This article introduces the reader to the relevant techniques that are needed to implement an end-to-end commutative security system for video distribution. It also presents a practical solution for encryption and watermarking compliant with H.264/Advanced Video Coding (AVC) and the upcoming High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) video coding standards. To minimize the overhead and visual impact, a practical tradeoff between the security of the encryption routine, robust watermarking, and transcoding possibilities is investigated. We demonstrate that our combined commutative protection system effectively scrambles video streams, achieving structural similarity index (SSIM) values below 0.2 across a range of practical bit rates, while allowing robust watermarking and transcoding.
