Video Encoded Invisible Light (VEIL) is a technology for encoding low-bandwidth digital data bitstream in video signal, developed by VEIL Interactive Technologies. VEIL is compatible with multiple formats of video signals, including PAL, SECAM, and NTSC. 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 technology. This has been seen as analogous to the

broadcast flag A broadcast flag is a bit field sent in the data stream of a digital television program that indicates whether or not the data stream can be recorded, or if there are any restrictions on recorded content. Possible restrictions include the inabili ...

. It is also known as " CGMS-A 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 coupons with TV

advertising Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a Product (business), product or Service (economics), service. Advertising aims to present a product or service in terms of utility, advantages, and qualities of int ...

. 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 Technological convergence#Media, media convergence, adding data services to traditional television technology. It has included on-demand delivery of content, online shopping, and viewer polls. Interactive TV i ...

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

set-top box A set-top box (STB), also known as a cable converter box, cable box, receiver, or simply box, and historically television decoder or a converter, is an information appliance device that generally contains a Tuner (radio)#Television, TV tuner inpu ...

es can communicate with other devices via WiFi,

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 li ...

, 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 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 DRM 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 '' The Batman'' TV series, for transmitting data from the video on-screen to a line of

Batman Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...

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, television program, or sport; fictional or historical. These figures are usually ...

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 land vehicle driven by the superhero Batman, used both to patrol Gotham City looking for crime and to engage in car chases or vehicular combat with the city's criminal underworld. The Batmobile is one of a suite o ...

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 Toby Terrier was a toy dog manufactured in the early 1990s by Tiger Electronics. The toy was designed to make various comments and remarks when placed in front of a television playing one of the select PLUS videos from the ''Toby Terrier and H ...

. 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 DRM tool to counter the analog hole, 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. VEIL acts together with CGMS-A signal ("

") in the vertical blanking interval, 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, is any measure to enforce copyright by preventing the reproduction of software, films, music, and other media. Copy protection is most commonly found on vid ...

system to deny the copy.

References

External links

VEIL Interactive Technologies
* Method for transmitting data on viewable portion of a video signal, July 25, 2000

Method for transmitting data on viewable portion of a video signal, May 8, 2001

Method for transmitting data on a viewable portion of a video signal, December 9, 2003

Method and system for enhanced modulation of video signals, January 31, 2006
United States Patent Application
Method and system for embedding device positional data in video signals, March 10, 2005 {{Video formats Digital rights management systems Digital television High-definition television Television technology