Video Fingerprinting Using Watermarks

• US 20100202652A1
• Filed: 03/05/2010
• Published: 08/12/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 10/21/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Mihcak, Mehmet Kivanc, Harmanci, Oztan
• Granted Patent: US 7,912,244 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 382/100
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 1/0028 Adaptive watermarking, e.g. Human Visual System [HVS]-based watermarking
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2201/0202 whereby the quality of watermarked images is measured; Measuring quality or performance of watermarking methods; Balancing between quality and robustness
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/467 characterised by the embedded information being invisible, e.g. watermarking
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8358 involving watermark protecting executable software by watermarking G06F21/16; image watermarking in general G06T1/0021; watermarks inserted in still images for transmission purposes H04N1/32144; inserting watermarks during video coding H04N19/467

Abstract

Video fingerprinting using watermarks is described herein. A watermark encoder embeds a watermark into an input video to produce a watermarked video. The watermark encoder can choose particular regions of the video that are sufficiently complex for watermarking. Spatial and temporal complexity analyses can be performed on a per-pixel basis to locate suitable regions of the video. The watermarks can be embedded using a unique codeword associated with a given user. A watermark decoder can receive the watermarked video. In some instances, the watermarked video may have been attacked in some way after being output by the watermark encoder. In these instances, the watermark decoder can extract the watermark from the watermarked video. In turn, the watermark decoder can extract the codeword from the watermark, and compare the extracted codeword to a plurality of known codewords associated with respective users.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving an input video and an input watermark;

performing a complexity analysis on at least one region of the input video; and

embedding the input watermark into the input video.

2. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein performing the complexity analysis includes comparing a complexity of the region to at least one complexity threshold.

3. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein embedding the input watermark includes embedding the input watermark into at least one region of the input video based upon the complexity analysis.

4. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein performing a complexity analysis includes performing at least one of a spatial complexity analysis and a temporal complexity analysis on the at least one region of the input video.

5. A method as recited in claim 4, wherein performing a spatial complexity analysis includes defining a spatial neighborhood of at least one pixel in the at least one region of the input video.

6. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the complexity analysis is based at least on a statistical video model that provides entropy rates for a sub-band portion of the input video;

and

further comprising populating side information comprising a two-dimensional hash of a randomly selected frame within the input video and data representing a motion field of a pixel in the input video.

7. A method as recited in claim 1, the method further comprising populating side information comprising distinction criterion.

8. A method as recited in claim 1, the method further comprising regulating a power of the input watermark to control an amount of distortion introduced to the input video when the input watermark is embedded.

9. A method as recited in claim 1, the method further comprising:

assigning a key to a user; and

embedding the watermark based at least on the key.

10. A video watermarked using the method of claim 1.

11. One or more computer readable media having computer executable instructions encoded thereon, the computer executable instructions coded to program a computer to perform the method of claim 1.

12. A computerized encoding method comprising:

receiving a video for watermarking;

performing a complexity analysis on at least one region of the video, the complexity analysis being based at least on a statistical video model that provides entropy rates for a sub-band portion of the video; and

embedding a watermark into the video based at least on the complexity analysis.

13. A method as recited in claim 12, wherein a region comprises a scene of the video.

14. A method as recited in claim 12, the method further comprising receiving a complexity threshold for embedding the watermark in the video.

15. A method as recited in claim 12, the method further comprising:

assigning a key to one or more of a plurality of users; and

embedding the watermark based at least on the key.

16. A method as recited in claim 12, the method further comprising regulating a power of the watermark.

17. One or more computer readable media having computer executable instructions encoded thereon, the computer executable instructions coded to program a computer to perform the method of claim 12.

18. An encoding system comprising:

one or more processors;

memory having instructions executable by the one or more processors, the instructions including;

a watermark encoder that, when executed by the one or more processors, performs operations comprising;

performing a complexity analysis on at least one region of a video based at least on a statistical video model that provides entropy rates for a sub-band portion of the video;

populating side information related to a selected region of the video, wherein the side information comprises a two-dimensional hash of a randomly selected frame within the video and data representing a motion field of a pixel in the video; and

embedding a watermark into the video.

19. An encoding system as recited in claim 18, the operations performed by the watermark encoder further comprising identifying a key assigned to a user, the embedding comprising embedding the watermark into the video based at least on the key.

20. An encoding system as recited in claim 18, wherein the embedding the watermark is based on at least one of:

the complexity analysis of the at least one region, or

the side information.