Information hiding in HEVC standard using adaptive coding block size decision

In this work, an information hiding techniques is proposed using the coding block size decision in HEVC. This approach manipulates the CB (coding block) size decision on every coding tree unit to embed information based on the predefined mapping rules. Each CB is forced to assume certain size to encode the external information without significantly compromising perceptual quality. To improve payload, the odd-even based information hiding technique is further deployed by manipulating the nonzero DCT coefficients in certain ranges, in which case each range depends on the CB size. Results suggest that by combining both approaches, improvement is achieved in the terms of payload for the higher bitrate scenario and insignificant degradation in perceptual video quality for the low bitrate scenario.