diff --git a/gst-libs/gst/pbutils/descriptions.c b/gst-libs/gst/pbutils/descriptions.c
index 6e83f84979..6dee021fdf 100644
--- a/gst-libs/gst/pbutils/descriptions.c
+++ b/gst-libs/gst/pbutils/descriptions.c
@@ -236,13 +236,18 @@ static const FormatInfo formats[] = {
   {"image/vnd.wap.wbmp", "Wireless Bitmap", 0},
 
   /* subtitle formats with static descriptions */
-  {"application/x-ass", "ASS", 0},
+  {"application/x-ssa", "SubStation Alpha", 0},
+  {"application/x-ass", "Advanced SubStation Alpha", 0},
+  /* FIXME: add variant field to typefinder? */
+  {"application/x-subtitle", N_("Subtitle"), 0},
+  {"application/x-subtitle-mpl2", N_("MPL2 subtitle format"), 0},
+  {"application/x-subtitle-dks", N_("DKS subtitle format"), 0},
+  {"application/x-subtitle-qttext", N_("QTtext subtitle format"), 0},
   {"application/x-subtitle-sami", N_("Sami subtitle format"), 0},
   {"application/x-subtitle-tmplayer", N_("TMPlayer subtitle format"), 0},
   {"application/x-kate", "Kate", 0},
   {"subtitle/x-kate", N_("Kate subtitle format"), 0},
   {"subpicture/x-dvb", "DVB subtitles", 0},
-  /* add variant field to typefinder? { "application/x-subtitle", N_("subtitle"), 0}, */
 
   /* non-audio/video/container formats */
   {"hdv/aux-v", "HDV AUX-V", 0},
diff --git a/gst-libs/gst/riff/riff-read.c b/gst-libs/gst/riff/riff-read.c
index 78cd3f27af..9ef4910de9 100644
--- a/gst-libs/gst/riff/riff-read.c
+++ b/gst-libs/gst/riff/riff-read.c
@@ -733,7 +733,7 @@ gst_riff_parse_info (GstElement * element,
         type = GST_TAG_ALBUM;
         break;
       case GST_RIFF_INFO_ISBJ:
-        type = NULL;            /*"Subject"; */
+        type = GST_TAG_ALBUM_ARTIST;
         break;
       case GST_RIFF_INFO_ISFT:
         type = GST_TAG_ENCODER;
diff --git a/gst-libs/gst/video/video-blend.c b/gst-libs/gst/video/video-blend.c
index 2eb8ac0e31..140e2bbb79 100644
--- a/gst-libs/gst/video/video-blend.c
+++ b/gst-libs/gst/video/video-blend.c
@@ -1259,10 +1259,12 @@ G_STMT_START { \
   ret = v0 + (v1 * (255 - alpha)) / 255; \
 } G_STMT_END
 
+/* returns newly-allocated pixels in src->pixels, which caller must g_free() */
 void
 video_blend_scale_linear_RGBA (GstBlendVideoFormatInfo * src,
     gint dest_height, gint dest_width)
 {
+  const guint8 *src_pixels;
   int acc;
   int y_increment;
   int x_increment;
@@ -1293,8 +1295,10 @@ video_blend_scale_linear_RGBA (GstBlendVideoFormatInfo * src,
 
 #define LINE(x) ((tmpbuf) + (dest_size)*((x)&1))
 
+  src_pixels = src->pixels;
+
   acc = 0;
-  orc_resample_bilinear_u32 (LINE (0), src->pixels, 0, x_increment, dest_width);
+  orc_resample_bilinear_u32 (LINE (0), src_pixels, 0, x_increment, dest_width);
   y1 = 0;
   for (i = 0; i < dest_height; i++) {
     j = acc >> 16;
@@ -1305,12 +1309,12 @@ video_blend_scale_linear_RGBA (GstBlendVideoFormatInfo * src,
     } else {
       if (j > y1) {
         orc_resample_bilinear_u32 (LINE (j),
-            src->pixels + j * src_stride, 0, x_increment, dest_width);
+            src_pixels + j * src_stride, 0, x_increment, dest_width);
         y1++;
       }
       if (j >= y1) {
         orc_resample_bilinear_u32 (LINE (j + 1),
-            src->pixels + (j + 1) * src_stride, 0, x_increment, dest_width);
+            src_pixels + (j + 1) * src_stride, 0, x_increment, dest_width);
         y1++;
       }
       orc_merge_linear_u8 (dest_pixels + i * dest_stride,
@@ -1333,22 +1337,25 @@ video_blend_scale_linear_RGBA (GstBlendVideoFormatInfo * src,
  * @dest
  * @x: The x offset in pixel where the @src image should be blended
  * @y: the y offset in pixel where the @src image should be blended
+ * @global_alpha: the global_alpha each per-pixel alpha value is multiplied
+ *                with
  *
  * Lets you blend the @src image into the @dest image
  */
 gboolean
 video_blend (GstBlendVideoFormatInfo * dest,
-    GstBlendVideoFormatInfo * src, gint x, gint y)
+    GstBlendVideoFormatInfo * src, guint x, guint y, gfloat global_alpha)
 {
-  guint i, j;
-  guint8 alpha;
+  guint i, j, global_alpha_val, src_width, src_height;
   GetPutLine getputdest, getputsrc;
   gint src_stride;
   guint8 *tmpdestline = NULL, *tmpsrcline = NULL;
   gboolean src_premultiplied_alpha;
 
-  g_return_val_if_fail (dest, FALSE);
-  g_return_val_if_fail (src, FALSE);
+  g_assert (dest != NULL);
+  g_assert (src != NULL);
+
+  global_alpha_val = 256.0 * global_alpha;
 
   /* we do no support writing to premultiplied alpha, though that should
      just be a matter of adding blenders below (BLEND01 and BLEND11) */
@@ -1401,20 +1408,25 @@ video_blend (GstBlendVideoFormatInfo * dest,
   if (y + src->height > dest->height)
     src->height = dest->height - y;
 
+  src_width = src->width;
+  src_height = src->height;
+
   /* Mainloop doing the needed conversions, and blending */
-  for (i = y; i < y + src->height; i++) {
+  for (i = y; i < y + src_height; i++) {
 
     getputdest.getline (tmpdestline, dest, x, i);
     getputsrc.getline (tmpsrcline, src, 0, (i - y));
 
-    getputsrc.matrix (tmpsrcline, src->width);
+    getputsrc.matrix (tmpsrcline, src_width);
 
     /* Here dest and src are both either in AYUV or ARGB
      * TODO: Make the orc version working properly*/
-#define BLENDLOOP(blender)                                                        \
+#define BLENDLOOP(blender,alpha_val,alpha_scale)                                  \
   do {                                                                            \
-    for (j = 0; j < src->width * 4; j += 4) {                                     \
-      alpha = tmpsrcline[j];                                                      \
+    for (j = 0; j < src_width * 4; j += 4) {                                      \
+      guint8 alpha;                                                               \
+                                                                                  \
+      alpha = (tmpsrcline[j] * alpha_val) / alpha_scale;                          \
                                                                                   \
       blender (tmpdestline[j + 1], alpha, tmpsrcline[j + 1], tmpdestline[j + 1]); \
       blender (tmpdestline[j + 2], alpha, tmpsrcline[j + 2], tmpdestline[j + 2]); \
@@ -1422,14 +1434,26 @@ video_blend (GstBlendVideoFormatInfo * dest,
     }                                                                             \
   } while(0)
 
-    if (src_premultiplied_alpha && dest->premultiplied_alpha) {
-      /* BLENDLOOP (BLEND11); */
-    } else if (!src_premultiplied_alpha && dest->premultiplied_alpha) {
-      /* BLENDLOOP (BLEND01); */
-    } else if (src_premultiplied_alpha && !dest->premultiplied_alpha) {
-      BLENDLOOP (BLEND10);
+    if (G_LIKELY (global_alpha == 1.0)) {
+      if (src_premultiplied_alpha && dest->premultiplied_alpha) {
+        /* BLENDLOOP (BLEND11, 1, 1); */
+      } else if (!src_premultiplied_alpha && dest->premultiplied_alpha) {
+        /* BLENDLOOP (BLEND01, 1, 1); */
+      } else if (src_premultiplied_alpha && !dest->premultiplied_alpha) {
+        BLENDLOOP (BLEND10, 1, 1);
+      } else {
+        BLENDLOOP (BLEND00, 1, 1);
+      }
     } else {
-      BLENDLOOP (BLEND00);
+      if (src_premultiplied_alpha && dest->premultiplied_alpha) {
+        /* BLENDLOOP (BLEND11, global_alpha_val, 256); */
+      } else if (!src_premultiplied_alpha && dest->premultiplied_alpha) {
+        /* BLENDLOOP (BLEND01, global_alpha_val, 256); */
+      } else if (src_premultiplied_alpha && !dest->premultiplied_alpha) {
+        BLENDLOOP (BLEND10, global_alpha_val, 256);
+      } else {
+        BLENDLOOP (BLEND00, global_alpha_val, 256);
+      }
     }
 
 #undef BLENDLOOP
diff --git a/gst-libs/gst/video/video-blend.h b/gst-libs/gst/video/video-blend.h
index 32e5d12028..7e4c50fcb7 100644
--- a/gst-libs/gst/video/video-blend.h
+++ b/gst-libs/gst/video/video-blend.h
@@ -71,6 +71,7 @@ void       video_blend_scale_linear_RGBA  (GstBlendVideoFormatInfo * src,
 
 gboolean   video_blend                    (GstBlendVideoFormatInfo * dest,
                                            GstBlendVideoFormatInfo * src,
-                                           gint x, gint y);
+                                           guint x, guint y,
+                                           gfloat global_alpha);
 
 #endif
diff --git a/gst-libs/gst/video/video-overlay-composition.c b/gst-libs/gst/video/video-overlay-composition.c
index abe16f8e8c..5f4bf76d4b 100644
--- a/gst-libs/gst/video/video-overlay-composition.c
+++ b/gst-libs/gst/video/video-overlay-composition.c
@@ -69,6 +69,7 @@
 
 #include "video-overlay-composition.h"
 #include "video-blend.h"
+#include <string.h>
 
 struct _GstVideoOverlayComposition
 {
@@ -134,6 +135,19 @@ struct _GstVideoOverlayRectangle
    * rectangles have expired. */
   guint seq_num;
 
+  /* global alpha: global alpha value of the rectangle. Each each per-pixel
+   * alpha value of image-data will be multiplied with the global alpha value
+   * during blending.
+   * Can be used for efficient fading in/out of overlay rectangles.
+   * GstElements that render OverlayCompositions and don't support global alpha
+   * should simply ignore it.*/
+  gfloat global_alpha;
+
+  /* track alpha-values already applied: */
+  gfloat applied_global_alpha;
+  /* store initial per-pixel alpha values: */
+  guint8 *initial_alpha;
+
   /* FIXME: we may also need a (private) way to cache converted/scaled
    * pixel blobs */
   GMutex lock;
@@ -517,7 +531,8 @@ gst_video_overlay_composition_blend (GstVideoOverlayComposition * comp,
           rect->render_width);
     }
 
-    ret = video_blend (&video_info, &rectangle_info, rect->x, rect->y);
+    ret = video_blend (&video_info, &rectangle_info, rect->x, rect->y,
+        rect->global_alpha);
     if (!ret) {
       GST_WARNING ("Could not blend overlay rectangle onto video buffer");
     }
@@ -670,6 +685,8 @@ gst_video_overlay_rectangle_finalize (GstMiniObject * mini_obj)
     rect->scaled_rectangles =
         g_list_delete_link (rect->scaled_rectangles, rect->scaled_rectangles);
   }
+
+  g_free (rect->initial_alpha);
   g_mutex_clear (&rect->lock);
 
   /* not chaining up to GstMiniObject's finalize for now, we know it's empty */
@@ -694,7 +711,8 @@ static inline gboolean
 gst_video_overlay_rectangle_check_flags (GstVideoOverlayFormatFlags flags)
 {
   /* Check flags only contains flags we know about */
-  return (flags & ~(GST_VIDEO_OVERLAY_FORMAT_FLAG_PREMULTIPLIED_ALPHA)) == 0;
+  return (flags & ~(GST_VIDEO_OVERLAY_FORMAT_FLAG_PREMULTIPLIED_ALPHA |
+          GST_VIDEO_OVERLAY_FORMAT_FLAG_GLOBAL_ALPHA)) == 0;
 }
 
 static gboolean
@@ -770,13 +788,18 @@ gst_video_overlay_rectangle_new_argb (GstBuffer * pixels,
   rect->render_width = render_width;
   rect->render_height = render_height;
 
+  rect->global_alpha = 1.0;
+  rect->applied_global_alpha = 1.0;
+  rect->initial_alpha = NULL;
+
   rect->flags = flags;
 
   rect->seq_num = gst_video_overlay_get_seqnum ();
 
   GST_LOG ("new rectangle %p: %ux%u => %ux%u @ %u,%u, seq_num %u, format %u, "
-      "flags %x, pixels %p", rect, width, height, render_width, render_height,
-      render_x, render_y, rect->seq_num, rect->format, rect->flags, pixels);
+      "flags %x, pixels %p, global_alpha=%f", rect, width, height, render_width,
+      render_height, render_x, render_y, rect->seq_num, rect->format,
+      rect->flags, pixels, rect->global_alpha);
 
   return rect;
 }
@@ -897,6 +920,68 @@ gst_video_overlay_rectangle_unpremultiply (GstBlendVideoFormatInfo * info)
   }
 }
 
+
+static void
+gst_video_overlay_rectangle_extract_alpha (GstVideoOverlayRectangle * rect)
+{
+  guint8 *src, *dst;
+  int offset = 0;
+  int alpha_size = rect->stride * rect->height / 4;
+
+  g_free (rect->initial_alpha);
+  rect->initial_alpha = NULL;
+
+  rect->initial_alpha = g_malloc (alpha_size);
+  src = GST_BUFFER_DATA (rect->pixels);
+  dst = rect->initial_alpha;
+  /* FIXME we're accessing possibly uninitialised bytes from the row padding */
+  while (offset < alpha_size) {
+    dst[offset] = src[offset * 4 + ARGB_A];
+    ++offset;
+  }
+}
+
+
+static void
+gst_video_overlay_rectangle_apply_global_alpha (GstVideoOverlayRectangle * rect,
+    float global_alpha)
+{
+  guint8 *src, *dst;
+  guint offset = 0;
+
+  g_assert (!(rect->applied_global_alpha != 1.0
+          && rect->initial_alpha == NULL));
+
+  if (global_alpha == rect->applied_global_alpha)
+    return;
+
+  if (rect->initial_alpha == NULL)
+    gst_video_overlay_rectangle_extract_alpha (rect);
+
+  src = rect->initial_alpha;
+  rect->pixels = gst_buffer_make_writable (rect->pixels);
+  dst = GST_BUFFER_DATA (rect->pixels);
+  while (offset < (rect->height * rect->stride / 4)) {
+    guint doff = offset * 4;
+    guint8 na = (guint8) src[offset] * global_alpha;
+    if (! !(rect->flags & GST_VIDEO_OVERLAY_FORMAT_FLAG_PREMULTIPLIED_ALPHA)) {
+      dst[doff + ARGB_R] =
+          (guint8) ((double) (dst[doff + ARGB_R] * 255) / (double) dst[doff +
+              ARGB_A]) * na / 255;
+      dst[doff + ARGB_G] =
+          (guint8) ((double) (dst[doff + ARGB_G] * 255) / (double) dst[doff +
+              ARGB_A]) * na / 255;
+      dst[doff + ARGB_B] =
+          (guint8) ((double) (dst[doff + ARGB_B] * 255) / (double) dst[doff +
+              ARGB_A]) * na / 255;
+    }
+    dst[doff + ARGB_A] = na;
+    ++offset;
+  }
+
+  rect->applied_global_alpha = global_alpha;
+}
+
 static GstBuffer *
 gst_video_overlay_rectangle_get_pixels_argb_internal (GstVideoOverlayRectangle *
     rectangle, guint * stride, GstVideoOverlayFormatFlags flags,
@@ -909,18 +994,36 @@ gst_video_overlay_rectangle_get_pixels_argb_internal (GstVideoOverlayRectangle *
   GList *l;
   guint wanted_width = unscaled ? rectangle->width : rectangle->render_width;
   guint wanted_height = unscaled ? rectangle->height : rectangle->render_height;
+  gboolean apply_global_alpha;
+  gboolean revert_global_alpha;
 
   g_return_val_if_fail (GST_IS_VIDEO_OVERLAY_RECTANGLE (rectangle), NULL);
   g_return_val_if_fail (stride != NULL, NULL);
   g_return_val_if_fail (gst_video_overlay_rectangle_check_flags (flags), NULL);
 
+  apply_global_alpha =
+      (! !(rectangle->flags & GST_VIDEO_OVERLAY_FORMAT_FLAG_GLOBAL_ALPHA)
+      && !(flags & GST_VIDEO_OVERLAY_FORMAT_FLAG_GLOBAL_ALPHA));
+  revert_global_alpha =
+      (! !(rectangle->flags & GST_VIDEO_OVERLAY_FORMAT_FLAG_GLOBAL_ALPHA)
+      && ! !(flags & GST_VIDEO_OVERLAY_FORMAT_FLAG_GLOBAL_ALPHA));
+
   /* This assumes we don't need to adjust the format */
   if (wanted_width == rectangle->width &&
       wanted_height == rectangle->height &&
       gst_video_overlay_rectangle_is_same_alpha_type (rectangle->flags,
           flags)) {
-    *stride = rectangle->stride;
-    return rectangle->pixels;
+    /* don't need to apply/revert global-alpha either: */
+    if ((!apply_global_alpha
+            || rectangle->applied_global_alpha == rectangle->global_alpha)
+        && (!revert_global_alpha || rectangle->applied_global_alpha == 1.0)) {
+      *stride = rectangle->stride;
+      return rectangle->pixels;
+    } else {
+      /* only apply/revert global-alpha */
+      scaled_rect = rectangle;
+      goto done;
+    }
   }
 
   /* see if we've got one cached already */
@@ -942,13 +1045,14 @@ gst_video_overlay_rectangle_get_pixels_argb_internal (GstVideoOverlayRectangle *
   if (scaled_rect != NULL)
     goto done;
 
-  /* not cached yet, do the scaling and put the result into our cache */
+  /* not cached yet, do the preprocessing and put the result into our cache */
   video_blend_format_info_init (&info, GST_BUFFER_DATA (rectangle->pixels),
       rectangle->height, rectangle->width, rectangle->format,
       ! !(rectangle->flags &
           GST_VIDEO_OVERLAY_FORMAT_FLAG_PREMULTIPLIED_ALPHA));
 
   if (wanted_width != rectangle->width || wanted_height != rectangle->height) {
+    /* we could check the cache for a scaled rect with global_alpha == 1 here */
     video_blend_scale_linear_RGBA (&info, wanted_height, wanted_width);
   } else {
     /* if we don't have to scale, we have to modify the alpha values, so we
@@ -975,7 +1079,9 @@ gst_video_overlay_rectangle_get_pixels_argb_internal (GstVideoOverlayRectangle *
   scaled_rect = gst_video_overlay_rectangle_new_argb (buf,
       wanted_width, wanted_height, info.stride[0],
       0, 0, wanted_width, wanted_height, new_flags);
-
+  if (rectangle->global_alpha != 1.0)
+    gst_video_overlay_rectangle_set_global_alpha (scaled_rect,
+        rectangle->global_alpha);
   gst_buffer_unref (buf);
 
   GST_RECTANGLE_LOCK (rectangle);
@@ -985,16 +1091,33 @@ gst_video_overlay_rectangle_get_pixels_argb_internal (GstVideoOverlayRectangle *
 
 done:
 
+  GST_RECTANGLE_LOCK (rectangle);
+  if (apply_global_alpha
+      && scaled_rect->applied_global_alpha != rectangle->global_alpha) {
+    gst_video_overlay_rectangle_apply_global_alpha (scaled_rect,
+        rectangle->global_alpha);
+    gst_video_overlay_rectangle_set_global_alpha (scaled_rect,
+        rectangle->global_alpha);
+  } else if (revert_global_alpha && scaled_rect->applied_global_alpha != 1.0) {
+    gst_video_overlay_rectangle_apply_global_alpha (scaled_rect, 1.0);
+  }
+  GST_RECTANGLE_UNLOCK (rectangle);
+
   *stride = scaled_rect->stride;
   return scaled_rect->pixels;
 }
 
+
 /**
  * gst_video_overlay_rectangle_get_pixels_argb:
  * @rectangle: a #GstVideoOverlayRectangle
  * @stride: (out) (allow-none): address of guint variable where to store the
  *    row stride of the ARGB pixel data in the buffer
  * @flags: flags
+ *    If a global_alpha value != 1 is set for the rectangle, the caller
+ *    should set the #GST_VIDEO_OVERLAY_FORMAT_FLAG_GLOBAL_ALPHA flag
+ *    if he wants to apply global-alpha himself. If the flag is not set
+ *    global_alpha is applied internally before returning the pixel-data.
  *
  * Returns: (transfer none): a #GstBuffer holding the ARGB pixel data with
  *    row stride @stride and width and height of the render dimensions as per
@@ -1021,7 +1144,11 @@ gst_video_overlay_rectangle_get_pixels_argb (GstVideoOverlayRectangle *
  *    rectangle in pixels
  * @stride: (out): address of guint variable where to store the row
  *    stride of the ARGB pixel data in the buffer
- * @flags: flags
+ * @flags: flags.
+ *    If a global_alpha value != 1 is set for the rectangle, the caller
+ *    should set the #GST_VIDEO_OVERLAY_FORMAT_FLAG_GLOBAL_ALPHA flag
+ *    if he wants to apply global-alpha himself. If the flag is not set
+ *    global_alpha is applied internally before returning the pixel-data.
  *
  * Retrieves the pixel data as it is. This is useful if the caller can
  * do the scaling itself when handling the overlaying. The rectangle will
@@ -1073,6 +1200,61 @@ gst_video_overlay_rectangle_get_flags (GstVideoOverlayRectangle * rectangle)
   return rectangle->flags;
 }
 
+/**
+ * gst_video_overlay_rectangle_get_global_alpha:
+ * @rectangle: a #GstVideoOverlayRectangle
+ *
+ * Retrieves the global-alpha value associated with a #GstVideoOverlayRectangle.
+ *
+ * Returns: the global-alpha value associated with the rectangle.
+ *
+ * Since: 0.10.37
+ */
+gfloat
+gst_video_overlay_rectangle_get_global_alpha (GstVideoOverlayRectangle *
+    rectangle)
+{
+  g_return_val_if_fail (GST_IS_VIDEO_OVERLAY_RECTANGLE (rectangle), -1);
+
+  return rectangle->global_alpha;
+}
+
+/**
+ * gst_video_overlay_rectangle_set_global_alpha:
+ * @rectangle: a #GstVideoOverlayRectangle
+ *
+ * Sets the global alpha value associated with a #GstVideoOverlayRectangle. Per-
+ * pixel alpha values are multiplied with this value. Valid
+ * values: 0 <= global_alpha <= 1; 1 to deactivate.
+ *
+ # @rectangle must be writable, meaning its refcount must be 1. You can
+ * make the rectangles inside a #GstVideoOverlayComposition writable using
+ * gst_video_overlay_composition_make_writable() or
+ * gst_video_overlay_composition_copy().
+ *
+ * Since: 0.10.37
+ */
+void
+gst_video_overlay_rectangle_set_global_alpha (GstVideoOverlayRectangle *
+    rectangle, gfloat global_alpha)
+{
+  g_return_if_fail (GST_IS_VIDEO_OVERLAY_RECTANGLE (rectangle));
+  g_return_if_fail (global_alpha >= 0 && global_alpha <= 1);
+
+  if (rectangle->global_alpha != global_alpha) {
+    rectangle->global_alpha = global_alpha;
+    if (global_alpha != 1)
+      rectangle->flags |= GST_VIDEO_OVERLAY_FORMAT_FLAG_GLOBAL_ALPHA;
+    else
+      rectangle->flags &= ~GST_VIDEO_OVERLAY_FORMAT_FLAG_GLOBAL_ALPHA;
+    /* update seq_num automatically to signal the consumer, that data has changed
+     * note, that this might mislead renderers, that can handle global-alpha
+     * themselves, because what they want to know is whether the actual pixel data
+     * has changed. */
+    rectangle->seq_num = gst_video_overlay_get_seqnum ();
+  }
+}
+
 /**
  * gst_video_overlay_rectangle_copy:
  * @rectangle: (transfer none): a #GstVideoOverlayRectangle to copy
@@ -1098,6 +1280,9 @@ gst_video_overlay_rectangle_copy (GstVideoOverlayRectangle * rectangle)
       rectangle->width, rectangle->height, rectangle->stride,
       rectangle->x, rectangle->y,
       rectangle->render_width, rectangle->render_height, rectangle->flags);
+  if (rectangle->global_alpha != 1)
+    gst_video_overlay_rectangle_set_global_alpha (copy,
+        rectangle->global_alpha);
 
   return copy;
 }
@@ -1111,6 +1296,16 @@ gst_video_overlay_rectangle_copy (GstVideoOverlayRectangle * rectangle)
  * (meaning there will never be a rectangle with the same sequence number as
  * a composition).
  *
+ * Using the sequence number of a rectangle as an indicator for changed
+ * pixel-data of a rectangle is dangereous. Some API calls, like e.g.
+ * gst_video_overlay_rectangle_set_global_alpha(), automatically update
+ * the per rectangle sequence number, which is misleading for renderers/
+ * consumers, that handle global-alpha themselves. For them  the
+ * pixel-data returned by gst_video_overlay_rectangle_get_pixels_*()
+ * wont be different for different global-alpha values. In this case a
+ * renderer could also use the GstBuffer pointers as a hint for changed
+ * pixel-data.
+ *
  * Returns: the sequence number of @rectangle
  *
  * Since: 0.10.36
diff --git a/gst-libs/gst/video/video-overlay-composition.h b/gst-libs/gst/video/video-overlay-composition.h
index b91404ba91..65538e487c 100644
--- a/gst-libs/gst/video/video-overlay-composition.h
+++ b/gst-libs/gst/video/video-overlay-composition.h
@@ -96,6 +96,7 @@ gst_video_overlay_rectangle_unref (GstVideoOverlayRectangle * comp)
  * GstVideoOverlayFormatFlags:
  * @GST_VIDEO_OVERLAY_FORMAT_FLAG_NONE: no flags
  * @GST_VIDEO_OVERLAY_FORMAT_FLAG_PREMULTIPLIED_ALPHA: RGB are premultiplied by A/255. Since: 0.10.37
+ * @GST_VIDEO_OVERLAY_FORMAT_FLAG_GLOBAL_ALPHA: a global-alpha value != 1 is set. Since: 0.10.37
  *
  * Overlay format flags.
  *
@@ -103,7 +104,8 @@ gst_video_overlay_rectangle_unref (GstVideoOverlayRectangle * comp)
  */
 typedef enum {
   GST_VIDEO_OVERLAY_FORMAT_FLAG_NONE = 0,
-  GST_VIDEO_OVERLAY_FORMAT_FLAG_PREMULTIPLIED_ALPHA = 1
+  GST_VIDEO_OVERLAY_FORMAT_FLAG_PREMULTIPLIED_ALPHA = 1,
+  GST_VIDEO_OVERLAY_FORMAT_FLAG_GLOBAL_ALPHA = 2
 } GstVideoOverlayFormatFlags;
 
 GType                        gst_video_overlay_rectangle_get_type (void);
@@ -142,6 +144,10 @@ GstBuffer *                  gst_video_overlay_rectangle_get_pixels_unscaled_arg
 
 GstVideoOverlayFormatFlags   gst_video_overlay_rectangle_get_flags                (GstVideoOverlayRectangle  * rectangle);
 
+gfloat                       gst_video_overlay_rectangle_get_global_alpha         (GstVideoOverlayRectangle  * rectangle);
+void                         gst_video_overlay_rectangle_set_global_alpha         (GstVideoOverlayRectangle  * rectangle,
+                                                                                   gfloat                      global_alpha);
+
 /**
  * GstVideoOverlayComposition:
  *
diff --git a/gst/playback/gstplaysink.c b/gst/playback/gstplaysink.c
index 85ec99070b..454396b3ad 100644
--- a/gst/playback/gstplaysink.c
+++ b/gst/playback/gstplaysink.c
@@ -2538,7 +2538,7 @@ gst_play_sink_reconfigure (GstPlaySink * playsink)
 
   /* we have a text_pad and we need text rendering, in this case we need a
    * video_pad to combine the video with the text or visualizations */
-  if (need_text && !need_video) {
+  if (need_text && !need_video && !playsink->text_sink) {
     if (playsink->video_pad) {
       need_video = TRUE;
     } else if (need_audio) {
@@ -2909,25 +2909,27 @@ gst_play_sink_reconfigure (GstPlaySink * playsink)
             playsink->textchain->textsinkpad, GST_PAD_LINK_CHECK_NOTHING);
       }
 
-      if (need_vis) {
-        GstPad *srcpad;
+      if (need_vis || need_video) {
+        if (need_vis) {
+          GstPad *srcpad;
 
-        srcpad =
-            gst_element_get_static_pad (playsink->vischain->chain.bin, "src");
-        gst_pad_unlink (srcpad, playsink->videochain->sinkpad);
-        gst_pad_link_full (srcpad, playsink->textchain->videosinkpad,
-            GST_PAD_LINK_CHECK_NOTHING);
-        gst_object_unref (srcpad);
-      } else {
-        if (need_deinterlace)
-          gst_pad_link_full (playsink->videodeinterlacechain->srcpad,
-              playsink->textchain->videosinkpad, GST_PAD_LINK_CHECK_NOTHING);
-        else
-          gst_pad_link_full (playsink->video_srcpad_stream_synchronizer,
-              playsink->textchain->videosinkpad, GST_PAD_LINK_CHECK_NOTHING);
+          srcpad =
+              gst_element_get_static_pad (playsink->vischain->chain.bin, "src");
+          gst_pad_unlink (srcpad, playsink->videochain->sinkpad);
+          gst_pad_link_full (srcpad, playsink->textchain->videosinkpad,
+              GST_PAD_LINK_CHECK_NOTHING);
+          gst_object_unref (srcpad);
+        } else {
+          if (need_deinterlace)
+            gst_pad_link_full (playsink->videodeinterlacechain->srcpad,
+                playsink->textchain->videosinkpad, GST_PAD_LINK_CHECK_NOTHING);
+          else
+            gst_pad_link_full (playsink->video_srcpad_stream_synchronizer,
+                playsink->textchain->videosinkpad, GST_PAD_LINK_CHECK_NOTHING);
+        }
+        gst_pad_link_full (playsink->textchain->srcpad,
+            playsink->videochain->sinkpad, GST_PAD_LINK_CHECK_NOTHING);
       }
-      gst_pad_link_full (playsink->textchain->srcpad,
-          playsink->videochain->sinkpad, GST_PAD_LINK_CHECK_NOTHING);
 
       activate_chain (GST_PLAY_CHAIN (playsink->textchain), TRUE);
     }
diff --git a/tests/check/libs/video.c b/tests/check/libs/video.c
index 95105cbe44..546516aeb6 100644
--- a/tests/check/libs/video.c
+++ b/tests/check/libs/video.c
@@ -25,6 +25,10 @@
 #include "config.h"
 #endif
 
+#ifdef HAVE_VALGRIND
+# include <valgrind/valgrind.h>
+#endif
+
 #include <unistd.h>
 
 #include <gst/check/gstcheck.h>
@@ -984,8 +988,13 @@ GST_START_TEST (test_overlay_composition)
   fail_unless (gst_video_buffer_get_overlay_composition (buf) == NULL);
 
   gst_buffer_ref (buf);
-  /* buffer now has refcount of 2, so its metadata is not writable */
-  ASSERT_CRITICAL (gst_video_buffer_set_overlay_composition (buf, comp1));
+  /* buffer now has refcount of 2, so its metadata is not writable.
+   * only check this if we are not running in valgrind, as it leaks */
+#ifdef HAVE_VALGRIND
+  if (!RUNNING_ON_VALGRIND) {
+    ASSERT_CRITICAL (gst_video_buffer_set_overlay_composition (buf, comp1));
+  }
+#endif
   gst_buffer_unref (buf);
   gst_video_buffer_set_overlay_composition (buf, comp1);
   fail_unless (gst_video_buffer_get_overlay_composition (buf) == comp1);
@@ -1117,6 +1126,386 @@ GST_START_TEST (test_overlay_composition_premultiplied_alpha)
 GST_END_TEST;
 #endif
 
+
+GST_START_TEST (test_overlay_composition_global_alpha)
+{
+  GstVideoOverlayRectangle *rect1;
+  GstBuffer *pix1, *pix2, *pix3, *pix4, *pix5;
+  guint8 *data2, *data4, *data5;
+  guint w, h, stride, stride3, w4, h4, stride4, stride5;
+  guint seq1, seq2;
+  gfloat ga1, ga2;
+  GstVideoOverlayFormatFlags flags1;
+
+  pix1 = gst_buffer_new_and_alloc (200 * sizeof (guint32) * 50);
+  memset (GST_BUFFER_DATA (pix1), 0x80, GST_BUFFER_SIZE (pix1));
+
+  rect1 = gst_video_overlay_rectangle_new_argb (pix1, 200, 50, 200 * 4,
+      600, 50, 300, 50, GST_VIDEO_OVERLAY_FORMAT_FLAG_NONE);
+  gst_buffer_unref (pix1);
+
+  /* same flags, unscaled, should be the same buffer */
+  pix2 = gst_video_overlay_rectangle_get_pixels_unscaled_argb (rect1, &w, &h,
+      &stride, GST_VIDEO_OVERLAY_FORMAT_FLAG_NONE);
+  fail_unless (pix1 == pix2);
+
+  /* same flags, but scaled */
+  pix3 = gst_video_overlay_rectangle_get_pixels_argb (rect1, &stride3,
+      GST_VIDEO_OVERLAY_FORMAT_FLAG_NONE);
+  fail_if (pix3 == pix1 || pix3 == pix2);
+
+  /* get unscaled premultiplied data, new cached rectangle should be created */
+  pix4 = gst_video_overlay_rectangle_get_pixels_unscaled_argb (rect1, &w4, &h4,
+      &stride4, GST_VIDEO_OVERLAY_FORMAT_FLAG_PREMULTIPLIED_ALPHA);
+  fail_if (pix4 == pix2 || pix4 == pix3);
+  fail_unless_equals_int (stride, stride4);
+  fail_unless_equals_int (w, w4);
+  fail_unless_equals_int (h, h4);
+  fail_unless_equals_int (GST_BUFFER_SIZE (pix2), GST_BUFFER_SIZE (pix4));
+  data4 = GST_BUFFER_DATA (pix4);
+  fail_if (memcmp (data4, GST_BUFFER_DATA (pix1), GST_BUFFER_SIZE (pix1)) == 0);
+  /* make sure it actually did what we expected it to do (input=0x80808080) */
+#if G_BYTE_ORDER == G_LITTLE_ENDIAN
+  /* B - G - R - A */
+  fail_unless_equals_int (data4[0], 0x40);
+  fail_unless_equals_int (data4[1], 0x40);
+  fail_unless_equals_int (data4[2], 0x40);
+  fail_unless_equals_int (data4[3], 0x80);
+#else
+  /* A - R - G - B */
+  fail_unless_equals_int (data4[0], 0x80);
+  fail_unless_equals_int (data4[1], 0x40);
+  fail_unless_equals_int (data4[2], 0x40);
+  fail_unless_equals_int (data4[3], 0x40);
+#endif
+
+  /* now premultiplied and scaled, again a new cached rectangle should be cached */
+  pix5 = gst_video_overlay_rectangle_get_pixels_argb (rect1, &stride5,
+      GST_VIDEO_OVERLAY_FORMAT_FLAG_PREMULTIPLIED_ALPHA);
+  fail_if (pix5 == pix2 || pix5 == pix3 || pix5 == pix4);
+  /* stride and size should be equal to the first scaled rect */
+  fail_unless_equals_int (stride5, stride3);
+  fail_unless_equals_int (GST_BUFFER_SIZE (pix3), GST_BUFFER_SIZE (pix3));
+  data5 = GST_BUFFER_DATA (pix5);
+  /* data should be different (premutliplied) though */
+  fail_if (memcmp (data5, GST_BUFFER_DATA (pix3), GST_BUFFER_SIZE (pix3)) == 0);
+  /* make sure it actually did what we expected it to do (input=0x80808080) */
+#if G_BYTE_ORDER == G_LITTLE_ENDIAN
+  /* B - G - R - A */
+  fail_unless_equals_int (data5[0], 0x40);
+  fail_unless_equals_int (data5[1], 0x40);
+  fail_unless_equals_int (data5[2], 0x40);
+  fail_unless_equals_int (data5[3], 0x80);
+#else
+  /* A - R - G - B */
+  fail_unless_equals_int (data5[0], 0x80);
+  fail_unless_equals_int (data5[1], 0x40);
+  fail_unless_equals_int (data5[2], 0x40);
+  fail_unless_equals_int (data5[3], 0x40);
+#endif
+
+  /* global_alpha should initially be 1.0 */
+  ga1 = gst_video_overlay_rectangle_get_global_alpha (rect1);
+  fail_unless_equals_float (ga1, 1.0);
+
+  /* now set global_alpha */
+  seq1 = gst_video_overlay_rectangle_get_seqnum (rect1);
+  gst_video_overlay_rectangle_set_global_alpha (rect1, 0.5);
+  ga2 = gst_video_overlay_rectangle_get_global_alpha (rect1);
+  fail_unless_equals_float (ga2, 0.5);
+
+  /* seqnum should have changed */
+  seq2 = gst_video_overlay_rectangle_get_seqnum (rect1);
+  fail_unless (seq1 < seq2);
+
+  /* internal flags should have been set */
+  flags1 = gst_video_overlay_rectangle_get_flags (rect1);
+  fail_unless_equals_int (flags1, GST_VIDEO_OVERLAY_FORMAT_FLAG_GLOBAL_ALPHA);
+
+  /* request unscaled pixel-data, global-alpha not applied */
+  pix2 = gst_video_overlay_rectangle_get_pixels_unscaled_argb (rect1, &w, &h,
+      &stride, GST_VIDEO_OVERLAY_FORMAT_FLAG_GLOBAL_ALPHA);
+  /* this should just return the same buffer */
+  fail_unless (pix2 == pix1);
+  data2 = GST_BUFFER_DATA (pix2);
+  fail_unless (memcmp (data2, GST_BUFFER_DATA (pix1),
+          GST_BUFFER_SIZE (pix1)) == 0);
+  /* make sure we got the initial data (input=0x80808080) */
+#if G_BYTE_ORDER == G_LITTLE_ENDIAN
+  /* B - G - R - A */
+  fail_unless_equals_int (data2[0], 0x80);
+  fail_unless_equals_int (data2[1], 0x80);
+  fail_unless_equals_int (data2[2], 0x80);
+  fail_unless_equals_int (data2[3], 0x80);
+#else
+  /* A - R - G - B */
+  fail_unless_equals_int (data2[0], 0x80);
+  fail_unless_equals_int (data2[1], 0x80);
+  fail_unless_equals_int (data2[2], 0x80);
+  fail_unless_equals_int (data2[3], 0x80);
+#endif
+
+  /* unscaled pixel-data, global-alpha applied */
+  pix2 = gst_video_overlay_rectangle_get_pixels_unscaled_argb (rect1, &w, &h,
+      &stride, GST_VIDEO_OVERLAY_FORMAT_FLAG_NONE);
+  /* this should be the same buffer with on-the-fly modified alpha-channel */
+  fail_unless (pix2 == pix1);
+  data2 = GST_BUFFER_DATA (pix2);
+  fail_unless (memcmp (data2, GST_BUFFER_DATA (pix1),
+          GST_BUFFER_SIZE (pix1)) == 0);
+  /* make sure we got the initial data with adjusted alpha-channel */
+#if G_BYTE_ORDER == G_LITTLE_ENDIAN
+  /* B - G - R - A */
+  fail_unless_equals_int (data2[0], 0x80);
+  fail_unless_equals_int (data2[1], 0x80);
+  fail_unless_equals_int (data2[2], 0x80);
+  fail_unless_equals_int (data2[3], 0x40);
+#else
+  /* A - R - G - B */
+  fail_unless_equals_int (data2[0], 0x40);
+  fail_unless_equals_int (data2[1], 0x80);
+  fail_unless_equals_int (data2[2], 0x80);
+  fail_unless_equals_int (data2[3], 0x80);
+#endif
+
+  /* adjust global_alpha once more */
+  gst_video_overlay_rectangle_set_global_alpha (rect1, 0.25);
+  ga2 = gst_video_overlay_rectangle_get_global_alpha (rect1);
+  fail_unless_equals_float (ga2, 0.25);
+  /* and again request unscaled pixel-data, global-alpha applied */
+  pix2 = gst_video_overlay_rectangle_get_pixels_unscaled_argb (rect1, &w, &h,
+      &stride, GST_VIDEO_OVERLAY_FORMAT_FLAG_NONE);
+  fail_unless (pix2 == pix1);
+  data2 = GST_BUFFER_DATA (pix2);
+  fail_unless (memcmp (data2, GST_BUFFER_DATA (pix1),
+          GST_BUFFER_SIZE (pix1)) == 0);
+  /* make sure we got the initial data with adjusted alpha-channel */
+#if G_BYTE_ORDER == G_LITTLE_ENDIAN
+  /* B - G - R - A */
+  fail_unless_equals_int (data2[0], 0x80);
+  fail_unless_equals_int (data2[1], 0x80);
+  fail_unless_equals_int (data2[2], 0x80);
+  fail_unless_equals_int (data2[3], 0x20);
+#else
+  /* A - R - G - B */
+  fail_unless_equals_int (data2[0], 0x20);
+  fail_unless_equals_int (data2[1], 0x80);
+  fail_unless_equals_int (data2[2], 0x80);
+  fail_unless_equals_int (data2[3], 0x80);
+#endif
+
+  /* again: unscaled pixel-data, global-alpha not applied,
+   * this should revert alpha-channel to initial values */
+  pix2 = gst_video_overlay_rectangle_get_pixels_unscaled_argb (rect1, &w, &h,
+      &stride, GST_VIDEO_OVERLAY_FORMAT_FLAG_GLOBAL_ALPHA);
+  fail_unless (pix2 == pix1);
+  data2 = GST_BUFFER_DATA (pix2);
+  fail_unless (memcmp (data2, GST_BUFFER_DATA (pix1),
+          GST_BUFFER_SIZE (pix1)) == 0);
+  /* make sure we got the initial data (input=0x80808080) */
+#if G_BYTE_ORDER == G_LITTLE_ENDIAN
+  /* B - G - R - A */
+  fail_unless_equals_int (data2[0], 0x80);
+  fail_unless_equals_int (data2[1], 0x80);
+  fail_unless_equals_int (data2[2], 0x80);
+  fail_unless_equals_int (data2[3], 0x80);
+#else
+  /* A - R - G - B */
+  fail_unless_equals_int (data2[0], 0x80);
+  fail_unless_equals_int (data2[1], 0x80);
+  fail_unless_equals_int (data2[2], 0x80);
+  fail_unless_equals_int (data2[3], 0x80);
+#endif
+
+  /* now scaled, global-alpha not applied */
+  pix2 = gst_video_overlay_rectangle_get_pixels_argb (rect1, &stride,
+      GST_VIDEO_OVERLAY_FORMAT_FLAG_GLOBAL_ALPHA);
+  /* this should just return the rect/buffer, that was cached for these
+   * scaling dimensions */
+  fail_unless (pix2 == pix3);
+  data2 = GST_BUFFER_DATA (pix2);
+  fail_unless (memcmp (data2, GST_BUFFER_DATA (pix3),
+          GST_BUFFER_SIZE (pix3)) == 0);
+  /* make sure we got the initial data (input=0x80808080) */
+#if G_BYTE_ORDER == G_LITTLE_ENDIAN
+  /* B - G - R - A */
+  fail_unless_equals_int (data2[0], 0x80);
+  fail_unless_equals_int (data2[1], 0x80);
+  fail_unless_equals_int (data2[2], 0x80);
+  fail_unless_equals_int (data2[3], 0x80);
+#else
+  /* A - R - G - B */
+  fail_unless_equals_int (data2[0], 0x80);
+  fail_unless_equals_int (data2[1], 0x80);
+  fail_unless_equals_int (data2[2], 0x80);
+  fail_unless_equals_int (data2[3], 0x80);
+#endif
+
+  /* scaled, global-alpha (0.25) applied */
+  pix2 = gst_video_overlay_rectangle_get_pixels_argb (rect1, &stride,
+      GST_VIDEO_OVERLAY_FORMAT_FLAG_NONE);
+  /* this should just return the rect/buffer, that was cached for these
+   * scaling dimensions with modified alpha channel */
+  fail_unless (pix2 == pix3);
+  data2 = GST_BUFFER_DATA (pix2);
+  fail_unless (memcmp (data2, GST_BUFFER_DATA (pix3),
+          GST_BUFFER_SIZE (pix3)) == 0);
+  /* make sure we got the data we expect for global-alpha=0.25 */
+#if G_BYTE_ORDER == G_LITTLE_ENDIAN
+  /* B - G - R - A */
+  fail_unless_equals_int (data2[0], 0x80);
+  fail_unless_equals_int (data2[1], 0x80);
+  fail_unless_equals_int (data2[2], 0x80);
+  fail_unless_equals_int (data2[3], 0x20);
+#else
+  /* A - R - G - B */
+  fail_unless_equals_int (data2[0], 0x20);
+  fail_unless_equals_int (data2[1], 0x80);
+  fail_unless_equals_int (data2[2], 0x80);
+  fail_unless_equals_int (data2[3], 0x80);
+#endif
+
+  /* now unscaled premultiplied data, global-alpha not applied,
+   * is this really a valid use case?*/
+  pix2 = gst_video_overlay_rectangle_get_pixels_unscaled_argb (rect1, &w, &h,
+      &stride, GST_VIDEO_OVERLAY_FORMAT_FLAG_PREMULTIPLIED_ALPHA |
+      GST_VIDEO_OVERLAY_FORMAT_FLAG_GLOBAL_ALPHA);
+  /* this should just return the rect/buffer, that was cached for the
+   * premultiplied data */
+  fail_unless (pix2 == pix4);
+  data2 = GST_BUFFER_DATA (pix2);
+  fail_unless (memcmp (data2, GST_BUFFER_DATA (pix4),
+          GST_BUFFER_SIZE (pix4)) == 0);
+  /* make sure we got what we expected */
+#if G_BYTE_ORDER == G_LITTLE_ENDIAN
+  /* B - G - R - A */
+  fail_unless_equals_int (data2[0], 0x40);
+  fail_unless_equals_int (data2[1], 0x40);
+  fail_unless_equals_int (data2[2], 0x40);
+  fail_unless_equals_int (data2[3], 0x80);
+#else
+  /* A - R - G - B */
+  fail_unless_equals_int (data2[0], 0x80);
+  fail_unless_equals_int (data2[1], 0x40);
+  fail_unless_equals_int (data2[2], 0x40);
+  fail_unless_equals_int (data2[3], 0x40);
+#endif
+
+  /* unscaled premultiplied data, global-alpha (0.25) applied */
+  pix2 = gst_video_overlay_rectangle_get_pixels_unscaled_argb (rect1, &w, &h,
+      &stride, GST_VIDEO_OVERLAY_FORMAT_FLAG_PREMULTIPLIED_ALPHA);
+  /* this should just return the rect/buffer, that was cached for the
+   * premultiplied data */
+  fail_unless (pix2 == pix4);
+  data2 = GST_BUFFER_DATA (pix2);
+  fail_unless (memcmp (data2, GST_BUFFER_DATA (pix4),
+          GST_BUFFER_SIZE (pix4)) == 0);
+  /* make sure we got what we expected:
+   * (0x40 / (0x80/0xFF) * (0x20/0xFF) = 0x10
+   * NOTE: unless we are using round() for the premultiplied case
+   * in gst_video_overlay_rectangle_apply_global_alpha() we get rounding
+   * error, i.e. 0x0F here */
+#if G_BYTE_ORDER == G_LITTLE_ENDIAN
+  /* B - G - R - A */
+  fail_unless_equals_int (data2[0], 0x0F);
+  fail_unless_equals_int (data2[1], 0x0F);
+  fail_unless_equals_int (data2[2], 0x0F);
+  fail_unless_equals_int (data2[3], 0x20);
+#else
+  /* A - R - G - B */
+  fail_unless_equals_int (data2[0], 0x20);
+  fail_unless_equals_int (data2[1], 0x0F);
+  fail_unless_equals_int (data2[2], 0x0F);
+  fail_unless_equals_int (data2[3], 0x0F);
+#endif
+
+  /* set global_alpha once more */
+  gst_video_overlay_rectangle_set_global_alpha (rect1, 0.75);
+  /* and verify that also premultiplied data is adjusted
+   * correspondingly (though with increasing rounding errors) */
+  pix2 = gst_video_overlay_rectangle_get_pixels_unscaled_argb (rect1, &w, &h,
+      &stride, GST_VIDEO_OVERLAY_FORMAT_FLAG_PREMULTIPLIED_ALPHA);
+  /* this should just return the rect/buffer, that was cached for the
+   * premultiplied data */
+  fail_unless (pix2 == pix4);
+  data2 = GST_BUFFER_DATA (pix2);
+  fail_unless (memcmp (data2, GST_BUFFER_DATA (pix4),
+          GST_BUFFER_SIZE (pix4)) == 0);
+  /* make sure we got what we expected:
+   * (0x0F / (0x20/0xFF) * (0x60/0xFF) = 0x2D
+   * NOTE: using floats everywhere we would get 0x30
+   * here we will actually end up with 0x2C */
+#if G_BYTE_ORDER == G_LITTLE_ENDIAN
+  /* B - G - R - A */
+  fail_unless_equals_int (data2[0], 0x2C);
+  fail_unless_equals_int (data2[1], 0x2C);
+  fail_unless_equals_int (data2[2], 0x2C);
+  fail_unless_equals_int (data2[3], 0x60);
+#else
+  /* A - R - G - B */
+  fail_unless_equals_int (data2[0], 0x60);
+  fail_unless_equals_int (data2[1], 0x2C);
+  fail_unless_equals_int (data2[2], 0x2C);
+  fail_unless_equals_int (data2[3], 0x2C);
+#endif
+
+  /* now scaled and premultiplied data, global-alpha not applied,
+   * is this really a valid use case?*/
+  pix2 = gst_video_overlay_rectangle_get_pixels_argb (rect1, &stride,
+      GST_VIDEO_OVERLAY_FORMAT_FLAG_PREMULTIPLIED_ALPHA |
+      GST_VIDEO_OVERLAY_FORMAT_FLAG_GLOBAL_ALPHA);
+  /* this should just return the rect/buffer, that was cached for the
+   * first premultiplied+scaled rect*/
+  fail_unless (pix2 == pix5);
+  fail_unless (stride == stride5);
+  data2 = GST_BUFFER_DATA (pix2);
+  fail_unless (memcmp (data2, GST_BUFFER_DATA (pix5),
+          GST_BUFFER_SIZE (pix5)) == 0);
+  /* make sure we got what we expected */
+#if G_BYTE_ORDER == G_LITTLE_ENDIAN
+  /* B - G - R - A */
+  fail_unless_equals_int (data2[0], 0x40);
+  fail_unless_equals_int (data2[1], 0x40);
+  fail_unless_equals_int (data2[2], 0x40);
+  fail_unless_equals_int (data2[3], 0x80);
+#else
+  /* A - R - G - B */
+  fail_unless_equals_int (data2[0], 0x80);
+  fail_unless_equals_int (data2[1], 0x40);
+  fail_unless_equals_int (data2[2], 0x40);
+  fail_unless_equals_int (data2[3], 0x40);
+#endif
+
+  /* scaled and premultiplied data, global-alpha applied */
+  pix2 = gst_video_overlay_rectangle_get_pixels_argb (rect1, &stride,
+      GST_VIDEO_OVERLAY_FORMAT_FLAG_PREMULTIPLIED_ALPHA);
+  /* this should just return the rect/buffer, that was cached for the
+   * first premultiplied+scaled rect*/
+  fail_unless (pix2 == pix5);
+  fail_unless (stride == stride5);
+  data2 = GST_BUFFER_DATA (pix2);
+  fail_unless (memcmp (data2, GST_BUFFER_DATA (pix5),
+          GST_BUFFER_SIZE (pix5)) == 0);
+  /* make sure we got what we expected; see above note about rounding errors! */
+#if G_BYTE_ORDER == G_LITTLE_ENDIAN
+  /* B - G - R - A */
+  fail_unless_equals_int (data2[0], 0x2F);
+  fail_unless_equals_int (data2[1], 0x2F);
+  fail_unless_equals_int (data2[2], 0x2F);
+  fail_unless_equals_int (data2[3], 0x60);
+#else
+  /* A - R - G - B */
+  fail_unless_equals_int (data2[0], 0x60);
+  fail_unless_equals_int (data2[1], 0x2F);
+  fail_unless_equals_int (data2[2], 0x2F);
+  fail_unless_equals_int (data2[3], 0x2F);
+#endif
+
+  gst_video_overlay_rectangle_unref (rect1);
+}
+
+GST_END_TEST;
+
 static Suite *
 video_suite (void)
 {
@@ -1137,6 +1526,7 @@ video_suite (void)
   /* FIXME 0.11: port overlay compositions */
   tcase_add_test (tc_chain, test_overlay_composition);
   tcase_add_test (tc_chain, test_overlay_composition_premultiplied_alpha);
+  tcase_add_test (tc_chain, test_overlay_composition_global_alpha);
 #endif
 
   return s;
diff --git a/tests/examples/playback/playback-test.c b/tests/examples/playback/playback-test.c
index 7b5f9f6739..344a235d10 100644
--- a/tests/examples/playback/playback-test.c
+++ b/tests/examples/playback/playback-test.c
@@ -2561,7 +2561,7 @@ create_ui (PlaybackApp * app)
     gtk_grid_set_row_spacing (GTK_GRID (flagtable), 2);
     gtk_grid_set_row_homogeneous (GTK_GRID (flagtable), FALSE);
     gtk_grid_set_column_spacing (GTK_GRID (flagtable), 2);
-    gtk_grid_set_column_homogeneous (GTK_GRID (flagtable), TRUE);
+    gtk_grid_set_column_homogeneous (GTK_GRID (flagtable), FALSE);
 
     accurate_checkbox = gtk_check_button_new_with_label ("Accurate Playback");
     key_checkbox = gtk_check_button_new_with_label ("Key-unit Playback");
@@ -2621,7 +2621,7 @@ create_ui (PlaybackApp * app)
     gtk_grid_attach (GTK_GRID (flagtable), rate_label, 4, 0, 1, 1);
     gtk_grid_attach (GTK_GRID (flagtable), rate_spinbutton, 4, 1, 1, 1);
 
-    advanced_seek = gtk_frame_new ("Advanced Playback");
+    advanced_seek = gtk_frame_new ("Advanced Seeking");
     advanced_seek_grid = gtk_grid_new ();
     gtk_grid_set_row_spacing (GTK_GRID (advanced_seek_grid), 2);
     gtk_grid_set_row_homogeneous (GTK_GRID (advanced_seek_grid), FALSE);
@@ -2639,7 +2639,7 @@ create_ui (PlaybackApp * app)
     gtk_grid_attach (GTK_GRID (advanced_seek_grid), app->seek_entry, 0, 1, 1,
         1);
 
-    seek_button = gtk_button_new_with_label ("Playback");
+    seek_button = gtk_button_new_with_label ("Seek");
     g_signal_connect (G_OBJECT (seek_button), "clicked",
         G_CALLBACK (advanced_seek_button_cb), app);
     gtk_grid_attach (GTK_GRID (advanced_seek_grid), seek_button, 1, 0, 1, 1);
@@ -2733,7 +2733,7 @@ create_ui (PlaybackApp * app)
     gtk_grid_set_row_spacing (GTK_GRID (grid), 2);
     gtk_grid_set_row_homogeneous (GTK_GRID (grid), FALSE);
     gtk_grid_set_column_spacing (GTK_GRID (grid), 2);
-    gtk_grid_set_column_homogeneous (GTK_GRID (grid), TRUE);
+    gtk_grid_set_column_homogeneous (GTK_GRID (grid), FALSE);
 
     navigation_button = gtk_button_new_with_label ("Menu 1");
     g_signal_connect (G_OBJECT (navigation_button), "clicked",
@@ -2959,7 +2959,7 @@ create_ui (PlaybackApp * app)
     gtk_grid_set_row_spacing (GTK_GRID (boxes), 2);
     gtk_grid_set_row_homogeneous (GTK_GRID (boxes), FALSE);
     gtk_grid_set_column_spacing (GTK_GRID (boxes), 2);
-    gtk_grid_set_column_homogeneous (GTK_GRID (boxes), TRUE);
+    gtk_grid_set_column_homogeneous (GTK_GRID (boxes), FALSE);
 
     app->video_checkbox = gtk_check_button_new_with_label ("Video");
     app->audio_checkbox = gtk_check_button_new_with_label ("Audio");
@@ -2992,9 +2992,9 @@ create_ui (PlaybackApp * app)
     gtk_grid_attach (GTK_GRID (boxes), app->soft_colorbalance_checkbox, 4, 1, 1,
         1);
 
-    gtk_grid_attach (GTK_GRID (boxes), app->mute_checkbox, 7, 0, 2, 1);
-    gtk_grid_attach (GTK_GRID (boxes), volume_label, 6, 1, 1, 1);
-    gtk_grid_attach (GTK_GRID (boxes), app->volume_spinbutton, 7, 1, 1, 1);
+    gtk_grid_attach (GTK_GRID (boxes), app->mute_checkbox, 6, 0, 1, 1);
+    gtk_grid_attach (GTK_GRID (boxes), volume_label, 5, 1, 1, 1);
+    gtk_grid_attach (GTK_GRID (boxes), app->volume_spinbutton, 6, 1, 1, 1);
 
     gtk_toggle_button_set_active (GTK_TOGGLE_BUTTON (app->video_checkbox),
         TRUE);
@@ -3068,7 +3068,7 @@ create_ui (PlaybackApp * app)
     gtk_grid_set_row_spacing (GTK_GRID (boxes3), 2);
     gtk_grid_set_row_homogeneous (GTK_GRID (boxes3), FALSE);
     gtk_grid_set_column_spacing (GTK_GRID (boxes3), 2);
-    gtk_grid_set_column_homogeneous (GTK_GRID (boxes3), TRUE);
+    gtk_grid_set_column_homogeneous (GTK_GRID (boxes3), FALSE);
 
     label = gtk_label_new ("Video sink");
     gtk_grid_attach (GTK_GRID (boxes3), label, 0, 0, 1, 1);