Audio Video News

The idea of watermarking high-resolution audio signals has riled audiophiles for months, ever since Verance announced that the controversial tracking signals would be incorporated into DVD-Audio discs. Now videophiles can get in on the action: last week, Digimarc announced that it is partnering with Hitachi, Macrovision, NEC, Philips, Pioneer, and Sony to form the Video Watermarking Group (VWM Group) to provide video copy prevention and play control solutions for digital recording devices.

Digimarc also announced a license to Philips Digital Networks for video broadcast monitoring, marking the first commercially available video application licensed under Digimarc's watermarking patents. Philips says that its WaterCast Broadcast Monitoring system will be used to detect and verify that television programs and advertisement transmissions comply with contractual requirements.

According to Digimarc's Bruce Davis, "these recent developments are significant milestones in progress toward our long-term goal of creating an inherent, persistent digital identity for all media content. The focus of the VWM Group solution is movies, while the broadcast monitoring application is most relevant to television programming and advertisements. If we achieve broad adoption of these solutions, Digimarc technology will be present in all major categories of video content. This also lays a foundation for other enhanced video applications, including digital rights management, new forms of online distribution, and e-commerce. These deals reinforce our view that digital watermarking is an essential ingredient in protecting copyrights and creating viable business models for entertainment content as digital devices and networks proliferate."

The company says that its technology incorporates a method for embedding digital watermarks within visual images in digital formats such as computer files and in physical representations such as print or film. Digimarc adds that it can embed messages in digital assets by making subtle changes to the content that are "imperceptible," but can be detected and decoded by hardware that has been enabled with Digimarc's patented reader technology.