IR hiding: method for preventing illegal recording of videos based on differences in sensory perception between humans and devices

A method is described that prevents videos and movies displayed on a screen from being illegally recorded using digital cameras and camcorders. Conventional protection methods, such as embedding digital watermarks into images for use in identifying where and when the original content was illegally recorded, do not actually prevent the content from being illegally recorded. The proposed method, which is based on the differences in sensory characteristics between humans and devices, actually prevents illegal recording. It does not require the addition of a function to the user-side device; instead, it uses infrared light to corrupt the recorded content. This light is invisible to the naked eye but is picked up by the CCD or CMOS device in the camera. This makes the recorded content unusable. Testing using a functional prototype implemented on a 100-inch cinema screen showed that the method effectively prevents illegal recording. Also described is an effective countermeasure against the use of a camera or camcorder fitted with an infrared cut filter.