Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Improved QIM-based watermarking integrated to JPEG2000 coding scheme

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Signal, Image and Video Processing Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

In recent years it has been recognized that embedding information in wavelet transform domain leads to more robust blind watermarks. A major difficulty, however, in watermarking in transform domain lies in the fact that constraints on the allowable distortion at any pixel are specified in the spatial domain. In order to insert an invisible watermark, the current trend has been to model the Human Visual System and specify a masking function which yields the allowable distortion. However, this method is highly suboptimal since it leads to irreversible losses at the embedding stage because the watermark is being adjusted in the spatial domain with no care for the consequences in the transform domain. The central contribution of this work is the proposal of integrated wavelet-based non-linear scaling QIM (NLS–QIM) watermark design to reduce fidelity problem. We consider the watermarking process in conjunction with lossy JPEG2000 compression engine. Experimental results have shown that the proposed watermarking strategy exhibits high robustness to compression attacks with respect to the reconstruction quality. Moreover, it provides a significant capacity improvement compared to other hybrid watermarking coding methods in the literature.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Hartung, F., Kutter, M.: Multimedia watermarking techniques. Proc. IEEE Spec. Issue Identif. Prot. Multimed. Inf. 87(7), 1079–1107 (1999)

  2. Meerwald, P.: Quantization watermarking in the JPEG2000 coding pipeline. In: Proceedings of the IFIP TC6/TC11 International Conferenve on Communications and Multimedia Security, Darmstadt, Germany, May 2001, vol. 192, pp. 69–79 (2001)

  3. Ebrahimi, T., Grosbois, R.: Secure JPEG 2000-JPSEC. In: Proceedings of IEEE International Conferenve on Acoustics, Speech, and Signal Processing (ICASSP’03), April 6–10, pp. 716–719 (2003)

  4. Liu, W.: Data hiding in JPEG 2000 code streams. In: Proceedings of IEEE International Conference on Image Processing (ICIP’04), October 2004, pp 1557–1560 (2004)

  5. Schlauweg, M., Pröfrock, D., Müller, E.: JPEG2000-based secure image authentication. In: Proceedings of Eighth Workshop on Multimedia and Security, Geneva, Switzerland, 26–27 September 2006, pp. 62–67 (2006)

  6. Sun Q., Chang S.F.: A secure and robust digital signature scheme for JPEG2000 image authentication. Proc. IEEE Trans. Multimedia 7(3), 480–494 (2005)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Meerwald, P., Uhl, A.: A survey of Wavelet–Domain watermarking algorithms. In: Proceedings of SPIE, Electronic Imaging: Security and Watermarking of Multimedia Contents III, vol. 4314, pp. 505–516 (2001)

  8. Chen B., Wornell G.W.: Quantization index modulation, a class of provably good methods for digital watermarking and information embedding. Proc. IEEE Trans. Inf. Theory 47(4), 1423–1443 (2001)

    Article  MATH  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  9. Eggers J.J., Bäuml R., Tzschoppe R., Girod B.: Scalar costa scheme for information embedding. Proc. IEEE Trans. Signal Process. 51(4), 1003–1019 (2003)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Costa M.: Writing on dirty paper. Proc. IEEE Trans. Inf. Theory 29(3), 439–441 (1983)

    Article  MATH  Google Scholar 

  11. Chen, B., Wornell, G.W.: Preprocessed and postprocessed quantization index modulation methods for digital watermarking. In: Proceedings of SPIE: Security Watermarking Multimedia Contents II, vol. 3971, pp. 48–59 (2000)

  12. Li, Q., Cox, I.J.: Improved spred transform dither modulation by using a perceptual model: robustness to amplitude scaling and JPEG compression. In: Proceedings of IEEE International Conference on Acoustics, Speech and Signal Processing, 15–20 April 2007, pp. 185–188 (2007)

  13. Pérez-González F., Mosquera F., Barni M., Abrardo A.: Rational dither modulation: a high-rate data-hiding method invariant to gain attacks. Proc. IEEE Trans. Signal Process. Suppl. Secure Media 53(10), 3960–3975 (2005)

    Google Scholar 

  14. Li Q., Cox I.: Using perceptual models to improve fidelity and provide invariance to valumetric scaling for quantization index modulation watermarking. Proc. IEEE Int. Conf. Acoust. Speech Signal Process. 2, 1–4 (2005)

    Google Scholar 

  15. Bas, P.: A quantization watermarking technique robust to linear and non-linear valumetric distortions using a fractal set of floating quantizers. In: Proceedings of Seventh International Workshop on Information Hiding vol. 3727, pp. 106-117 (2005)

  16. Makhloufi, A., Ouled Zaid, A., Bouallegue, R., Bouallegue, A.: QIM watermarking combined to JPEG2000 part I and II. In: Proceedings of International Conference on Pattern Recognition, Hong Kong, vol. 3, pp. 1079–1107 (2006)

  17. Chinen, T., Flohr, T.J., Marcellin, M.W.: TCQ in JPEG 2000. In: Proceedings of SPIE: Applications of Digital Image Processing, vol. 4115, San Diego, California, July 2000, pp. 552–560 (2000)

  18. Marcellin, M.W., Gormish, M.J., Bilgin, A., Boliek, M.P.: An overview of quantization in JPEG-2000. In: Proceedings of IEEE Conference on Data Compression, March 2000, pp. 523–541 (2000)

  19. Miller M.L., Doerr G.J., Cox I.J.: Applying informed coding and informed embedding to design a robust, high capacity watermark. Proc. IEEE Trans. Image Process. 13(6), 792–807 (2004)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Le Guelvouit, G.: Tatouage robuste d’images par Turbo TCQ, Proc. GRETSI: Groupe d’Etudes du Traitement du Signal et des Images, Troyes, France, 11–14 September (2007)

  21. Vila-Forcén, J.E., Voloshynovskiy, S., Koval, O., Pérez-González, F., Pun, T.: Quantization-Based Methods: Additive Attacks Performance Analysis, Trans. on Data Hiding and Multimedia Security III, Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol. 4920, pp. 70-90. Springer, Heidelberg (2008)

  22. Wang, H.J., Kuo, C.C.J.: Watermark design for embedded Wavelet image codec. In: Proceedings of Third Annual Meeting of SPIE: Applications of Digital Image Processing, vol. 3460, pp. 388–398 (1998)

  23. Su, P.C., Wang, H.G., Kuo, C.C.J.: Digital watermarking on EBCOT compressed images. In: Proceedings of 44th Annual Meeting of SPIE: Applications of Digital Image Processing, vol. 3808, pp. 313–324 (1999)

  24. Wang, H.J., Kuo, C.C.J.: High fidelity image compression with multithresold Wavelet coding. In: Proceedings of SPIE: International Society for Optical Engineering, San Diego, CA, 27 July–1 August, pp. 383–392 (1997)

  25. Dufaux, F. , Wee, S., Apostolopoulos, J., Ebrahimi, T.: JPSEC for secure imaging in JPEG 2000. In: Proceedings of SPIE: Applications of Digital Image Processing XXVII, vol. 5558, pp. 319–330 (2004)

  26. Kutter, M., Petitcolas, F.A.P.: A fair benchmark for image watermarking systems. In: Proc. SPIE: Security and Watermarking of Multimedia Contents, vol. 3657, pp. 226–239 (2001)

  27. Le Guelvouit, G.: Tatouage robuste d’images par Turbo TCQ. In: Proceedings of GRETSI Symposium on Image and Signal Processing, September 2007

  28. Wang Z., Bovik A.C., Sheikh H.R., Simoncelli E.P.: Image quality assessment: from error measurement to structural similarity. Proc. IEEE Trans. Image Process. 13(4), 600–612 (2004)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. Ababneh M.F., Masoud Asad N.: An optimization approach for selecting blocks of embedding process in robust watermarking system. Proc. Comput. Sci. 2(1), 114–117 (2006)

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. SysCom Laboratory, National Engineering School of Tunis, B.P. 37, le Belvedere, 1002, Tunis, Tunisia

    A. Ouled Zaid, A. Makhloufi & A. Bouallegue

  2. XLIM, SIC Department, Poitiers University, UMR CNRS 6172, SP2MI, 86962, Futuroscope, France

    C. Olivier

Authors
  1. A. Ouled Zaid
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. A. Makhloufi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. A. Bouallegue
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. C. Olivier
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to A. Ouled Zaid.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Ouled Zaid, A., Makhloufi, A., Bouallegue, A. et al. Improved QIM-based watermarking integrated to JPEG2000 coding scheme. SIViP 3, 197–207 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11760-008-0094-z

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11760-008-0094-z

Keywords

Search

Navigation