Method, device and system for dynamically embedding watermark information into multimedia content
A method and devices for dynamically embedding watermark and/or end-user access information into multimedia content. The method includes providing multimedia content transformed into blocks that each include an array of pixel blocks, and dynamically embedding portions of watermark and/or end-user access information into selected pixel blocks based on the values of the coefficients within the pixel blocks. For multimedia content encoded using discrete cosine transform (DCT) or other block-based encoding, the transform coefficients to include embedded information are chosen based on analysis of the coefficient values, rather than in a fixed or predetermined manner. Also, embedding watermark and/or end-user access information can occur across different pixel blocks within a given image to reduce the number of embedded coefficients per block, within the peripheral pixel blocks within a given image, and/or in different areas across images to reduce the duration of embedded information in any one area.
1. A device for embedding multimedia content with additional information, comprising:
an encoder configured to transform at least a portion of the multimedia content into a plurality of blocks represented by a plurality of coefficients;
a block selector coupled to the encoder and configured to select at least one block of the plurality of blocks to be embedded with additional information;
a coefficient selector coupled to the block selector and configured for selecting at least one coefficient within a selected block to be embedded with additional information; and
an inserter coupled to the coefficient selector and configured to insert additional information into the selected coefficients of the selected blocks of the multimedia content, wherein the additional information includes a first portion of additional information and at least one second portion of additional information, and wherein the inserter inserts the first portion of additional information into at least a portion of a first selected coefficient within a selected block and inserts the at least one second portion of additional information into at least a portion of at least one second coefficient within the selected block; and
wherein at least one of the block selector selects which blocks are to be embedded with additional information based on the values of the plurality of coefficients and the coefficient selector selects which coefficients within a selected block are to be embedded with additional information based on the values of the plurality of coefficients.
2. The device as recited in claim 1 , wherein the plurality of blocks includes a first block that includes a first coefficient and at least one second coefficient and at least one second block that includes at least one third coefficient corresponding to the first coefficient of the first block and at least one fourth coefficient corresponding to the at least one second coefficient of the at least one first block, and wherein the inserter inserts additional information into at least a portion of the at least one first coefficient in the first block and at least a portion of the at least one fourth coefficient in the second block.
3. The device as recited in claim 1 , wherein the additional information is watermark information.
4. The device as recited in claim 1 , wherein the additional information is end-user access information.
5. A device for embedding multimedia content with additional information, comprising:
an encoder configured to transform at least a portion of the multimedia content into a plurality of blocks represented b a plurality of coefficients;
a block selector coupled to the encoder and configured to select at least one block of the plurality of blocks to be embedded with additional information;
a coefficient selector coupled to the block selector and configured for selecting at least one coefficient within a selected block to be embedded with additional information; and
an inserter coupled to the coefficient selector and configured to insert additional information into the selected coefficients of the selected blocks of the multimedia content;
wherein at least one of the block selector selects which blocks are to be embedded with additional information based on the values of the plurality of coefficients and the coefficient selector selects which coefficients within a selected block are to be embedded with additional information based on the values of the plurality of coefficients, and
wherein at least a portion of the multimedia content includes a peripheral portion represented by at least one peripheral block having at least one peripheral coefficient and a non-peripheral portion represented by at least one non-peripheral block having at least one non-peripheral coefficient, and wherein the inserter inserts additional information into at least a portion of the peripheral coefficients selected by the coefficient selector.
6. A device for embedding multimedia content with additional information, comprising:
an encoder configured to transform at least a portion of the multimedia content into a plurality of blocks represented by a plurality of coefficients;
a block selector coupled to the encoder and configured to select at least one block of the plurality of blocks to be embedded with additional information, wherein the block selector embeds at least one form of block identification indicia into the blocks selected by the block selector to be embedded with additional information;
a coefficient selector coupled to the block selector and configured for selecting at least one coefficient within a selected block to be embedded with additional information; and
an inserter coupled to the coefficient selector and configured to insert additional information into the selected coefficients of the selected blocks of the multimedia content; and
wherein at least one of the block selector selects which blocks are to be embedded with additional information based on the values of the plurality of coefficients and the coefficient selector selects which coefficients within a selected block are to be embedded with additional information based on the values of the plurality of coefficients.
7. A device for embedding multimedia content with additional information, comprising:
an encoder configured to transform at least a portion of the multimedia content into a plurality of blocks represented by a plurality of coefficients;
a block selector coupled to the encoder and configured to select at least one block of the plurality of blocks to be embedded with additional information;
a coefficient selector coupled to the block selector and configured for selecting at least one coefficient within a selected block to be embedded with additional information, wherein the coefficient selector embeds at least one form of identification indicia indicating which coefficients are to be embedded with additional information into the blocks selected by the block selector to be embedded with additional information;
an inserter coupled to the coefficient selector and configured to insert additional information into the selected coefficients of the selected blocks of the multimedia content; and
wherein at least one of the block selector selects which blocks are to be embedded with additional information based on the values of the plurality of coefficients and the coefficient selector selects which coefficients within a selected block are to be embedded with additional information based on the values of the plurality of coefficients.
8. A method for embedding additional information into multimedia content, comprising the steps of:
transforming at least a portion of the multimedia content into images each having a plurality of pixel blocks represented by a plurality of coefficients;
reading the values of at least a portion of the plurality of coefficients; and
embedding additional information into at least a portion of at least one of the plurality of coefficients, wherein the coefficients of a pixel block into which additional information is embedded are selected based on the values of the plurality of coefficients; and
wherein the additional information includes a first portion of additional information and at least one second portion of additional information, and wherein the embedding step includes embedding the first portion of the additional information into at least a portion of a first pixel block of at least one image and embedding the second portion of the additional information into at least a portion of at least one second pixel block of the at least one image.
9. The method as recited in claim 8 , wherein the embedding step embeds additional information into at least a portion of a first pixel block within at least one image and additional information into at least a portion of at least one second pixel block within the at least one image.
10. The method as recited in claim 8 , wherein the plurality of images includes a first image including at least one first pixel block and at least one second pixel block and at least one second image including at least one third pixel block corresponding to the first pixel block of the first image and at least one fourth pixel block corresponding to the at least one second pixel block of the at least one first image, and wherein the embedding step includes embedding additional information into at least a portion of the at least one first pixel block in the first image and at least a portion of the at least one fourth pixel block in the second image.
11. The method as recited in claim 8 , wherein the additional information is watermark information.
12. The method as recited in claim 8 , wherein the additional information is end-user access information.
13. A method for embedding additional information into multimedia content, comprising the steps of:
transforming at least a portion of the multimedia content into images each having a plurality of pixel blocks represented by a plurality of coefficients;
reading the values of at least a portion of the plurality of coefficients; and
embedding additional information into at least a portion of at least one of the plurality of coefficients, wherein the coefficients of a pixel block into which additional information is embedded are selected based on the values of the plurality of coefficients; and
wherein the pixel blocks include peripheral pixel blocks and non-peripheral pixel blocks, and wherein the embedding step includes embedding additional information into at least a portion of the peripheral pixel blocks.
14. A method for embedding additional information into multimedia content, comprising the steps of:
transforming at least a portion of the multimedia content into images each having a plurality of pixel blocks represented by a plurality of coefficients;
reading the values of at least a portion of the plurality of coefficients; and
embedding additional information into at least a portion of at least one of the plurality of coefficients, wherein the coefficients of a pixel block into which additional information is embedded are selected based on the values of the plurality of coefficients; and
further comprising the step of embedding at least one form of identification indicia into at least a portion of at least one of the plurality of coefficients to indicate which coefficients are to be embedded with additional information.
15. An end user device for processing multimedia content, comprising:
a controller configured to receive multimedia content, including multimedia content having additional information embedded therein, wherein the received multimedia content includes a plurality of blocks represented by a plurality of coefficients, including coefficients having additional information embedded therein, wherein the coefficients into which additional information is embedded is based on the values of the plurality of coefficients, and wherein the multimedia content includes at least one form of identification indicia that identifies which blocks are represented by coefficients that include additional information embedded therein and which coefficients have additional information embedded therein; and
a decoder coupled to the controller for reading additional information embedded in the multimedia content, wherein the decoder includes
a block selector configured to determine which of the plurality of blocks includes at least one coefficient embedded with additional information, wherein the block selector is configured to determine which of the plurality of blocks includes at least one coefficient embedded with additional information based on whether a block includes identification indicia,
an identifier coupled to the block selector and configured to identify which coefficients within a selected block are embedded with additional information, wherein the identifier is configured to determine which of the coefficients are embedded with additional information based on identification indicia included in the selected block,
an extractor coupled to the identifier and configured to extract additional information from the coefficient identified as having additional information embedded therein, and
a multimedia content decoder coupled to the extractor and configured to transform blocks received thereby into multimedia content,
wherein the controller is configured to receive additional information from the extractor and configured to process at least a portion of the multimedia content received by the end user device based on the additional information received from the extractor.
16. The device as recited in claim 15 , wherein the multimedia content includes control information indicating which blocks of the plurality of blocks include coefficients having additional information embedded therein, and wherein the block selector determines which of the plurality of blocks includes at least one coefficient embedded with additional information based on the control information.
17. The device as recited in claim 15 , wherein the multimedia content includes control information indicating which coefficients within a given block include additional information embedded therein, and wherein the identifier determines which coefficients include additional information embedded therein based on the control information.
18. The device as recited in claim 15 , wherein at least a portion of the selected blocks are marked, and wherein the block selector determines which of the plurality of blocks includes at least one coefficient embedded with additional information based on whether the block is marked.
19. The device as recited in claim 15 , wherein at least a portion of the selected blocks includes identification information identifying which coefficients within the block include additional information embedded therein, and wherein the identifier determines which coefficients within a selected block are embedded with additional information based on the identification information.
20. The device as recited in claim 15 , wherein the controller is configured to concatenate at least a portion of the additional information received from the extractor, and wherein the controller is configured to authenticate at least a portion of the multimedia content received by the end user device based on the concatenated additional information.
21. The device as recited in claim 15 , wherein the extractor is configured to replace a coefficient from which additional information has been extracted with an interpolated coefficient value, wherein the interpolated coefficient value is based on values of coefficients adjacent to the coefficient from which the additional information has been extracted.
22. The device as recited in claim 15 , wherein the additional information is watermark information.
23. The device as recited in claim 15 , wherein the additional information is end-user access information.