG # Set by scheduled pipeline
-    - if: $CI_PIPELINE_SOURCE == 'web' && $MANUAL_PIPELINE_TYPE == "pytest-mld-long"
+    - if: $CI_PIPELINE_SOURCE == 'web' && $MANUAL_PIPELINE_TYPE == "pytest-compare-long"
     - if: $CI_PIPELINE_SOURCE == 'push'
       when: never
     - if: $CI_PIPELINE_SOURCE == 'merge_request_event'
@@ -214,7 +233,8 @@ stages:
   needs: ["build-codec-linux-make"]
   timeout: "240 minutes"
   variables:
-    MLD_ARTIFACT_NAME: "mld--$CI_JOB_NAME-$CI_JOB_ID--sha-$CI_COMMIT_SHORT_SHA.csv"
+    # keep "mld" in artifact name for backwards compatibility reasons
+    CSV_ARTIFACT_NAME: "mld--$CI_JOB_NAME-$CI_JOB_ID--sha-$CI_COMMIT_SHORT_SHA.csv"
     MERGED_CSV_ARTIFACT_NAME: "$CI_JOB_NAME--merged_csv--$CI_JOB_ID.csv"
     PAGES_HTML_ARTIFACT_NAME: "$CI_JOB_NAME-index.html"
     SUMMARY_HTML_ARTIFACT_NAME: "summary_$CI_JOB_NAME.html"
@@ -229,20 +249,21 @@ stages:
     - else
     -    testcase_timeout=$TESTCASE_TIMEOUT_STV
     - fi
+
     - python3 ci/remove_unsupported_testcases.py $PRM_FILES
     - if [ $LEVEL_SCALING != "1.0" ];then
     -   *apply-testv-scaling
     - fi
-    - *mld-test-setup-codec
+    - *build-and-create-reference-outputs
 
     ### run pytest
     - exit_code=0
     - python3 -m pytest --tb=no $TEST_SUITE -v --create_cut --html=report.html --self-contained-html --junit-xml=report-junit.xml --mld --ssnr --odg -n auto --testcase_timeout $testcase_timeout --ref_encoder_path $REF_ENCODER_PATH --ref_decoder_path $REF_DECODER_PATH --dut_encoder_path $DUT_ENCODER_PATH --dut_decoder_path $DUT_DECODER_PATH || exit_code=$?
     - zero_errors=$(cat report-junit.xml | grep -c 'errors="0"') || true
 
-    - python3 scripts/parse_xml_report.py report-junit.xml $MLD_ARTIFACT_NAME
+    - python3 scripts/parse_xml_report.py report-junit.xml $CSV_ARTIFACT_NAME
     - mkdir $IMAGES_ARTIFACT_NAME
-    - for MEASURE in MLD DIFF SSNR;do python3 scripts/create_histogram_summary.py $MLD_ARTIFACT_NAME images_"$CI_JOB_NAME"/summary_"$MEASURE".csv images_"$CI_JOB_NAME"/summary_"$MEASURE".png --measure $MEASURE; done
+    - for MEASURE in MLD DIFF SSNR;do python3 scripts/create_histogram_summary.py $CSV_ARTIFACT_NAME $IMAGES_ARTIFACT_NAME/summary_"$MEASURE".csv $IMAGES_ARTIFACT_NAME/summary_"$MEASURE".png --measure $MEASURE; done
     - python3 ci/basop-pages/create_summary_page.py $SUMMARY_HTML_ARTIFACT_NAME $CI_JOB_ID $CI_JOB_NAME
 
     - if [ $USE_LTV -eq 1 ] && [ "$CI_COMMIT_BRANCH" == "$CI_DEFAULT_BRANCH" ]; then
@@ -252,14 +273,22 @@ stages:
     -    unzip artifacts.zip -d previous_artifacts
     # This wildcard thingy relies on only one csv file being present per job
     -    file_previous="previous_artifacts/mld--$CI_JOB_NAME-$id_previous--sha-*.csv"
-    -    python3 ci/basop-pages/create_report_pages.py $PAGES_HTML_ARTIFACT_NAME $MERGED_CSV_ARTIFACT_NAME $MLD_ARTIFACT_NAME $file_previous $CI_JOB_ID $id_previous $CI_JOB_NAME
+    -    python3 ci/basop-pages/create_report_pages.py $PAGES_HTML_ARTIFACT_NAME $MERGED_CSV_ARTIFACT_NAME $CSV_ARTIFACT_NAME $file_previous $CI_JOB_ID $id_previous $CI_JOB_NAME
     - else
     # create empty file for artifacts to avoid errors
     -    touch $PAGES_HTML_ARTIFACT_NAME
     -    touch $MERGED_CSV_ARTIFACT_NAME
     - fi
 
-    - if [ $zero_errors != 1 ]; then echo "Run errors encountered!"; exit $EXIT_CODE_FAIL; fi
+    - if [ $zero_errors != 1 ]; then
+    -     echo "Run errors encountered!"
+    # TODO: temporary only to not fail pipelines on crashes in encoder
+    -     if [[ "$CI_JOB_NAME" =~ "ivas-pytest-compare_to_ref-short-enc" ]]; then
+    -         exit $EXIT_CODE_NON_BE
+    -     else
+    -         exit $EXIT_CODE_FAIL
+    -     fi
+    - fi
     - if [ $exit_code -eq 1 ]; then echo "Differences encountered"; exit $EXIT_CODE_NON_BE; fi
     - exit 0
 
@@ -274,16 +303,113 @@ stages:
       - report-junit.xml
       - report.html
       - $PAGES_HTML_ARTIFACT_NAME
-      - $MLD_ARTIFACT_NAME
+      - $CSV_ARTIFACT_NAME
       - $MERGED_CSV_ARTIFACT_NAME
-      - images
       - $SUMMARY_HTML_ARTIFACT_NAME
       - $IMAGES_ARTIFACT_NAME
-    expose_as: "pytest mld results"
+    expose_as: "pytest compare results"
     reports:
       junit:
         - report-junit.xml
-          
+
+.ivas-pytest-on-merge-request-anchor: &ivas-pytest-on-merge-request-anchor
+  stage: test
+  needs: ["build-codec-linux-make"]
+  timeout: "300 minutes"
+  variables:
+    XML_REPORT_BRANCH: "report-junit-branch-$CI_JOB_NAME--sha-$CI_COMMIT_SHORT_SHA.xml"
+    XML_REPORT_MAIN: "report-junit-main-$CI_JOB_NAME--sha-$CI_COMMIT_SHORT_SHA.xml"
+    HTML_REPORT_BRANCH: "report-junit-branch-$CI_JOB_NAME--sha-$CI_COMMIT_SHORT_SHA.html"
+    HTML_REPORT_MAIN: "report-junit-main-$CI_JOB_NAME--sha-$CI_COMMIT_SHORT_SHA.html"
+    CSV_BRANCH: "scores-branch-$CI_JOB_NAME--sha-$CI_COMMIT_SHORT_SHA.csv"
+    CSV_MAIN: "scores-main-$CI_JOB_NAME--sha-$CI_COMMIT_SHORT_SHA.csv"
+    IMAGES_ARTIFACT_NAME: "images_$CI_JOB_NAME"
+    SUMMARY_HTML_ARTIFACT_NAME: "summary_$CI_JOB_NAME.html"
+  script:
+    - *print-common-info
+    - *update-scripts-repo
+    - if [ $USE_LTV -eq 1 ]; then
+    -    *update-ltv-repo
+    -    *copy-ltv-files-to-testv-dir
+    -    testcase_timeout=$TESTCASE_TIMEOUT_LTV
+    - else
+    -    testcase_timeout=$TESTCASE_TIMEOUT_STV
+    - fi
+
+    - python3 ci/remove_unsupported_testcases.py $PRM_FILES
+    - if [ $LEVEL_SCALING != "1.0" ];then
+    -   *apply-testv-scaling
+    - fi
+
+    # check MR title for flag that allows regressions to be mergable
+    - echo $CI_MERGE_REQUEST_TITLE > tmp.txt
+    - allow_regressions_flag=$(grep -c --ignore-case "\[allow[ -]*regression\]" tmp.txt) || true
+
+    ### run branch first
+    # this per default builds the branch and the reference and creates the reference outputs
+    - *build-and-create-reference-outputs
+    - exit_code=0
+    - python3 -m pytest --tb=no $TEST_SUITE -v --create_cut --html=$HTML_REPORT_BRANCH --self-contained-html --junit-xml=$XML_REPORT_BRANCH --mld --ssnr --odg --ref_encoder_path $REF_ENCODER_PATH --ref_decoder_path $REF_DECODER_PATH --dut_encoder_path $DUT_ENCODER_PATH --dut_decoder_path $DUT_DECODER_PATH -n auto --testcase_timeout $testcase_timeout || exit_code=$?
+    - zero_errors_branch=$(cat $XML_REPORT_BRANCH | grep -c 'errors="0"') || true
+    - python3 scripts/parse_xml_report.py $XML_REPORT_BRANCH $CSV_BRANCH
+
+    # create the summary based on the branch
+    - mkdir $IMAGES_ARTIFACT_NAME
+    - for MEASURE in MLD DIFF SSNR;do python3 scripts/create_histogram_summary.py $CSV_BRANCH $IMAGES_ARTIFACT_NAME/summary_"$MEASURE".csv $IMAGES_ARTIFACT_NAME/summary_"$MEASURE".png --measure $MEASURE; done
+    - python3 ci/basop-pages/create_summary_page.py $SUMMARY_HTML_ARTIFACT_NAME $CI_JOB_ID $CI_JOB_NAME
+
+    ### run main now
+    - git checkout $CI_MERGE_REQUEST_TARGET_BRANCH_NAME
+    - git pull
+    - make clean
+    - make -j
+    - python3 -m pytest --tb=no $TEST_SUITE -v --create_cut --html=$HTML_REPORT_MAIN --self-contained-html --junit-xml=$XML_REPORT_MAIN --mld --ssnr --odg --ref_encoder_path $REF_ENCODER_PATH --ref_decoder_path $REF_DECODER_PATH --dut_encoder_path $DUT_ENCODER_PATH --dut_decoder_path $DUT_DECODER_PATH -n auto --testcase_timeout $testcase_timeout || true
+    - python3 scripts/parse_xml_report.py $XML_REPORT_MAIN $CSV_MAIN
+
+    ### compare the two csv files for regressions
+    - regressions_found=0
+    - python3 scripts/basop_check_for_changes_in_testcases.py $CSV_BRANCH $CSV_MAIN || regressions_found=$?
+
+    - if [ $regressions_found != 0 ]; then
+    -    echo "Detected regression wrt to main!"
+    -    if [ $allow_regressions_flag == 0 ]; then
+    -        exit $EXIT_CODE_FAIL;
+    -    else
+    -        exit $EXIT_CODE_NON_BE;
+    -    fi
+    - fi
+    - if [ $zero_errors_branch != 1 ]; then echo "Run errors encountered!"; exit $EXIT_CODE_NON_BE; fi
+    - if [ $exit_code -eq 1 ]; then echo "Differences encountered"; exit $EXIT_CODE_NON_BE; fi
+    - exit 0
+  after_script:
+    - rm -rf tests/dut tests/ref
+  allow_failure:
+    exit_codes:
+      - 123
+  artifacts:
+    name: "$CI_JOB_NAME--sha-$CI_COMMIT_SHORT_SHA--results"
+    expire_in: 1 week
+    when: always
+    paths:
+      - $XML_REPORT_BRANCH
+      - $XML_REPORT_MAIN
+      - $HTML_REPORT_BRANCH
+      - $HTML_REPORT_MAIN
+      - $CSV_BRANCH
+      - $CSV_MAIN
+      - $SUMMARY_HTML_ARTIFACT_NAME
+      - $IMAGES_ARTIFACT_NAME
+      - changes_crashes.csv
+      - changes_MLD.csv
+      - changes_MAXIMUM_ABS_DIFF.csv
+      - changes_MIN_SSNR.csv
+      - changes_MIN_ODG.csv
+    expose_as: "pytest compare results"
+    reports:
+      junit:
+        - $XML_REPORT_BRANCH
+        - $XML_REPORT_MAIN
+
 
 .ivas-pytest-sanitizers-anchor: &ivas-pytest-sanitizers-anchor
   stage: test
@@ -300,7 +426,7 @@ stages:
     - *print-common-info
     - *update-scripts-repo
     - python3 ci/remove_unsupported_testcases.py $PRM_FILES
-    - *setup-codec
+    - *build-reference-and-dut-binaries
     - make clean
     - make -j CLANG=$CLANG_NUM
     - if [[ $CLANG_NUM == 3 ]]; then export UBSAN_OPTIONS="suppressions=scripts/ubsan.supp,report_error_type=1"; fi
@@ -410,13 +536,90 @@ build-codec-linux-instrumented-make:
     - make -j
 
 # ---------------------------------------------------------------
-# Short test jobs 
+# Short test jobs that run in merge request pipelines
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------
+
+### jobs that test fx encoder -> flt decoder
+# TODO: reenable once encoder tests shall compare to main
+# ivas-pytest-compare_to_main-short-enc:
+#   extends:
+#     - .rules-pytest-to-main-short
+#     - .test-job-linux
+#   before_script:
+#     - USE_LTV=0
+#     - DUT_DECODER_PATH=./IVAS_dec_ref
+#     - TEST_SUITE="$SHORT_TEST_SUITE"
+#     - LEVEL_SCALING=1.0
+#   <<: *ivas-pytest-on-merge-request-anchor
+
+# ivas-pytest-compare_to_main-short-enc-lev-10:
+#   extends:
+#     - .rules-pytest-to-main-short
+#     - .test-job-linux
+#   before_script:
+#     - USE_LTV=0
+#     - DUT_DECODER_PATH=./IVAS_dec_ref
+#     - TEST_SUITE="$SHORT_TEST_SUITE"
+#     - LEVEL_SCALING=0.3162
+#   <<: *ivas-pytest-on-merge-request-anchor
+
+# ivas-pytest-compare_to_main-short-enc-lev+10:
+#   extends:
+#     - .rules-pytest-to-main-short
+#     - .test-job-linux
+#   before_script:
+#     - USE_LTV=0
+#     - DUT_DECODER_PATH=./IVAS_dec_ref
+#     - TEST_SUITE="$SHORT_TEST_SUITE"
+#     - LEVEL_SCALING=3.162
+#   <<: *ivas-pytest-on-merge-request-anchor
+
+### jobs that test flt encoder -> fx decoder
+ivas-pytest-compare_to_main-short-dec:
+  extends:
+    - .rules-pytest-to-main-short
+    - .test-job-linux
+  before_script:
+    - USE_LTV=0
+    - DUT_ENCODER_PATH=./IVAS_cod_ref
+    - TEST_SUITE="$SHORT_TEST_SUITE"
+    - LEVEL_SCALING=1.0
+    - rm -rf tests/dut tests/ref
+  <<: *ivas-pytest-on-merge-request-anchor
+
+ivas-pytest-compare_to_main-short-dec-lev-10:
+  extends:
+    - .rules-pytest-to-main-short
+    - .test-job-linux
+  before_script:
+    - USE_LTV=0
+    - DUT_ENCODER_PATH=./IVAS_cod_ref
+    - TEST_SUITE="$SHORT_TEST_SUITE"
+    - LEVEL_SCALING=0.3162
+    - rm -rf tests/dut tests/ref
+  <<: *ivas-pytest-on-merge-request-anchor
+
+ivas-pytest-compare_to_main-short-dec-lev+10:
+  extends:
+    - .rules-pytest-to-main-short
+    - .test-job-linux
+  before_script:
+    - USE_LTV=0
+    - DUT_ENCODER_PATH=./IVAS_cod_ref
+    - TEST_SUITE="$SHORT_TEST_SUITE"
+    - LEVEL_SCALING=3.162
+    - rm -rf tests/dut tests/ref
+  <<: *ivas-pytest-on-merge-request-anchor
+
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------
+# Short test jobs for running from web interface or schedule
 # ---------------------------------------------------------------
 
 ### jobs that test fx encoder -> flt decoder
-ivas-pytest-mld-enc:
+ivas-pytest-compare_to_ref-short-enc:
   extends:
-    - .rules-pytest-mld
+    #- .rules-pytest-to-ref-short
+    - .rules-pytest-to-ref-enc-short-temp
     - .test-job-linux
   before_script:
     - USE_LTV=0
@@ -425,9 +628,10 @@ ivas-pytest-mld-enc:
     - LEVEL_SCALING=1.0
   <<: *ivas-pytest-anchor
 
-ivas-pytest-mld-enc-lev-10:
+ivas-pytest-compare_to_ref-short-enc-lev-10:
   extends:
-    - .rules-pytest-mld
+    #- .rules-pytest-to-ref-short
+    - .rules-pytest-to-ref-enc-short-temp
     - .test-job-linux    
   before_script:
     - USE_LTV=0
@@ -436,9 +640,10 @@ ivas-pytest-mld-enc-lev-10:
     - LEVEL_SCALING=0.3162
   <<: *ivas-pytest-anchor
 
-ivas-pytest-mld-enc-lev+10:
+ivas-pytest-compare_to_ref-short-enc-lev+10:
   extends:
-    - .rules-pytest-mld
+    #- .rules-pytest-to-ref-short
+    - .rules-pytest-to-ref-enc-short-temp
     - .test-job-linux    
   before_script:
     - USE_LTV=0
@@ -472,9 +677,9 @@ ivas-pytest-enc-usan:
   <<: *ivas-pytest-sanitizers-anchor
   
 ### jobs that test flt encoder -> fx decoder
-ivas-pytest-mld-dec:
+ivas-pytest-compare_to_ref-short-dec:
   extends:
-    - .rules-pytest-mld
+    - .rules-pytest-to-ref-short
     - .test-job-linux    
   before_script:
     - USE_LTV=0
@@ -483,9 +688,9 @@ ivas-pytest-mld-dec:
     - LEVEL_SCALING=1.0
   <<: *ivas-pytest-anchor
   
-ivas-pytest-mld-dec-lev-10:
+ivas-pytest-compare_to_ref-short-lev-10:
   extends:
-    - .rules-pytest-mld
+    - .rules-pytest-to-ref-short
     - .test-job-linux    
   before_script:
     - USE_LTV=0  
@@ -494,9 +699,9 @@ ivas-pytest-mld-dec-lev-10:
     - LEVEL_SCALING=0.3162
   <<: *ivas-pytest-anchor
   
-ivas-pytest-mld-dec-lev+10:
+ivas-pytest-compare_to_ref-short-dec-lev+10:
   extends:
-    - .rules-pytest-mld
+    - .rules-pytest-to-ref-short
     - .test-job-linux    
   before_script:
     - USE_LTV=0  
@@ -505,7 +710,7 @@ ivas-pytest-mld-dec-lev+10:
     - LEVEL_SCALING=3.162
   <<: *ivas-pytest-anchor
 
-ivas-pytest-dec-msan:
+ivas-pytest-dec-msan-short:
   extends:
     - .test-job-linux
   before_script:
@@ -513,7 +718,7 @@ ivas-pytest-dec-msan:
     - DUT_ENCODER_PATH=./$REF_ENCODER_PATH
   <<: *ivas-pytest-sanitizers-anchor
 
-ivas-pytest-dec-asan:
+ivas-pytest-dec-asan-short:
   extends:
     - .test-job-linux
   before_script:
@@ -521,7 +726,7 @@ ivas-pytest-dec-asan:
     - DUT_ENCODER_PATH=./$REF_ENCODER_PATH
   <<: *ivas-pytest-sanitizers-anchor
 
-ivas-pytest-dec-usan:
+ivas-pytest-dec-usan-short:
   extends:
     - .test-job-linux
   before_script:
@@ -533,9 +738,9 @@ ivas-pytest-dec-usan:
 # Long test jobs 
 # ---------------------------------------------------------------
 
-ivas-pytest-mld-long-enc:
+ivas-pytest-compare_ref-long-enc:
   extends:
-    - .rules-pytest-mld-long
+    - .rules-pytest-long
     - .test-job-linux    
   before_script:
     - USE_LTV=1
@@ -544,9 +749,9 @@ ivas-pytest-mld-long-enc:
     - LEVEL_SCALING=1.0
   <<: *ivas-pytest-anchor
   
-ivas-pytest-mld-long-dec:
+ivas-pytest-compare_ref-long-dec:
   extends:
-    - .rules-pytest-mld-long
+    - .rules-pytest-long
     - .test-job-linux    
   before_script:
     - USE_LTV=1  
@@ -555,9 +760,9 @@ ivas-pytest-mld-long-dec:
     - LEVEL_SCALING=1.0
   <<: *ivas-pytest-anchor
   
-ivas-pytest-mld-long-enc-lev-10:
+ivas-pytest-compare_ref-long-enc-lev-10:
   extends:
-    - .rules-pytest-mld-long
+    - .rules-pytest-long
     - .test-job-linux    
   before_script:
     - USE_LTV=1
@@ -566,9 +771,9 @@ ivas-pytest-mld-long-enc-lev-10:
     - LEVEL_SCALING=0.3162
   <<: *ivas-pytest-anchor
   
-ivas-pytest-mld-long-dec-lev-10:
+ivas-pytest-compare_ref-long-dec-lev-10:
   extends:
-    - .rules-pytest-mld-long
+    - .rules-pytest-long
     - .test-job-linux    
   before_script:
     - USE_LTV=1
@@ -577,9 +782,9 @@ ivas-pytest-mld-long-dec-lev-10:
     - LEVEL_SCALING=0.3162
   <<: *ivas-pytest-anchor
 
-ivas-pytest-mld-long-enc-lev+10:
+ivas-pytest-compare_ref-long-enc-lev+10:
   extends:
-    - .rules-pytest-mld-long
+    - .rules-pytest-long
     - .test-job-linux    
   before_script:
     - USE_LTV=1
@@ -588,9 +793,9 @@ ivas-pytest-mld-long-enc-lev+10:
     - LEVEL_SCALING=3.162
   <<: *ivas-pytest-anchor
   
-ivas-pytest-mld-long-dec-lev+10:
+ivas-pytest-compare_ref-long-dec-lev+10:
   extends:
-    - .rules-pytest-mld-long
+    - .rules-pytest-long
     - .test-job-linux    
   before_script:
     - USE_LTV=1