How Cognacq-Jay Image Achieved 200 ms Latency with Software-Based Encoders

Over 30 years, the company has built a reputation for reliable services that can be trusted to deliver the highest-quality video and audio.

The challenge

CJI moved its monitoring and playout operations to a different location. Meanwhile, the technical infrastructure for its signal processing remained in its data centre environment

This created a challenge. The team woud have to monitor streams produced at one location from a site more than 10 km away. The two sites had only a couple of cables for IP connection, and bridging the distance with traditional contribution infrastructure would mean pulling and managing many fibre SDI cables. This solution was both expensive and messy.

CJI looked for a robust, practical solution for signal contribution and distribution. The solution had to meet two strict requirements:

1. It had to deliver very low latency so operators could start and stop live programmes quickly. If operators identified any issues, they needed to make changes immediately without disrupting the viewing experience.
2. It had to allow a shared transport infrastructure for both monitoring and playout.

Low-Latency Software-Based Encoders

EasyTools offered software-based encoders that promised flexible deployments, scalability, and IP-based contribution and distribution. The encoders would enable a transport infrastructure that could easily be shared among different services. But CJI was skeptical about them meeting its low-latency requirement. It expected that, thanks to their hardware accelerators, hardware-based encoders would perform better. Nevertheless, it tested the EasyTools encoders and was surprised to find that their performance was strong enough for real live monitoring use – so much so that it chose the EasyTools encoders for its live monitoring workflow, buying 20 of them.

From Monitoring to Live Channel Delivery

After deploying the 20 software-based encoders from EasyTools, CJI was able to share its transport infrastructure rather than requiring point-to-point, dedicated contribution wiring for day-to-day operations.

It achieved all this while keeping latency at 200 milliseconds. But even more interesting is what happened next.

In 2025, CJI needed to select encoders to support low-latency contribution of production feeds into the final control room for live management for an important French client. A new requirement emerged. Besides achieving low latency and enabling a shared transport infrastructure, the encoders had to ensure high video quality throughout its operations, 24/7.

Having witnessed the reliability of EasyTools encoders used in its live monitoring operations, CJI chose the same encoders for its contribution of production feeds into the final control room for live management.

Sébastien Faure, Chief Platform Officer of Cognacq-Jay Image, summed up the results:

“We serve tier-one clients who have extremely high standards for Quality of Service. With the EasyTools software-based encoders, we were able to meet these standards for live with stable, reliable and robust quality – while keeping latency down at only 200 milliseconds.”

Learn more about the EasyTools encoders and transcoders for low-latency video contribution and video distribution.