Low Bit-Rate and High Fidelity Reversible Data Hiding

Abstract: An accurate predictor is crucial for histogram-shifting (HS) based reversible data hiding methods. The embedding capacity is increased and the embedding distortion is decreased simultaneously if the predictor can generate accurate predictions. In this paper, we propose an accurate linear predictor based on weighted least squares (WLS) estimation. The robustness of WLS helps the proposed predictor generate accurate predictions, especially in complex texture areas of an image, where other predictors usually fail. To further reduce the embedding distortion, we propose a new embedding method called dynamic histogram shifting with pixel selection (DHS-PS) that selects not only the proper histogram bins but also the proper pixel locations to embed the given data. As a result, the proposed method can obtain very high fidelity marked images with low bit-rate data embedded. The experimental results show that the proposed method outperforms the state-of-the-art low bit-rate reversible data hiding method.