Robust Watermarking of H.264/SVC-Encoded Video: Quality and Resolution Scalability

In this paper we investigate robust watermarking integrated with H.264/SVC video coding and address coarse-grain quality and spatial resolution scalability features according to Annex G of the H.264 standard. We show that watermark embedding in the base layer of the video is insufficient to protect the decoded video content when enhancements layers are employed. The problem is mitigated by a propagation technique of the base layer watermark signal when encoding the enhancement layer. In case of spatial resolution scalability, the base layer watermark signal is upsampled to match the resolution of the enhancement layer data. We demonstrate blind watermark detection in the fulland low-resolution decoded video for the same adapted H.264/SVC bitstream and, surprisingly, can report bit rate savings when extending the base layer watermark to the enhancement layer.