Systems and methods are described herein for transmitting a content item to a user device using multiple delivery protocols. The system receives, at a content source, a request for the content item from the user device. The system splits a digital stream of the content item into a first video signal and a second video signal. The system then transmits, via a unicast server, the first video signal for the content item to the user device, and transmits, via a multicast server, the second video signal for the content item to the user device. The system then causes for presentation on the user device the first video signal followed by the second video signal. In other embodiments, the system is optimized between the unicast delivery of a content item and a peer-to-peer delivery.

A main stream contains successive content elements of video and/or audio information that encode video and/or audio information at a first data rate. A computation circuit (144) computes main fingerprints from the successive content elements. A reference stream is received having a second data rate lower than the first data rate. The reference stream defines a sequence of the reference fingerprints. A comparator unit (144) compares the main fingerprints with the reference fingerprints. The main stream is monitored for the presence of inserted content elements between original content elements, where the original content elements have main fingerprints that match successive reference fingerprints and the inserted content elements have main fingerprints that do not match reference fingerprints. Rendering of inserted content elements to be skipped. In an embodiment when more than one content element matches only one is rendered. In another embodiment matching is used to control zapping to or from the main stream. In another embodiment matching is used to control linking of separately received mark-up information such as subtitles to points in the main stream.

A main stream contains successive content elements of video and/or audio information that encode video and/or audio information at a first data rate. A computation circuit (144) computes main fingerprints from the successive content elements. A reference stream is received having a second data rate lower than the first data rate. The reference stream defines a sequence of the reference fingerprints. A comparator unit (144) compares the main fingerprints with the reference fingerprints. The main stream is monitored for the presence of inserted content elements between original content elements, where the original content elements have main fingerprints that match successive reference fingerprints and the inserted content elements have main fingerprints that do not match reference fingerprints. Rendering of inserted content elements to be skipped. In an embodiment when more than one content element matches only one is rendered. In another embodiment matching is used to control zapping to or from the main stream. In another embodiment matching is used to control linking of separately received mark-up information such as subtitles to points in the main stream.

A system that handles delivery of service(s) through a client device, includes an interactive service provider, a video service provider, and a client device. The interactive service provider inserts at least one of digital watermarks and digital fingerprints in non-programming media content. The video service provider transmits a media stream of the media content that includes programming media content and the non-programming media content. The client device detects at least one of the inserted digital watermarks and the digital fingerprints in the playback duration of the media content and renders overlay graphics on the media content. The client device activates at least one of input devices paired with the client device and the rendered overlay graphics. The client device further receives trigger responses over activated overlay graphics and displays an interactive view to enable delivery of service(s) in response to the trigger responses.

Methods, apparatus, systems and articles of manufacture are disclosed for watermark outage detection. Example methods include evaluating an onset time and duration of a detected watermark outage based on a model of expected watermark outages to determine whether the detected watermark outage corresponds to at least one of the expected watermark outages represented in the model. Example methods further include generating an alert in response to determining the detected watermark outage does not correspond to at least one of the expected watermark outages included in the model, and suppressing the alert in response to determining the detected watermark outage corresponds to the at least one of the expected watermark outages represented in the model.

Provided is a parallel forensic marking apparatus. The forensic marking apparatus may include a split part configured to split one frame of content, compressed using a setting method, into a plurality of regions, a plurality of decoding parts configured to have the split regions assigned thereto, respectively, and to perform entropy-decode the split regions, and a synchronization part configured to complete the frame by synchronizing the regions input to and output from the plurality of decoding parts.

Systems and methods for encoding multiple video streams with digital watermarking for adaptive bitrate streaming in accordance with embodiments of the invention are disclosed. In one embodiment, a method for preprocessing multimedia content into streams with watermark information includes receiving a source content media stream, generating at least two variant preprocessed streams for each received source content media stream, where each variant preprocessed stream includes different watermark information in the same locations as the other variant preprocessed streams and where marked locations are spaced apart at least a distance equal to a predetermined maximum segment size, generating a set of embed location information describing marked locations in the variant preprocessed streams, generating at least one variant output stream from each variant preprocessed stream using video compression, partitioning each variant output stream into a set of segments, where each segment is no longer than the predetermined maximum segment size and contains at most one copy of the watermark information, generating a set of segment boundary information describing the boundaries of segments within the variant output streams and the boundaries are the same between variant output streams, and generating a segment selection list using the set of embed location information and the set of segment boundary information, where the segment selection list includes only one variant segment for each segment according to a watermark sequence and the digits of the watermark sequence correspond to the watermark information applied to each variant preprocessed stream.

In various embodiments, a device receives a video stream. One or more frames of the video stream include embedded metadata that is embedded directly into the one or more frames. The device extracts the embedded metadata from the one or more frames. The device makes an authentication determination regarding the video stream, based on whether the embedded metadata includes a digital signature associated with a sender of the video stream. The device controls, based on the authentication determination, presentation of the video stream to a recipient user.

A method of processing information in a digital receiver connected to an external input source includes receiving uncompressed data of a broadcast service from the external input source, the broadcast service delivered based on either a Real-Time Object Delivery over Unidirectional Transport (ROUTE) protocol or an MPEG Media Transport (MMT) protocol; extracting an audio watermark from the uncompressed data; making a request to a specific server using domain type and server code of the audio watermark to form a first URL; receiving a recovery file including a second URL used to retrieve signaling files needed to access and present a supplementary content; retrieving the signaling files using the second URL in the recovery file; and presenting the supplementary content based on the signaling files. Further, timing information included in the recovery file is used to synchronize the supplementary content with the uncompressed data from the external input source.

Client identifier watermarks in media signals are disclosed. An example apparatus to watermark a multilayered file includes a watermark storage to store media identifiers. The example apparatus also includes an encoder to encode a first bit sequence in the media file on a first encoding layer of a multilayered watermark, the first bit sequence to include a client identifier of a client associated with the media file, and encode a second bit sequence in the media file on a second encoding layer of the multilayered watermark, the second bit sequence to include a media identifier to identify media corresponding to the media file.