1. A method for encoding a video signal having at least one frame including a matrix of pixels, comprising: determining an initial performance measurement for a selected set of pixels using a processor; provisionally applying at least one filter to the selected set of pixels; determining a second performance measurement for each of a plurality of strength settings for each filter provisionally applied to the selected set of pixels, such that each provisional application of a filter is associated with a plurality of performance measurements; and applying the at least one filter to the selected set of pixels to generate a reconstruction of the frame based on a determination that the second performance measurement is better than the initial performance measurement, wherein each of the plurality of performance measurements is compared with the initial performance measurement.