Audio and Video Signal Processing

• US 20110106539A1
• Filed: 04/20/2010
• Published: 05/05/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 05/08/1995
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Digimarc Corporation
• Original Assignee: Digimarc Corporation
• Inventors: Rhoads, Geoffrey B.
• Granted Patent: US 8,068,679 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 704/270
• 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: G06Q 30/0283 Price estimation or determination
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 1/005 Robust watermarking, e.g. average attack or collusion attack resistant
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 1/0064 Geometric transfor invariant watermarking, e.g. affine transform invariant
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2201/0052 Embedding of the watermark in the frequency domain
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2201/0065 Extraction of an embedded watermark; Reliable detection
• 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 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 20/00086 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 2020/10537 : Audio or video recording
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/665 : using psychoacoustic properties of the ear, e.g. masking effect
• CPC Class Codes: H04K 1/02 : by adding a second signal to make the desired signal unintelligible
• 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 1/32154 : Transform domain methods H04N1/32309 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/3216 : using Fourier transforms
• 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 2005/91307 : by adding a copy protection signal to the video signal
• 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 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 5/913 : for scrambling ; for copy protection
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8205 : involving the multiplexing of an additional signal and the colour video signal

Abstract

The present disclosure related generally to audio and video signal processing. Various arrangements are disclosed. One method recites: (a) obtaining data representing audible portions of audio or representing picture portions of video; (b) using a programmed electronic processor, determining identifying information from the obtained data by computing a frequency transform to produce frequency transform data, and processing the frequency transform data to derive a pattern, and using the pattern as the identifying information for the audio or video; and (c) using the identifying data to facilitate purchase or license of the audio or video. Other arrangements are disclosed as well.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

(a) obtaining data representing audible portions of audio or representing picture portions of video;

(b) using a programmed electronic processor, determining identifying information from the obtained data by computing a frequency transform to produce frequency transform data, and processing the frequency transform data to derive a pattern, and using the pattern as the identifying information for the audio or video; and

(c) using the identifying data to facilitate purchase or license of the audio or video.

2. The method of claim 1, in which the processing comprises determining a location of a feature in the frequency transform data.

3. The method of claim 1 in which the processing comprises applying a thresholding to magnitude values in the frequency transform data.

4. The method of claim 1 in which the using the pattern as the identifying information identifying comprises derives an index from the pattern.

5. The method of claim 1 in which said pattern is steganographically decoded from the frequency transform data.

6. A computer readable medium comprising non-transitory instructions stored thereon to cause an electronic processor to perform the method of claim 1.

7. A computer readable medium comprising non-transitory instructions stored thereon to cause an electronic processor to perform the method of claim 3.

8. A computer readable medium comprising non-transitory instructions stored thereon to cause an electronic processor to perform the method of claim 4.

9. An electronic apparatus programmed to perform the method of claim 1.

10. An electronic apparatus programmed to perform the method of claim 3.

11. An electronic apparatus programmed to perform the method of claim 4.

12. An apparatus comprising:

electronic memory for storing data representing audible portions of audio or representing picture portions of video;

an electronic processor programmed for;

determining identifying information from stored data representing audible portions of audio or representing picture portions of video by computing a frequency transform of the stored data to produce frequency transform data, and processing the frequency transform data to derive a pattern, and using the pattern as the identifying information for the audio or video; and

using the identifying data to facilitate purchase or license of the audio or video.

13. The apparatus of claim 12 in which the processing comprises determining a location of a feature in the frequency transform data.

14. The apparatus of claim 12 in which the processing comprises applying a thresholding to magnitude values in the frequency transform data.

15. The apparatus of claim 12 in which the using the pattern as the identifying information identifying comprises derives an index from the pattern.

16. The apparatus of claim 12 in which said pattern is steganographically decoded from the frequency transform data.

17. A method comprising:

obtaining an audio or video data feed, the data feed representing audible portions of an audio signal or picture portions of a video signal;

using a programmed electronic processor, analyzing the data feed to determine potential pattern matches with previously determined patterns;

upon determining a potential pattern match, and using a programmed electronic processor, performing a more refined analysis relative to said act of analyzing to determining identifying information; and

using the identifying information to facilitate purchase or license of the audio or video.

18. The method of claim 17 in which said act of analyzing the data feed comprises randomly analyzing portions of the data feed.

19. The method of claim 17 in which the data feed comprises public and private codes hidden therein, and said act of analyzing the data feed comprises decoding the hidden public and private codes.

20. The method of claim 17 in which said act of performing a more refined analysis comprises steganographically decoding a signature from the data feed.

21. A computer readable medium comprising non-transitory instructions stored thereon to cause an electronic processor to perform the method of claim 17.

22. An electronic apparatus programmed to perform the method of claim 17.