Verimatrix Unveils StreamMark Watermarking Approach

Verimatrix has innovated its user-specific forensic watermarking, StreamMark. Patent-pending StreamMark uses a server-side embedding process to uniquely mark compressed video files during delivery, even if the video files are encrypted. Mass delivery of uniquely marked content offers a valuable tool to support emerging video consumption models. The new solution was developed in collaboration with major film studios and is specifically designed to enable early release windows for premium video on demand (VoD) content.

Verimatrix will be demonstrating StreamMark at CableNET, a technology showcase co-sponsored by CableLabs and the National Cable & Telecommunications Association, June 14-16 in Chicago.

StreamMark embeds robust, secure and imperceptible tracing information in compressed content in an on-the-fly process during delivery to standard decoders and media players. Because the embedding process is designed with extremely low overhead requirements, a mark can be added to H.264 or MPEG-2 stream-based video with negligible performance impact, even when that delivery is facilitated through a content delivery network (CDN). StreamMark can easily be integrated in today’s distribution networks using existing infrastructure, processing power and storage.

For consumer electronics devices, this streaming friendly tracing insertion approach means that no custom media player integration is required – the imperceptible marking information is rendered in all analog and digital outputs of off-the-shelf player devices.

“The FCC’ s ruling allowing selectable output control (SOC) for set-top boxes in the U.S. was one of the key developments that opened up significant new revenue opportunities with higher value VOD at earlier release windows. And with new release windows come new piracy challenges,” said Petr Peterka, CTO of Verimatrix, in a statement. “Studios are now insisting on a combination of SOC and forensic watermarking technologies that secure assets beyond the set-top. StreamMark meets this challenge by offering an efficient server-side watermarking technique that enables unique file delivery on a large scale basis on existing networks.”