Company History
This timeline shows some of the important events in COE's history, From the founding of the company in 1989 to important project wins and groundbreaking product developments.
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Company
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Complete Opto Electronic incorporated by Mark Marriage, Mark Waddington & 4 others
Date: 01/04/1989
Complete Opto Electronic incorporated by Mark Marriage, Mark Waddington & 4 others
COE was established and incorporated in April 1989 by six founding members. Today, Mark Marriage and Mark Waddington remain as Chief Technology Officer and Chief Engineer respectively, guiding the development of COE as a company and a brand. Yorkshire Enterprise provided additional investment at the date of incorporation.
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IIFSEC 1990, COE's first exhibition
Date: 01/01/1990
IIFSEC 1990, COE's first exhibition
Exhibiting for the first time as a company, IIFSEC, 1990 (UK) was a showcase for some of COE's earliest products, including prototypes of the world's first products to send signal di-directionally over a single wavelength.
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Additional Investment by Yorkshire Enterprise
Date: 01/04/1992
Additional Investment by Yorkshire Enterprise
In light of the success of COE and growth the company experienced, Yorkshire Enterprise invested more heavily in the fledgling company.
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Offices moved to Photon House, Leeds
Date: 01/04/1995
Offices moved to Photon House, Leeds
Two years after planning began, COE's new headquarters was completed, with bespoke manufacturing and corporate facilities.
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Building began on Photon House, Leeds
Date: 01/11/1994
Building began on Photon House, Leeds
As demand grew for COE's expanding product range, the manufacturing requirement of COE's operations increased and custom facilities became required. This led to the decision to build a corproate headquarters at Photon House, Leeds.
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COE chosen to provide CCTV coverage throughout Singapore's Mass Rapid Transport rail infastructure
Date: 01/12/2007
COE chosen to provide CCTV coverage throughout Singapore's Mass Rapid Transport rail infastructure
COE won a contract to provide a hybrid IP digital and analogue video CCTV system for all 51 stations over the North-South and East-West Lines of Singapore’s MRT system.
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COE commisioned to develop IP surveillence system for Port of Singapore Authority
Date: 01/07/2007
COE commisioned to develop IP surveillence system for Port of Singapore Authority
PSA operates the largest container port in the world, handling close to one fifth of the world’s total container transhipment throughput. PSA required a comprehensive CCTV infastructure upgrade, which COE has delivered.
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COE wins codec contract with Transport for London and Completes exclusive trials
Date: 01/10/2007
COE wins codec contract with Transport for London and Completes exclusive trials
COE won a competitive contract to supply codecs to Transport for London (TFL) and has been sole supplier of codecs for extensive trials by TFL staff.
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Delhi Metro Rail corridor project
Date: 01/05/2002
Delhi Metro Rail corridor project
COE has supplied a complex CCTV system for the Metro and Rail corridor based on COE’s high capacity fibre network and integrated switching system. This project included design, manufacture and syuply of transmission and command and control equipment for 10 Metro corridor stations and 8 rail corridor stations within the New Delhi Metro Rail Network.
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Floated as a Public Company
Date: 01/04/2003
Floated as a Public Company
In response ot market conditions and to fund future growth prospects for the company, COE floated on the London stock exchange in 2003.
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IP Group Invested to get major Shareholding
Date: 01/08/2006
IP Group Invested to get major Shareholding
IP Group invested in COE to become the majority shareholder in the publicly traded company.
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JFK Airport Light Rail System project
Date: 01/04/1999
JFK Airport Light Rail System project
The rail network connecting JFK Airport to New York City features COE equipment.
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Kowloon-Canton Railway project in Hong Kong
Date: 01/04/1998
Kowloon-Canton Railway project in Hong Kong
COE strenghtened its Asian market position by underatking a project to supply the Kowloon Canton Railway in Hong Kong with CCTV equipment to ensure comprehensive network coverage for safety and security. This was a very large project at a value of over £3m and including many cameras.
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Manufacturing Operations Outsourced to UK Manufacturer
Date: 01/07/2005
Manufacturing Operations Outsourced to UK Manufacturer
Iin order to focus on product design and innovation and to better cope with increased product demand, COE outsourced its manufacturing operations to a UK supplier. Emphasis in this task was placed on ensuring stringent quality control. For this reason, COE products are still manufactured by select third parties in the UK.
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Offices moved to Concourse House, Leeds
Date: 01/04/1991
Offices moved to Concourse House, Leeds
As a growing company, space restrictions necessitated a move from Sovereign Street, Leeds, to larger offices in Concourse House, Leeds.
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Over 20% Growth P.A in COE's first 5 years
Date: 01/08/1994
Over 20% Growth P.A in COE's first 5 years
During COE's first 5 years in operation, significant growth of over 20% year on year was experienced.
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San Francisco Airport project
Date: 01/04/1997
San Francisco Airport project
COE was commissioned to supply CCTV transmission and management equipment for San Francisco Airport This is one of over 10,000 sites where COE equipment is installed.
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Satish Dhawan Space Centre project
Date: 01/04/2000
Satish Dhawan Space Centre project
India's Space Research Organisation (otherwise known as SHAR) uses COE equipment to ensure smooth opeartion and security is maintained at its site.
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Singapore Office Opens
Date: 01/04/1996
Singapore Office Opens
Due to rising demand in Asia for COE products, in 1996 a field office was opened in Singapore. This office has been hughly successful in the years sinve, and has been at the epicentre of many of COE's largest projects.
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COE selected for London Congestion Charge project
Date: 01/11/2002
COE selected for London Congestion Charge project
The London Congestion Charging project encompassed a large area which falls within the boundaries of the M25 orbital motorway and encompasses the City, West End and areas north and south of the river Thames. The system demanded included toll billing and ticketing to be managed through a comprehensive video network of some 1300 cameras, with clusters of cameras located at each road junction that intersects the ring. This video information was to be analysed for number plate identification and the subsequent ticket checks. COE provided transmission and management equipment for this scheme.
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COE selected for Kuala Lumpur International Airport £600k project
Date: 01/04/1994
COE selected for Kuala Lumpur International Airport £600k project
Along with construction work, big projects also loomed, including a £600k order from Kuala Lumpur International Airport.
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COE wins Major Project with Seoul Metro
Date: 04/08/2009
COE wins Major Project with Seoul Metro
COE won a contract to provide a major upgrade to the surveillance over a network spanning 8000+ cameras across three lines of the Seoul Metropolitan Subway in South Korea.
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Digital Barriers plc completes acquisition of COE
Date: 25/08/2010
Digital Barriers plc completes acquisition of COE
COE Group plc is purchased by Digital Barriers plc COE's CEO Ian Jefferson commented:
"We bring more than 20 years of heritage in video surveillance, helping to secure high-profile sites around the world. I see great potential to embed our expertise and technologies in an organisation that is able to address the most demanding of security requirements. This is an exciting time to be joining Digital Barriers as it seeks to develop its range of world class security and surveillance solutions.
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Series 500 Underwater Remote Operated Vehicle
Date: 01/02/1992
Series 500 Underwater Remote Operated Vehicle
Ulta compact 5 video and 1 data channel over fibre. Designed specifically for use with underwater Remote Operated Vehicles (ROV).
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I-Vue Cameras Launched
Date: 01/04/2009
I-Vue Cameras Launched
COE's first range of cameras offer both IP and analogue connectivity, with on-board encoding and intelligent analysis.
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Series 100, 170 products launched
Date: 02/04/1990
Series 100, 170 products launched
COE Series 100 & 170 modules were compact analogue video over fibre transmission and receiver modules.
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Multichannel S-600, S-800, S-1200 products launched
Date: 01/01/1990
Multichannel S-600, S-800, S-1200 products launched
COEs first modular multichannel fibre tranmission product ranges.
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Series 140 product launched
Date: 01/09/1990
Series 140 product launched
This video and data codec was incredibly successful and has been used extensively by BT for video transmission across their fibre network.
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Telecommand TCU-8 Released
Date: 01/06/1995
Telecommand TCU-8 Released
Telecommand Control Unit 8 was the first Analogue command & control system released by COE.
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E-Class Codec launched (MJPEG)
Date: 01/07/2001
E-Class Codec launched (MJPEG)
The E-Class is Network Rail approved and used extensively in UK level crossings.
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S-Class fibre transmission modules released
Date: 01/01/2000
S-Class fibre transmission modules released
This was the first video surveillance product to send video and data signals bi-directionally over a single fibre and was used extensively by BT for it's RS1000SOA/B fibre tranmission links.
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Series-300 product launched
Date: 22/06/2000
Series-300 product launched
Cost effective Video and Data over a single bi-directional fibre.
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Telecommand II Released
Date: 01/12/2002
Telecommand II Released
Ethernet enabled; IP addressable; remotely configurable and supporting dual processors, dual power
supplies and remote diagnostics; Telecommand II took CCTV controllers to a level of system integrity never before seen in the CCTV security industry.
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Telecommand TCU-16 Released
Date: 01/07/1997
Telecommand TCU-16 Released
Telecommand Control Unit 16 was a major upgrade over TCU-8, integrating new features such as networking and greater expansion possibilities.
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V-Class & C-Class products launched
Date: 07/04/1998
V-Class & C-Class products launched
Multichannel analogue video and data products with digital tuning and diagnostic reporting. Also support for DWDM optics to create high channel count drop and insert systems. Used on major project including London Congestion Charging and Delhi Metro Rail Corridor.
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X-Class G1 Codec launched (H.261)
Date: 01/01/2001
X-Class G1 Codec launched (H.261)
X-Class G1 was COE's first IP codec and one of the first to be produced in the world.
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X-Class G2 Codec Launched (MPEG4)
Date: 01/07/2001
X-Class G2 Codec Launched (MPEG4)
This was one of the first MPEG-4 codecs in the world.
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X-Net H-Card H.264 Codec released
Date: 01/11/2007
X-Net H-Card H.264 Codec released
Remaining at the forefront of video transmission technology, COE was one of the first companies in the industry to release a codec including H.264 compression algorithms.
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Network Rail UK approval for real-time product servicing safety-critical level-crossing applications
Date: 09/07/2003
Network Rail UK approval for real-time product servicing safety-critical level-crossing applications
COE has been granted UK rail safety approval certification for its E-class real-time video codec for use on high voltage electrified railway lines across the national UK railway system. The approval, gained after extensive trials in partnership with Network Rail engineers, covers the use of the product on level crossings and other high risk areas which demand the highest levels of safety and reliability.
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X-Net Range extended to include Ethernet services over fibre
Date: 01/09/2008
X-Net Range extended to include Ethernet services over fibre
X-Net OPT-ETH and OPT-LAN products represent a big step in the convergence of ethernet and optical fibre. They open up the potential of ethernet based services to be transmitted long distances over fibre.
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X-Net G3 MPEG4/MJPEG codec released
Date: 01/10/2005
X-Net G3 MPEG4/MJPEG codec released
COE's X-Net G3 Codec is a huge step forward in video transmission equipment. Integrating innovative features such as IP web based diagnostics, hot-swappable SFP lasers and support for 10bit digtal uncompressed video, CWDM and IP codecs within the same range.
The design goal behind the X-Net G3 codec has been to provide as much flexibility as possible. X-Net G3 codec is built on the same technology as the award winning X-Class codec which was widely considered to be the best quality MPEG4 codec in the industry. It is backwards compatible with the X-Class codec and is also integrated into numerous third party Graphical User Interfaces.
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Series-4 product range released
Date: 01/01/2002
Series-4 product range released
COE moves from analogue to 10bit digital fibre tranmission. The core technology later formed the basis for the X-Net digital system.
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X-Net Nano ultra-compact fibre module released
Date: 01/03/2007
X-Net Nano ultra-compact fibre module released
This ultra small fibre optic transmission product is used in hundreds of sites worldwide to transmit video over optical fibre efficiently and without loss to quality.
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X-Net Video Management System (VMS) launched
Date: 01/09/2007
X-Net Video Management System (VMS) launched
X-Net VMS is a advanced control room video management and recording system for use with enterprise video networks including thousands of cameras.
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X-Net Range released
Date: 01/05/2005
X-Net Range released
COE's X-Net Range is a huge step forward in video tranmission equipment. Integrating innovative features such as IP web based diagnostics,hot-swappable SFP lasers and support for 10bit digtal uncompressed video, CWDM and IP codecs within the same range.
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X-Net Video Intelligence technology integrated into COE codecs
Date: 01/10/2006
X-Net Video Intelligence technology integrated into COE codecs
X-Net VI has a standards-based distributed image processing architecture. X-Net VI's revolutionary approach combines an analysis engine resident in the codec with scalable back end analysis systems located in the IP network.
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I-Command Lite Released!
Date: 21/10/2009
I-Command Lite Released!
COE releases I-Command Lite video management system, a 1-16 camera management system for small IP networks.
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I-Command SmartDetect Released
Date: 20/05/2010
I-Command SmartDetect Released
COE releases I-Command SmartDetect, a highly scalable intelligent video analytics package aimed at professional video surveillance users.
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X-Stream IP Encoder Range Released
Date: 03/03/2010
X-Stream IP Encoder Range Released
COE launched a major new product range, X-Stream IP video encoders (also referred to as 'video servers'). The range of H.264 IP encoders and decoders utilise H.264 Main Profile encoding, delivering superior video quality and latency to competitor products.