diff --git a/openbr/openbr_plugin.h b/openbr/openbr_plugin.h
index cd23aba..7c43c39 100644
--- a/openbr/openbr_plugin.h
+++ b/openbr/openbr_plugin.h
@@ -1324,7 +1324,8 @@ public:
     virtual void train(const TemplateList &src) { (void) src; } /*!< \brief Train the distance. */
     virtual void compare(const TemplateList &target, const TemplateList &query, Output *output) const; /*!< \brief Compare two template lists. */
     virtual QList<float> compare(const TemplateList &targets, const Template &query) const; /*!< \brief Compute the normalized distance between a template and a template list. */
-    virtual float compare(const Template &a, const Template &b) const = 0; /*!< \brief Compute the distance between two templates. */
+    virtual float compare(const Template &a, const Template &b) const { return compare(a.m(), b.m()); } /*!< \brief Compute the distance between two templates. */
+    virtual float compare(const cv::Mat &a, const cv::Mat &b) const = 0;
 
 protected:
     inline Distance *make(const QString &description) { return make(description, this); } /*!< \brief Make a subdistance. */
diff --git a/openbr/plugins/distance.cpp b/openbr/plugins/distance.cpp
index ac8c7ee..2fcf1d5 100644
--- a/openbr/plugins/distance.cpp
+++ b/openbr/plugins/distance.cpp
@@ -58,10 +58,10 @@ private:
     BR_PROPERTY(Metric, metric, L2)
     BR_PROPERTY(bool, negLogPlusOne, true)
 
-    float compare(const Template &a, const Template &b) const
+    float compare(const Mat &a, const Mat &b) const
     {
-        if ((a.m().size != b.m().size) ||
-            (a.m().type() != b.m().type()))
+        if ((a.size != b.size) ||
+            (a.type() != b.type()))
                 return -std::numeric_limits<float>::max();
 
 // TODO: this max value is never returned based on the switch / default 
@@ -90,7 +90,7 @@ private:
           case Cosine:
             return cosine(a, b);
           case Dot:
-            return a.m().dot(b);
+            return a.dot(b);
           default:
             qFatal("Invalid metric");
         }
@@ -138,7 +138,7 @@ class DefaultDistance : public Distance
         distance = Distance::make("Dist("+file.suffix()+")");
     }
 
-    float compare(const Template &a, const Template &b) const
+    float compare(const cv::Mat &a, const cv::Mat &b) const
     {
         return distance->compare(a, b);
     }
@@ -169,7 +169,7 @@ class PipeDistance : public Distance
         futures.waitForFinished();
     }
 
-    float compare(const Template &a, const Template &b) const
+    float compare(const Mat &a, const Mat &b) const
     {
         float result = -std::numeric_limits<float>::max();
         foreach (br::Distance *distance, distances) {
@@ -224,6 +224,11 @@ private:
             distances[i]->train(partitionedSrc[i]);
     }
 
+    float compare(const Mat &a, const Mat &b) const
+    {
+        return distances.first()->compare(a, b);
+    }
+
     float compare(const Template &a, const Template &b) const
     {
         if (a.size() != b.size()) qFatal("Comparison size mismatch");
@@ -232,7 +237,7 @@ private:
         for (int i=0; i<distances.size(); i++) {
             float weight;
             weights.isEmpty() ? weight = 1. : weight = weights[i];
-            scores.append(weight*distances[i]->compare(Template(a.file, a[i]),Template(b.file, b[i])));
+            scores.append(weight*distances[i]->compare(a[i], b[i]));
         }
 
         switch (operation) {
@@ -282,9 +287,9 @@ class ByteL1Distance : public Distance
 {
     Q_OBJECT
 
-    float compare(const Template &a, const Template &b) const
+    float compare(const Mat &a, const Mat &b) const
     {
-        return l1(a.m().data, b.m().data, a.m().total());
+        return l1(a.data, b.data, a.total());
     }
 };
 
@@ -299,9 +304,9 @@ class HalfByteL1Distance : public Distance
 {
     Q_OBJECT
 
-    float compare(const Template &a, const Template &b) const
+    float compare(const Mat &a, const Mat &b) const
     {
-        return packed_l1(a.m().data, b.m().data, a.m().total());
+        return packed_l1(a.data, b.data, a.total());
     }
 };
 
@@ -323,6 +328,11 @@ class NegativeLogPlusOneDistance : public Distance
         distance->train(src);
     }
 
+    float compare(const cv::Mat &a, const cv::Mat &b) const
+    {
+        return compare(Template(a), Template(b));
+    }
+
     float compare(const Template &a, const Template &b) const
     {
         return -log(distance->compare(a,b)+1);
@@ -350,21 +360,18 @@ class IdenticalDistance : public Distance
 {
     Q_OBJECT
 
-    float compare(const Template &a, const Template &b) const
+    float compare(const Mat &a, const Mat &b) const
     {
-        const Mat &am = a.m();
-        const Mat &bm = b.m();
-        const size_t size = am.total() * am.elemSize();
-        if (size != bm.total() * bm.elemSize()) return 0;
+        const size_t size = a.total() * a.elemSize();
+        if (size != b.total() * b.elemSize()) return 0;
         for (size_t i=0; i<size; i++)
-            if (am.data[i] != bm.data[i]) return 0;
+            if (a.data[i] != b.data[i]) return 0;
         return 1;
     }
 };        
 
 BR_REGISTER(Distance, IdenticalDistance)
 
-
 /*!
  * \ingroup distances
  * \brief Online distance metric to attenuate match scores across multiple frames
@@ -381,6 +388,11 @@ class OnlineDistance : public Distance
     mutable QHash<QString,float> scoreHash;
     mutable QMutex mutex;
 
+    float compare(const Mat &a, const Mat &b) const
+    {
+        return compare(Template(a), Template(b));
+    }
+
     float compare(const Template &target, const Template &query) const
     {
         float currentScore = distance->compare(target, query);
@@ -403,6 +415,12 @@ class AttributeDistance : public Distance
     Q_PROPERTY(QString attribute READ get_attribute WRITE set_attribute RESET reset_attribute STORED false)
     BR_PROPERTY(QString, attribute, QString())
 
+    float compare(const cv::Mat &, const cv::Mat &) const
+    {
+        qFatal("Logic error.");
+        return 0;
+    }
+
     float compare(const Template &target, const Template &query) const
     {
         float queryValue = query.file.get<float>(attribute);
@@ -437,6 +455,11 @@ class SumDistance : public Distance
         futures.waitForFinished();
     }
 
+    float compare(const Mat &a, const Mat &b) const
+    {
+        return compare(Template(a), Template(b));
+    }
+
     float compare(const Template &target, const Template &query) const
     {
         float result = 0;
diff --git a/openbr/plugins/eigen3.cpp b/openbr/plugins/eigen3.cpp
index 4965d2f..45fd671 100644
--- a/openbr/plugins/eigen3.cpp
+++ b/openbr/plugins/eigen3.cpp
@@ -659,11 +659,11 @@ class L1Distance : public Distance
 {
     Q_OBJECT
 
-    float compare(const Template &a, const Template &b) const
+    float compare(const cv::Mat &a, const cv::Mat &b) const
     {
-        const int size = a.m().rows * a.m().cols;
-        Eigen::Map<Eigen::VectorXf> aMap((float*)a.m().data, size);
-        Eigen::Map<Eigen::VectorXf> bMap((float*)b.m().data, size);
+        const int size = a.rows * a.cols;
+        Eigen::Map<Eigen::VectorXf> aMap((float*)a.data, size);
+        Eigen::Map<Eigen::VectorXf> bMap((float*)b.data, size);
         return (aMap-bMap).cwiseAbs().sum();
     }
 };
@@ -679,11 +679,11 @@ class L2Distance : public Distance
 {
     Q_OBJECT
 
-    float compare(const Template &a, const Template &b) const
+    float compare(const cv::Mat &a, const cv::Mat &b) const
     {
-        const int size = a.m().rows * a.m().cols;
-        Eigen::Map<Eigen::VectorXf> aMap((float*)a.m().data, size);
-        Eigen::Map<Eigen::VectorXf> bMap((float*)b.m().data, size);
+        const int size = a.rows * a.cols;
+        Eigen::Map<Eigen::VectorXf> aMap((float*)a.data, size);
+        Eigen::Map<Eigen::VectorXf> bMap((float*)b.data, size);
         return (aMap-bMap).squaredNorm();
     }
 };
diff --git a/openbr/plugins/keypoint.cpp b/openbr/plugins/keypoint.cpp
index 60d5f29..abf31fa 100644
--- a/openbr/plugins/keypoint.cpp
+++ b/openbr/plugins/keypoint.cpp
@@ -126,13 +126,13 @@ class KeyPointMatcherDistance : public Distance
             qFatal("Failed to create DescriptorMatcher: %s", qPrintable(matcher));
     }
 
-    float compare(const Template &a, const Template &b) const
+    float compare(const Mat &a, const Mat &b) const
     {
-        if ((a.m().rows < 2) || (b.m().rows < 2)) return 0;
+        if ((a.rows < 2) || (b.rows < 2)) return 0;
 
         std::vector< std::vector<DMatch> > matches;
-        if (a.m().rows < b.m().rows) descriptorMatcher->knnMatch(a, b, matches, 2);
-        else                         descriptorMatcher->knnMatch(b, a, matches, 2);
+        if (a.rows < b.rows) descriptorMatcher->knnMatch(a, b, matches, 2);
+        else                 descriptorMatcher->knnMatch(b, a, matches, 2);
 
         QList<float> distances;
         foreach (const std::vector<DMatch> &match, matches) {
diff --git a/openbr/plugins/pp5.cpp b/openbr/plugins/pp5.cpp
index 0948901..900decf 100644
--- a/openbr/plugins/pp5.cpp
+++ b/openbr/plugins/pp5.cpp
@@ -322,7 +322,7 @@ class PP5CompareDistance : public Distance
             ppr_free_gallery(gallery.gallery);
     }
 
-    float compare(const Template &target, const Template &query) const
+    float compare(const cv::Mat &target, const cv::Mat &query) const
     {
         TemplateList targetList;
         targetList.append(target);
diff --git a/openbr/plugins/quality.cpp b/openbr/plugins/quality.cpp
index 0abc8a5..d49b766 100644
--- a/openbr/plugins/quality.cpp
+++ b/openbr/plugins/quality.cpp
@@ -182,7 +182,7 @@ class MatchProbabilityDistance : public Distance
         mp = MP(genuineScores, impostorScores);
     }
 
-    float compare(const Template &target, const Template &query) const
+    float compare(const cv::Mat &target, const cv::Mat &query) const
     {
         const float rawScore = distance->compare(target, query);
         if (rawScore == -std::numeric_limits<float>::max()) return rawScore;
@@ -246,6 +246,11 @@ class ZScoreDistance : public Distance
         if (stddev == 0) qFatal("Stddev is 0.");
     }
 
+    float compare(const cv::Mat &a, const cv::Mat &b) const
+    {
+        return compare(Template(a), Template(b));
+    }
+
     float compare(const Template &target, const Template &query) const
     {
         float score = distance->compare(target,query);
@@ -308,7 +313,7 @@ class HeatMapDistance : public Distance
             distances[i]->train(patches[i]);
     }
 
-    float compare(const Template &target, const Template &query) const
+    float compare(const cv::Mat &target, const cv::Mat &query) const
     {
         (void) target;
         (void) query;
@@ -401,6 +406,11 @@ class UnitDistance : public Distance
         qDebug("a = %f, b = %f", a, b);
     }
 
+    float compare(const cv::Mat &a, const cv::Mat &b) const
+    {
+        return compare(Template(a), Template(b));
+    }
+
     float compare(const Template &target, const Template &query) const
     {
         return a * (distance->compare(target, query) - b);
diff --git a/openbr/plugins/quantize.cpp b/openbr/plugins/quantize.cpp
index e74513f..b541567 100644
--- a/openbr/plugins/quantize.cpp
+++ b/openbr/plugins/quantize.cpp
@@ -163,11 +163,11 @@ class BayesianQuantizationDistance : public Distance
         futures.waitForFinished();
     }
 
-    float compare(const Template &a, const Template &b) const
+    float compare(const cv::Mat &a, const cv::Mat &b) const
     {
-        const uchar *aData = a.m().data;
-        const uchar *bData = b.m().data;
-        const int size = a.m().rows * a.m().cols;
+        const uchar *aData = a.data;
+        const uchar *bData = b.data;
+        const int size = a.rows * a.cols;
         float likelihood = 0;
         for (int i=0; i<size; i++)
             likelihood += loglikelihoods[i*256+abs(aData[i]-bData[i])];
@@ -257,6 +257,12 @@ class ProductQuantizationDistance : public Distance
     Q_PROPERTY(bool bayesian READ get_bayesian WRITE set_bayesian RESET reset_bayesian STORED false)
     BR_PROPERTY(bool, bayesian, false)
 
+    float compare(const cv::Mat &, const cv::Mat &) const
+    {
+        qFatal("Logic error.");
+        return 0;
+    }
+
     float compare(const Template &a, const Template &b) const
     {
         float distance = 0;
@@ -297,6 +303,12 @@ class RecursiveProductQuantizationDistance : public Distance
     Q_PROPERTY(float t READ get_t WRITE set_t RESET reset_t STORED false)
     BR_PROPERTY(float, t, -std::numeric_limits<float>::max())
 
+    float compare(const cv::Mat &, const cv::Mat &) const
+    {
+        qFatal("Logic error.");
+        return 0;
+    }
+
     float compare(const Template &a, const Template &b) const
     {
         return compareRecursive(a, b, 0, a.size(), 0);
diff --git a/openbr/plugins/sentence.cpp b/openbr/plugins/sentence.cpp
index 8f43794..8ecd4ca 100644
--- a/openbr/plugins/sentence.cpp
+++ b/openbr/plugins/sentence.cpp
@@ -43,12 +43,12 @@ class SentenceSimilarityDistance : public Distance
 {
     Q_OBJECT
 
-    float compare(const Template &a, const Template &b) const
+    float compare(const Mat &a, const Mat &b) const
     {
-        uchar *aBuffer = a.m().data;
-        uchar *bBuffer = b.m().data;
-        const uchar *aEnd = aBuffer + a.m().cols;
-        const uchar *bEnd = bBuffer + b.m().cols;
+        uchar *aBuffer = a.data;
+        uchar *bBuffer = b.data;
+        const uchar *aEnd = aBuffer + a.cols;
+        const uchar *bEnd = bBuffer + b.cols;
 
         int32_t aWord, bWord, aRows, bRows, aColumns, bColumns;
         float *aData, *bData;
diff --git a/openbr/plugins/svm.cpp b/openbr/plugins/svm.cpp
index 826541c..27aecea 100644
--- a/openbr/plugins/svm.cpp
+++ b/openbr/plugins/svm.cpp
@@ -260,10 +260,10 @@ private:
         trainSVM(svm, deltaData, deltaLab, kernel, type, -1, -1);
     }
 
-    float compare(const Template &ta, const Template &tb) const
+    float compare(const Mat &a, const Mat &b) const
     {
         Mat delta;
-        absdiff(ta, tb, delta);
+        absdiff(a, b, delta);
         return svm.predict(delta.reshape(1, 1));
     }
 
diff --git a/openbr/plugins/validate.cpp b/openbr/plugins/validate.cpp
index 75bca83..08744ef 100644
--- a/openbr/plugins/validate.cpp
+++ b/openbr/plugins/validate.cpp
@@ -143,6 +143,12 @@ class CrossValidateDistance : public Distance
 {
     Q_OBJECT
 
+    float compare(const cv::Mat &, const cv::Mat &) const
+    {
+        qFatal("Logic error");
+        return 0;
+    }
+
     float compare(const Template &a, const Template &b) const
     {
         static const QString key("Partition"); // More efficient to preallocate this
@@ -163,6 +169,12 @@ class FilterDistance : public Distance
 {
     Q_OBJECT
 
+    float compare(const cv::Mat &, const cv::Mat &) const
+    {
+        qFatal("Logic error.");
+        return 0;
+    }
+
     float compare(const Template &a, const Template &b) const
     {
         (void) b; // Query template isn't checked
@@ -197,6 +209,12 @@ class MetadataDistance : public Distance
     Q_PROPERTY(QStringList filters READ get_filters WRITE set_filters RESET reset_filters STORED false)
     BR_PROPERTY(QStringList, filters, QStringList())
 
+    float compare(const cv::Mat &, const cv::Mat &) const
+    {
+        qFatal("Logic error.");
+        return 0;
+    }
+
     float compare(const Template &a, const Template &b) const
     {
         foreach (const QString &key, filters) {
@@ -250,6 +268,12 @@ class RejectDistance : public Distance
     Q_PROPERTY(bool rejectIfContains READ get_rejectIfContains WRITE set_rejectIfContains RESET reset_rejectIfContains STORED false)
     BR_PROPERTY(bool, rejectIfContains, false)
 
+    float compare(const cv::Mat &, const cv::Mat &) const
+    {
+        qFatal("Logic error.");
+        return 0;
+    }
+
     float compare(const Template &a, const Template &b) const
     {
         // We don't look at the query