A high performance multi-layer reversible data hiding scheme using two-step embedding

Abstract

In this paper, we present a new histogram shifting based multi-layer reversible data hiding scheme. By incorporating a flexible framework of two-step embedding (TSE), the proposed scheme can solve the problem of communicating and adoption of optimal pairs of peak and zero points and work in both pixel difference and predictive error domain for high performance reversible data hiding. A modified location map, which indicates only the actual overflow/underflow pixels, is constructed to facilitate the compression of location map. Compared with similar schemes, experimental results demonstrate the superior performance of the proposed scheme in the terms of embedding capacity and stego-image quality. © 2012 Springer-Verlag.