Steganographic Encoding and Detecting for Video Signals

• US 20080131084A1
• Filed: 10/26/2007
• Published: 06/05/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 11/18/1993
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Digimarc Corporation
• Original Assignee: Digimarc Corporation
• Inventors: Rhoads, Geoffrey B.
• Granted Patent: US 8,391,541 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 386/96
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 12/1408 by using cryptography for digital transmission H04L9/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/1235 with control of digital rights management [DRM]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/341 Active cards, i.e. cards including their own processing means, e.g. including an IC or chip
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/40145 Biometric identity checks
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 1/005 Robust watermarking, e.g. average attack or collusion attack resistant
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 1/0057 Compression invariant watermarking
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2201/0052 Embedding of the watermark in the frequency domain
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/253 visually
• CPC Class Codes: G07D 7/0032 using holograms
• CPC Class Codes: G07D 7/004 using digital security elements, e.g. information coded on a magnetic thread or strip
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/16 for devices exhibiting advertisements, announcements, pictures or the like
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/26 for printing, stamping, franking, typing or teleprinting apparatus ticket printing or the like apparatus G07F17/42
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/08 by coded identity card or credit card or other personal identification means without personal verification means G07F7/02
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/086 by passive credit-cards adapted therefor, e.g. constructive particularities to avoid counterfeiting, e.g. by inclusion of a physical or chemical security-layer for security documents G07D7/00; for the reading of record-carriers in general G06K7/00; for the design of coded credit-cards G06K19/10
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/1008 Active credit-cards provided with means to personalise their use, e.g. with PIN-introduction/comparison system
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/1016 Devices or methods for securing the PIN and other transaction-data, e.g. by encryption arrangements for secret communication, see H04L9/00
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/12 Card verification
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 19/018 Audio watermarking, i.e. embedding inaudible data in the audio signal
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/00007 Time or data compression or expansion audio compression based on psychoacoustics G10L19/00; data processing for reproducing audio data at different playback speeds G10L21/04; video compression H04N19/00; data compression per se H03M7/30
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/00086 Circuits for prevention of unauthorised reproduction or copying, e.g. piracy indicating unauthorised use of record carriers in general G11B23/28; scrambling for television signal recording H04N5/913; network architectures or network protocols for network security H04L63/00; cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for secret or secure communication H04L9/00
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/00094 : involving measures which result in a restriction to authorised record carriers
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/00115 : wherein the record carrier stores a unique medium identifier
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/00166 : involving measures which result in a restriction to authorised contents recorded on or reproduced from a record carrier, e.g. music or software
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/00181 : using a content identifier, e.g. an international standard recording code [ISRC] or a digital object identifier [DOI]
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/0021 : involving encryption or decryption of contents recorded on or reproduced from a record carrier
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/00884 : involving a watermark, i.e. a barely perceptible transformation of the original data which can nevertheless be recognised by an algorithm
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/00891 : embedded in audio data
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/10037 : A/D conversion, D/A conversion, sampling, slicing and digital quantisation or adjusting parameters thereof
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/10527 : Audio or video recording; Data buffering arrangements G11B20/12 - G11B20/18 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2020/00014 : the compressed signal being an audio signal
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2020/10546 : specifically adapted for audio data
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2020/10555 : wherein the frequency, the amplitude, or other characteristics of the audio signal is taken into account
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/665 : using psychoacoustic properties of the ear, e.g. masking effect
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00005 : relating to image data
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00037 : Detecting, i.e. determining the occurrence of a predetermined state H04N1/00031 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00079 : remotely
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32144 : embedded in the image data, i.e. enclosed or integrated in the image, e.g. watermark, super-imposed logo or stamp
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32149 : Methods relating to embedding, encoding, decoding, detection or retrieval operations
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32203 : Spatial or amplitude domain methods H04N1/32309 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32208 : involving changing the magnitude of selected pixels, e.g. overlay of information or super-imposition H04N1/32219, H04N1/32224 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32251 : in multilevel data, e.g. greyscale or continuous tone data
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32288 : Multiple embedding, e.g. cocktail embedding, or redundant embedding, e.g. repeating the additional information at a plurality of locations in the image
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2005/91321 : the copy protection signal being a copy protection control signal, e.g. a record inhibit signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2005/91335 : the copy protection signal being a watermark
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2005/91342 : the copy protection signal being an authentication signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2005/9135 : by superimposing the spectrally spread copy protection signal onto the video signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3205 : of identification information, e.g. name or ID code H04N2201/3209 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3207 : of an address
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3226 : of identification information or the like, e.g. ID code, index, title, part of an image, reduced-size image
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3233 : of authentication information, e.g. digital signature, watermark
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/327 : which are undetectable to the naked eye, e.g. embedded codes
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3271 : Printing or stamping
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/328 : Processing of the additional information
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/89 : using holographic recording H04N5/91 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/90 : on discs or drums
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/913 : for scrambling ; for copy protection
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8042 : involving data reduction
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8047 : using transform coding
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8205 : involving the multiplexing of an additional signal and the colour video signal
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 283/901 : Concealed data

Abstract

Aspects of the invention relate generally to steganography, data hiding and/or digital watermarking for video and other media signals. One claim recites a method including: obtaining a media signal comprising a message steganographically embedded therein; obtaining information obtained from the media signal; adjusting a message detection process with reference to the information; and detecting the message from the media signal according to the adjusted message detection process. Of course, other combinations are provided as well.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

obtaining a plural-bit identifier;

obtaining a signal representing video data;

cyclically applying the plural-bit identifier to the signal representing video data at the time of or as part of distribution of the video data, the plural-bit identifier being steganographically applied to the signal representing video data;

wherein said act of applying utilizes one or more pre-computed carrier signals.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein a separate, pre-computed carrier signal is utilized for each bit of the plural-bit identifier when applying the plural-bit identifier to the signal representing video data.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein at least two consecutive pre-computed carrier signals are varied with respect to one another.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising controlling selection of the one or more pre-computed carrier signals with reference to one or more bits of the plural-bit identifier.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the one or more pre-computed carrier signals are stored in a memory associated with a processor executing said method.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the one or more pre-computed carrier signals comprise pseudo-random noise signals.

7. An apparatus comprising electronic circuitry to execute the method of claim 1.

14. An apparatus comprising electronic circuitry to execute the method of claim 7.

8. A method comprising:

obtaining video;

processing data representing at least some portions of the video to hide a plural-bit payload therein, the plural-bit payload comprising at least a first portion and a second portion, the first portion representing public information, and the second portion representing private information.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein the private information is uniquely associated with a user.

10. The method of claim 8 wherein the public information identifies the video.

11. The method of claim 8 wherein the second portion is appended to the first portion at or during distribution of the video.

12. The method of claim 8 wherein the first portion and the second portion can be separately obtained from the video.

13. The method of claim 8 wherein the first portion and the second portion are hidden in data representing the video at separate times.

15. A method comprising:

determining features associated with video content;

using the features or information derived from the features to adjust a watermark component;

steganographically embedding the adjusted watermark component in the video content.

16. The method of claim 15 wherein the features or information derived from the features are associated with frames of the video content.

17. The method of claim 16 wherein the features or information are associated with one or more video frame numbers.

18. The method of claim 15 wherein the features or information derived from the features seed a pseudo-random generator to provide the watermark component.

19. The method of claim 15 further comprising modulating the adjusted watermark component with one or more message bits prior to steganographically embedding the adjusted watermark signal in the video content.

20. The method of claim 15 wherein the watermark component comprises a carrier signal.

21. An apparatus comprising electronic circuitry to execute the method of claim 15.

22. A method comprising:

determining features associated with video content;

dynamically adjusting a watermark component based on at least the features; and

steganographically embedding the adjusted watermark component in the video content.

23. A method comprising:

obtaining a media signal comprising a message steganographically embedded therein;

obtaining information from the media signal;

adjusting a message detection process with reference to the information;

detecting the message from the media signal according to the adjusted message detection process.

24. The method of claim 23 wherein information comprises statistical information obtained from the media signal.

25. The method of claim 24 wherein the message detection process includes a matched filter, and said act of adjusting adjusts the matched filter.

26. The method of claim 25 wherein the matched filter comprises a dot product function.

27. The method of claim 23 wherein the media signal comprises video.

28. A method of hiding a plural-bit message in a video signal comprising:

obtaining data representing elements of a video signal;

altering a first set of the elements in accordance with a first bit of the message;

altering a second set of the elements in accordance with a second bit of the message.

29. The method of claim 28 wherein individual bits of the message do not correspond to individual elements of the video signal, but rather, individual bits correspond to two or more elements of the video signal.

30. The method of claim 28 wherein at least some individual elements within the first set of elements comprise different amounts of altering relative to one another.

31. An apparatus comprising electronic circuitry to execute the method of claim 28.

32. A method of hiding at least a watermark element in a video signal comprising:

obtaining data representing elements of a video signal;

altering a first set of the elements in accordance with the watermark element,

wherein at least some of the first set of elements receive different amounts of altering relative to one another to hide the watermark element in the video signal.

33. A method comprising:

obtaining a media signal;

steganographically hiding information in data representing the media signal, wherein the information comprises at least device independent instructions;

providing the media signal with the information steganographically hidden therein.

34. A method comprising:

obtaining first data representing an electronic or physical object;

transmitting at least a portion of the first data to a remote server;

receiving, from the server, data indicating which information from the electronic or physical object should be evaluated;

evaluating indicated information;

transmitting a result of said act of evaluating to the server;

receiving, from the server, an indication concerning the result.

35. The method of claim 34 wherein the first data comprises data obtained from steganographic encoding carried by the electronic or physical object.

36. The method of claim 35 wherein the indicated information comprises different steganographic encoding.

37. The method of claim 34 wherein the electronic or physical object comprises at least one of video or document.

38. The method of claim 34 wherein the said act of transmitting also transmits user supplied data to the server.