Methods for watermarking media data

A method for extracting watermark information from media data containing a series of digital samples in a sample domain, the method comprising:

• obtaining multiple watermark estimates by:
• dividing the series of digital samples into a plurality of sub-series of digital samples;
• and
• obtaining a watermark estimate for each sub-series of digital samples by:
• dividing the sub-series of digital samples into a plurality of sections in the sample domain, each section comprising a corresponding plurality of samples;
• processing the corresponding plurality of samples in each section to obtain a single energy value associated with each section;
• grouping the sections into groups, each group containing three or more sections;
• and
• assigning a nominal bit value to each group according to a bit assignment rule, the bit assignment rule based on the energy values of the sections in the group;
• and
• processing the multiple watermark estimates to obtain bit values for a single watermark estimates.

A method for extracting watermark information from media data containing a series of digital samples in a sample domain, the method comprising:

• dividing the series of digital samples into a plurality of sections in the sample domain, each section comprising a corresponding plurality of samples;
• processing the corresponding plurality of samples in each section to obtain a single energy value associated with each section;
• grouping the sections into groups, each group containing three or more sections;
• and
• assigning a nominal bit value to each group according to a bit assignment rule, the bit assignment rule based on the energy values of the sections in the group.