Video steganography

• US 6,987,862 B2
• Filed: 07/11/2003
• Issued: 01/17/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 11/18/1993
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Digimarc Corporation
• Original Assignee: Digimarc Corporation
• Inventors: Rhoads, Geoffrey B.
• Primary Examiner(s): Johns, Andrew W.
• Application Number:
  US10/617,571
• Publication Number:
  US 20050031156A1
• Time in Patent Office: 921 Days
• Field of Search: 382/100, 382/232, 380/201, 380/203, 380/210, 380/287, 348/460, 348/461, 348/463, 348/473
• US Class Current: 382/100
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/1235 with control of digital rights management [DRM]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/306 using TV related infrastructures external card used for payment with client device H04N21/4185
• 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 1/0028 Adaptive watermarking, e.g. Human Visual System [HVS]-based watermarking
• 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 17/26 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: G10L 19/022 Blocking, i.e. grouping of samples in time; Choice of analysis windows; Overlap factoring
• 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 20/00231 : wherein the key is obtained from a local external medium, e.g. a card
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/00492 : wherein content or user data is encrypted
• 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: 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 1/32128 : attached to the image data, e.g. file header, transmitted message header, information on the same page or in the same computer file as the image for information embedded in the image H04N1/32144
• 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 1/32203 : 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 1/32229 : with selective or adaptive application of the additional information, e.g. in selected regions of the image H04N1/32213 takes 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 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 2201/3225 : of data relating to an image, a page or a document
• 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 2201/3246 : of data relating to permitted access or usage, e.g. level of access or usage parameters for digital rights management [DRM] related to still images
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3249 : data relating to a linked page or object, e.g. hyperlink
• 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 2201/3278 : Transmission
• 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 7/08 : Systems for the simultaneous or sequential transmission of more than one television signal, e.g. additional information signals, the signals occupying wholly or partially the same frequency band , e.g. by time division H04N7/007 takes precedence

Abstract

An input content signal, e.g., representing video, is encoded to hide plural-bit auxiliary data therein. The process generates an intermediate signal that is a function of (a) the plural-bit auxiliary data, and (b) data related to human perception attributes of the content signal. This intermediate signal is then summed with the content signal to effect encoding. The plural-bit auxiliary data can include copy control data, i.e., data that can be sensed by a consumer electronic device and used to disable a copying operation. The intermediate signal may include a pseudo-random key signal so as to obscure the encoding and require knowledge of a corresponding key at the decoder to extract the auxiliary data from the encoded content. In some embodiments, calibration data is encoded in the content signal with the auxiliary data. This calibration data desirably has known properties (e.g., spectral attributes, data content, etc.) facilitating its identification in the encoded content signal. The encoding is desirably robust against various forms of content degradation, e.g., lossy compression/decompression, scaling, resampling, conversion from digital to analog and back again, etc., so that the auxiliary data can be detected from the content notwithstanding such corruption.

Claims

1. A video processing method comprising:

(a) receiving video content, said content comprising first and associated second data, said first data representing video picture elements to be rendered for display to a consumer, the second data not representing video picture elements to be rendered for display to the consumer;

(b) decoding information steganographically encoded in the first data; and

(c) making a determination concerning said video by reference to said decoded information and said second data.

2. The method of claim 1 in which said determination relates to whether a recording capability should be enabled or disabled.

3. The method of claim 1 in which (c) includes checking reliability of said second data by reference to said decoded information.

4. The method of claim 1 in which the received first data is steganographically encoded by a method that adapts encoding of the information to features of the video, to reduce visible distortion of the video.

5. The method of claim 1 in which the received first data is steganographically encoded by a method that manifests said encoding of the information as an increase in luminance of certain video picture elements, and as a decrease in luminance of certain other video picture elements.

6. The method of claim 1 in which the second data comprises video management information.

7. The method of claim 1 in which the second data comprises metadata related to said visual information.

8. The method of claim 1 in which said first and second data are received in a data structure comprising header data and compressed video information.

9. The method of claim 8 in which said data structure comprises a file.

10. In a data structure stored in a machine-readable medium, the data structure including first and second data, the first data representing video to be rendered for display to a consumer, the second data comprising associated information that does not represent video to be rendered for display, an improvement wherein the first data conveys a steganographically encoded signal useful in assuring reliability of said second data.

11. The data structure of claim 10 in which the first data represents video in compressed form.

12. The data structure of claim 10 in which the first data represents video in MPEG compressed from.

13. The data structure of claim 10 in which the first data comprises a stream of video.

14. The data structure of claim 10 in which the second data comprises administrative information concerning said video.

15. The data structure of claim 10 in which said steganographic encoding comprises subtle changes to die luminance of the video.

16. The data structure of claim 15 in which said subtle changes in luminance are not all uniform, but rather are adapted to the video so as to reduce visibility of said the encoded signal.

17. A video processing method comprising:

obtaining video content, said video content comprising first data and associated second data, said first data representing video picture elements to be rendered for display to a consumer, the second data not representing video picture elements to be rendered for display to the consumer; and

steganographically encoding information in the first data.

whereby a determination concerning said video content can be made by reference to either of said encoded information and said second data.

18. The method of claim 17 in which said determination relates to whether a recording capability should be enabled or disabled.

19. The method of claim 17 in which the determination includes checking reliability of the second data by reference to the information.

20. The method of claim 17 in which the first data is steganographically encoded by a method that adapts encoding of the information to features of the video, to reduce visible distortion of the video.

21. The method of claim 17 in which the first data is steganographically encoded by a method that manifests the encoding of tile information as an increase in luminance of certain video picture elements, and as a decrease in luminance of certain other video picture elements.

22. The method of claim 17 in which the second data comprises metadata related to the first data.

23. The method of claim 17 in which the first data and second data are received in a data structure comprising header data and compressed video information.

24. The method of claim 23 in which said data structure comprises a file.

25. A method comprising:

receiving video, wherein authentic video comprises in-band information and associated out-of-band information;

looking for out-of-band information associated with the received video;

looking for in-band information associated with the received video; and

based at least in part on a result of said looking for out-of-band information and said looking for in-band information, reaching a conclusion regarding the received video.

26. The method of claim 25 in which the conclusion relates to whether a recording capability should be enabled or disabled.

27. The method of claim 25 in which the conclusion relates to a reliability of the out-of-band information.

28. The method of claim 25 in which the in-band information is steganographically encoded by a method that adapts encoding of the in-band information to features of the video, to reduce visible distortion of the video.

29. The method of claim 25 wherein the in-band information comprises steganographic encoding.

30. The method of claim 25 in which flu in-band information is steganographically encoded by a method that manifests encoding of the information as an increase in luminance of certain video picture elements, and as a decrease in luminance of certain other video picture elements.

31. The method of claim 25 in which the out-of-band information comprises video management information.

32. The method of claim 25 in which the out-of-band information comprises metadata related to the video.