New pending patent applications are published by the PTO on Thursdays. Both of today's Spotlight Applications concern aspects of watermarking. Assigned to Disney, the first application discloses techniques for overlay-based watermarking for video synchronization with contextual data. Assigned to Virginia Venture Industries, the second application discloses techniques for embedding and decoding three-dimensional watermarks into stereoscopic images.
20150242983, "Overlay-based watermarking for video synchronization with contextual data," assigned to Disney.
Abstract
Systems and methods for synchronizing a broadcast video with contextual data are disclosed, wherein the broadcast video is enhanced by graphical overlays. Synchronization is achieved by means of digital watermarking of the broadcast video in conjunction with the graphical-overlays. Exemplary embodiments embed a watermark bitstream into the broadcast video based on an overlay-template, characteristic of a corresponding overlay-graphic. The watermarked video is then transmitted over a communication link to a receiving-end including a detector. According to some embodiment, the embedder inserts the watermark bitstream into the overlay-graphics' regions of the video and the detector extracts the watermark bitstream based on information in the overlay-template and based on a restored version of the original overlay-graphics.20150242984, "Embedding and decoding three-dimensional watermarks into stereoscopic images," assigned to Virginia Venture Industries, LLC.
Abstract
Disclosed inventions relates to methods and systems for encoding at least one watermark into a stereoscopic conjugate pair of images. An example method comprises the step of encoding the at least one watermark by shifting selected pixels of said pair of images in one or more directions. The one or more directions include a horizontal direction. In the disclosed embodiments, ancillary information is not required to support decoding of encoded watermarks in addition to the transmitted left and right images.
