The two major ways of forensic watermarking are known as one-step watermarking and two-step watermarking. The selection between one-step and two-step watermarking technologies may vary from one deployment to the other and is dictated by preferences regarding performance optimization, implementation efforts, and control over device base.
One-step watermarking is used to mark decompressed baseband video content in a single step either during the encoding process on the server or during playback in the secure video pipeline. On the distribution side, one-step watermarking requires the customised watermarked content to be supplied to each device requesting it. As a result, due to limitations in encoding scalability, it may not be appropriate for large receivers or consumers. One-step watermarking is, thus, commonly implemented on the client side where it requires communication between the conditional access (CA) and the watermarking modules (WM) (WM).
One-step watermarking normally requires access to the uncompressed video where the areas that allow for robust and imperceptible alterations can be detected by the embedding algorithm.
Decoding in a client device may allow access to baseband or YUV format video in client side integration. In such instances, the access should be regulated and secured. By integrating the watermark embedding technique directly into the video hardware, this can be accomplished. An ON/OFF switch or an embedded payload can be used to regulate the watermark’s operation. Other settings include the watermark embedding strength. Using a trusted execution environment, it is possible to communicate and handle these parameters securely on only client devices (TEE).
Because the delivery content is the same for broadcast and live DRM protected content and there is no delay or preparation necessary for watermark insertion, a client side integration is advantageous. The codec and container are also independent in this scenario as embedding occurs after decoding. The head end or the client device can give the video watermarking information to be incorporated.
One-step watermarking can also be included within a video encoder, however this is not generally used. This requires a new encode for each individual file requested by the end user. Hence, it is most ideal for application in smaller quantities, such as screeners or post-production.
The scene is represented just by its 2D projection, which are photos acquired by cameras. It is possible to watermark image sequences that record a 3D scene and extract the watermark from any rendered image generated for any arbitrary view angle, as opposed to the first two methods, which only protect the watermark information for the two key components of 3D scene representation (geometry and texture). If you’re using dynamic watermarking, you may embed information on the video asset while it’s being played back at the user’s end, such as the user’s email, date and time of watching, their IP address, or even their business logo. Because of their dynamic nature, they provide additional protection for confidential content that is not intended to be shared or altered. DAI (dynamic ad insertion) is also activated via dynamic watermarkin in order to optimise addressable ad income.
DRM video protection techniques such as watermarks are not sufficient on their own, but when used in conjunction with other measures, they can help to safeguard the intellectual property of the content owner and aid to trace the source of any alleged infringement. They also serve as a helpful reminder to users about their own and others’ rights to the content they’re using.
Andrew Parker