Visible watermarking
- Displays user-specific data like email ID, phone number, or account name on the video.
- Appears during playback as a deterrent against screen recording or sharing.
- Can be static in one position or dynamic, moving across the screen.
- Often used in pre-release screeners, previews, or internal testing versions.
- Helps identify the source if leaked content appears online.
Invisible or forensic watermarking
- Embeds unique, imperceptible codes into the video signal at the pixel or frame level.
- These watermarks survive screen recording, compression, or transcoding.
- Remains hidden from viewers and does not impact video quality.
- Can track leaks down to a specific user, session, or device.
- Frequently used for high-value content like film premieres or sports.
Bitstream watermarking
- Integrates watermarks directly into the compressed video bitstream.
- Enables real-time insertion without needing to decode and re-encode content.
- Efficient for live streaming and scalable multi-device distribution.
- Allows broadcasters to trace illegal streams during live events.
- Maintains compatibility across various video players and formats.
Session-based dynamic watermarking
- Watermarks are generated uniquely for every user session or stream.
- Content streamed to one user has different identifiers than another.
- Enables fast traceability if the stream is recorded and redistributed.
- Adjusts dynamically for each play request, making detection easier.
- Used in conjunction with DRM systems for higher protection levels.
Audio watermarking
- Unique signals are embedded in the audio layer of the content.
- Cannot be heard by human ears but can be detected by forensic tools.
- Used as a backup or complement to video watermarking techniques.
- Survives downsampling, compression, or microphone recording.
- Helps in verifying authenticity or tracing pirated copies based on audio trails.