Koichi Tanimoto

PC-based real-time watermark embedding system with standard video interface

An improved system is described for embedding watermarks into video frames in real time using software on an ordinary personal computer. It uses standard video I/O and is separate from the encoding process, so it can be incorporated into various encoding and distributing systems, which makes it well suited for distributing live content. Real-time processing is achieved by making a watermark-pattern generation process common to every frame a pre-process and shortening the watermark embedding time by reusing the watermark pattern output from this pre-process. It is also achieved by storing the watermarked video frames into the video memory on the video I/O board, thereby eliminating the need for storing them in buffers on hard disk. Testing of a prototype system demonstrated the validity of this approach.

Integrity Verification System For Video Content By Using Digital Watermarking

An improved system is described for verifying video content integrity using digital watermarking. Current verification systems using the digital signature are unable to distinguish between attacks and regular modifications such as resizing and MPEG encoding and are thus unsuitable countermeasures against actual threats to content kept in storage services. The proposed verification system distinguishes attacks against video content from regular modifications by extracting timecodes and header hash values embedded in the content itself and comparing them with the actual ones, making it well suited for content storage services. Evaluation showed that the system is more effective than a current one using the digital signature scheme and that it can be used by a variety of applications using stored video content

Network Broadcasting System Using Viewer Information

With the rapid spread of broadband internet networks, broadcasting services on television using IP networks will soon become a reality. The broadcasting services on television using IP networks will be available, providing variable services in response to individual demands using personal data. We carried out a questionnaire survey, and compiled technological requirements for implementing such services. One of the requirements is that the viewers personal data should be kept secure, and another is that viewers should be able to set their own disclosure rules. We created an experimental broadcasting system that satisfies these requirements and evaluated the transaction speed of the system.

Identified-Service Support System and Its Application to Network Broadcasting Services

Individualization of network services will be a key factor attracting users because customer satisfaction with identified services such as location-specific and time-specific news could increased by collecting and analyzing user information. Balancing the trade-off between privacy and individualization, however, will require the use of technical mechanisms we call identified-service support systems (ISSS). Here we describe the basic concept of an ISSS and describe its technical requirements. We propose an ISSS architecture combining user-information analysis for individualization, access control for privacy protection, shuffling data management for preventing the leakage of personal information, and digital signatures for authenticating the integrity of partially disclosed documents. We also describe the protocols, GUIs, and data management implementations of a prototype ISSS developed for personalized broadcasting services. An ISSS could protect user privacy against inside attacks as well as third-party attacks and could support various kinds of identified services.