Audio & Video Watermarking Use Cases
We provide technologies and solutions for various applications and domains related to audio data protection, piracy prevention, digital licensing, music discovery and monitoring.
Find a use case that is closest to the problem you need to solve and get a solution.
1. Digital licensing and digital delivery for audio & music distribution, selling audiobooks, music promo sharing, etc.
Public or even private sharing of audio files is not safe. Malicious recipients could leak the files, pirates could distribute the leaked content and steal your earnings.
Watermark each file by embedding a unique, inaudible digital signature associated with the file's unique recipient in each file copy. Found your file in public access? Extract the watermark and trace back to the original recipient of the leaked file. The watermark is included in every fragment of the recording, no matter how small, so it can be reliably identified. Only share watermarked, traceable file copies.
2. Audio authenticity and proof of authorship & ownership
Audio content creators often suffer from illegal use of their works and have difficulty proving authorship.
Watermark audio content before you share it by embedding an inaudible watermark with your own unique signature that includes data with your identity, authorship, and information about the original recipient of each file copy. Use acoustic fingerprinting technology in combination with a worldwide song fingerprint database to identify which music track is currently playing. Monitor single or multiple radios or other audio streams.
3. Music recognition in live broadcasts or files
Monitor radio airplay, identify what music is playing, create song charts.
Use acoustic fingerprinting technology in combination with a worldwide song fingerprint database to detect which music track is currently playing. Monitor single or multiple radio stations or other audio streams.
4. Protection of sensitive audio recordings (phone calls, clinic visits, etc.)
Private information such as records of phone calls, clinic visits, court proceedings, etc. represent extremely sensitive data that must be kept safe and secure. Leakage of private information can cause irreversible damage. Therefore, each and every shared recording must be uniquely traceable to avoid potential harm.
Watermark each file and embed a unique, inaudible digital signature linked to the unique recipient and recording information in each shared file copy. The watermark instances are distributed throughout the entire recording so that the information can be extracted from any fragment of the recording if it has been leaked, distributed, or illegally released.
5. Monitoring of airplay (e.g. commercials, music, etc.)
Provide advertisers with comprehensive airplay information. Create detailed statistics with accurate airplay timecodes, channels, and counts. Monitor airplay across multiple streams.
Use real-time acoustic fingerprinting technology and match against your own database of fingerprints of recordings you want to monitor (e.g. commercials, songs, etc.). Get detailed statistics on what is currently playing on single or multiple monitored channels, with timecodes. Alternatively, you can use audio watermarks to embed inaudible identifiers in each commercial broadcast and monitor the broadcast by running real-time automated watermark listeners on individual or multiple monitored channels to provide detailed statistics with timecodes.
6. Live broadcast protection
Live broadcast material (e.g. radio or TV) can be illegally recorded and then distributed, shared or otherwise used without permission.
Watermark live broadcasts in real-time with a unique, inaudible digital signature that includes information about the content being broadcast, authorship, copyright information, and information about the destination receiver.
7. Interactive and event-based experiences, signaling and second screen sync over sound
Kick-shopping, audience interaction, second-screen experiences are "data-over-sound" uses that require transmission of short digital data over acoustic content using digital transmission channels or over-the-air.
Inaudible digital identifiers ("trigger codes") can be embedded in acoustic content in the audible spectrum or emitted in the ultrasonic spectrum using audio watermarks to trigger events on the receiving, "listening" end - the user's phone, web browser, media player, etc.
8. Time synchronization through audio stream time-stamping
Time alignment is crucial in many use cases. For example, TV quiz programs, where a participant's smartphone must sync precisely with TV broadcast audio. Delays or discrepancies in synchronization can lead to unfair or untimely responses in voting, especially compared to viewers experiencing greater latency, such as those watching via satellite. This precise timing is essential to ensure fairness and accuracy in interactive elements of the program.
Watermark audio stream with a timestamp carrying stream time. This approach enables devices to detect and synchronize accurately with the playback source by extracting these timestamps. As the playback device broadcasts watermarked audio, the listening device decodes these timestamps, aligning exactly with the broadcast time.