UMID watermarking for managing metadata in content production

Watermarking is a technique for embedding data within images or audio and i s best known in copyright protection. This paper explains how watermarking can be used to embed a unique material identifier (UMID) into every frame o f video material to enable tracking throughout the production chain. As the UMID is embedded into the image itself it cannot be separated and then los t. It is embedded at the point of acquisition and enables linking of video material to its associated metadata for rights tracking, technical informat ion, or added-value data services in digital broadcasting. In order to allo w a change of UMID, the watermark may be removed or "washed" and a new UMID embedded with no significant generation loss.