A high payload data embedding scheme using dual stego-images with reversibility

Lee and Huang proposed a dual-image reversible data hiding method to protect the confidential data in 2011. The image quality obtained by the method is good because each pixel in the cover image is modified by only adding or subtracting one to generate the stego image. However, in their method, each set of four cover pixels can only embed five confidential bits, thereby restricting the embedding rate. To overcome the above drawback, this work develops a reversible data hiding method based on the magic matrix. By using the proposed method, each set of two cover pixels can be used to embed at least three confidential bits. In the embedding procedure, the maximum modification level of the cover pixel is four. These features imply that the proposed method can embed a large amount of confidential data; in addition, our stego image can achieve good visual quality. Experimental results indicate that the embedding rate and the image quality of the proposed method are 1.55 bpp and 39.89 dB, which exceed those of recently presented methods.