Video Encoded Invisible Light (VEIL) is a technology for encoding low-bandwidth digital data

bitstream A bitstream (or bit stream), also known as binary sequence, is a sequence of bits. A bytestream is a sequence of bytes. Typically, each byte is an 8-bit quantity, and so the term octet stream is sometimes used interchangeably. An octet may ...

in video signal, developed by VEIL Interactive Technologies. VEIL is compatible with multiple formats of video signals, including

PAL Phase Alternating Line (PAL) is a colour encoding system for analogue television. It was one of three major analogue colour television standards, the others being NTSC and SECAM. In most countries it was broadcast at 625 lines, 50 fields (25 ...

SECAM SECAM, also written SÉCAM (, ''Séquentiel de couleur à mémoire'', French for ''color sequential with memory''), is an analog color television system that was used in France, some parts of Europe and Africa, and Russia. It was one of th ...

, and

NTSC The first American standard for analog television broadcast was developed by National Television System Committee (NTSC)National Television System Committee (1951–1953), Report and Reports of Panel No. 11, 11-A, 12–19, with Some supplement ...

. The technology is based on a steganographically encoded data stream in the luminance of the videosignal. A recent application of VEIL, the VEIL Rights Assertion Mark (VRAM or V-RAM) is a copy-restriction signal that can be used to ask devices to apply

DRM DRM may refer to: Government, military and politics * Defense reform movement, U.S. campaign inspired by Col. John Boyd * Democratic Republic of Madagascar, a former socialist state (1975–1992) on Madagascar * Direction du renseignement milita ...

technology. This has been seen as analogous to the broadcast flag. It is also known as "

CGMS-A Copy Generation Management System – Analog (CGMS-A) is a copy protection mechanism for analog television signals. It consists of a waveform inserted into the non-picture Vertical Blanking Interval (VBI) of an analogue video signal. If a compatib ...

plus VEIL" and "broadcast flag on steroids." There are two versions of VEIL on the market: * VEIL-I, or VEIL 1, has raw speed of 120 bits per second. It is used for unidirectional communication (TV→devices) with simple devices or toys, and to deliver

coupon In marketing, a coupon is a ticket or document that can be redeemed for a financial discount or rebate when purchasing a product. Customarily, coupons are issued by manufacturers of consumer packaged goods or by retailers, to be used in r ...

s with TV

advertising Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to put a product or service in the spotlight in hopes of drawing it attention from consumers. It is typically used to promote a ...

. It manipulates the luminance of the video signal in ways difficult to perceive to human eye. * VEIL-II, or VEIL 2, has speed of 7200-bit/s and is one of the technologies of choice for

interactive television Interactive television is a form of media convergence, adding data services to traditional television technology. It has included on-demand delivery of content, online shopping, and viewer polls. Interactive TV is an example of how new informatio ...

, as it allows communication with VEIL servers through devices equipped with backchannels. VEIL-II-capable

set-top box A set-top box (STB), also colloquially known as a cable box and historically television decoder, is an information appliance device that generally contains a TV-tuner input and displays output to a television set and an external source of sign ...

es can communicate with other devices via

WiFi Wi-Fi () is a family of wireless network protocols, based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, which are commonly used for local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital devices to exchange data by radio wa ...

Bluetooth Bluetooth is a short-range wireless technology standard that is used for exchanging data between fixed and mobile devices over short distances and building personal area networks (PANs). In the most widely used mode, transmission power is limi ...

, or other short-range wireless technologies. VEIL 2 manipulates the average luminance of the alternate lines of the signal, where one is slightly raised and the other one is slightly lowered (or vice versa), encoding a bit in every pair of lines. The symbols (groups of 4 data bits) transmitted by VEIL-II system are encoded as "PN sequences", sequences of 16 "chips". Groups of 4 chips are encoded in pairs of lines. Each line pair is split to 4 parts, where the luminance is raised or lowered (correspondingly vice versa in the other line). In NTSC, 4-bit symbols are encoded in groups of 8 scan lines. With 224 lines per field this equals 112 bits per field, or 7200 bits per second of broadcast. VEIL-II uses scan lines 34 to 258. The PN stands for "pseudo noise" and signifies the 0.5/0.5 relative frequencies of ones and zeroes. In practice, 20 chips per line are preferred, increasing redundancy and allowing for better error detection. The PN encoding is a form of

spread spectrum In telecommunication and radio communication, spread-spectrum techniques are methods by which a signal (e.g., an electrical, electromagnetic, or acoustic signal) generated with a particular bandwidth is deliberately spread in the frequency d ...

modulation. Stripping the VEIL signal from the video is supposed to be more difficult than tampering with the VBI, therefore VEIL-I is proposed as a

tool. The signal can survive recording to video, and various sorts of digital compression. The detection devices are low-cost and can be used in a range of devices, from toys to cellphones.

Use in toys

The technology was developed for ''

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'' TV series, for transmitting data from the video on-screen to a line of Batman toys based on the series, supplying them with information about the series and unlocking their hidden capabilities. For example: * The Batwave Communicator Handheld Device, when within 10 feet in the line of sight from the TV, will show engine graphics, diagnostics, weapon systems, and enables various games stored in the device. * Batwave Batman

Action Figure An action figure is a poseable character model figure made most commonly of plastic, and often based upon characters from a film, comic book, military, video game or television program; fictional or historical. These figures are usually mark ...

will pop wings from its back and light up the emblem on its chest when subjected to the videosignal from the TV. * Batwave

Batmobile The Batmobile is the fictional car driven by the superhero Batman. Housed in the Batcave, which it accesses through a hidden entrance, the Batmobile is both a heavily armored tactical assault vehicle and a personalized custom-built pursuit and ...

with Handheld Device will turn on various LEDs acting as its lights, play sounds, and "capture" various weapons from the show. This technology is also used in other toys, for example Toby Terrier. VEIL was used in various ad campaigns for Foster's Lager. The campaign incorporated the use of VEIL decoders inside little figures of the famous cricket players Boon and Shane Warne. The toys would make comments during the cricket matches while in front of the television.

Other uses

As of December 2005, VEIL was proposed as a

tool to counter the

analog hole The analog hole (also known as the analog loophole or analog gap) is a perceived fundamental and inevitable vulnerability in copy protection schemes for noninteractive works in digital formats which can be exploited to duplicate copy-protected wo ...

, as a technological measure legally enforced by the US Digital Content Security Act. In this regard, it is a more fine-grained successor to

Macrovision TiVo Corporation, formerly known as the Rovi Corporation and Macrovision Solutions Corporation, was an American technology company. Headquartered in San Jose, California, the company is primarily involved in licensing its intellectual property ...

. VEIL acts together with

signal (" broadcast flag") in the

vertical blanking interval In a raster scan display, the vertical blanking interval (VBI), also known as the vertical interval or VBLANK, is the time between the end of the final visible line of a frame or field and the beginning of the first visible line of the next fra ...

, where it is used to encode the Rights Assertion Mark (RAM) signal. The CGMS-A can be stripped too easily from the analog signal, therefore the presence of RAM but absence of CGMS-A will tell the

copy protection Copy protection, also known as content protection, copy prevention and copy restriction, describes measures to enforce copyright by preventing the reproduction of software, films, music, and other media. Copy protection is most commonly found o ...

system to deny the copy.

Use in toys

Other uses

References

See also