Abstract: Information hiding communication (IHC) over streaming media is an important branch of information hiding (IH). As for the problem of inconsistent hiding process caused by the diversity of the streaming media data format, the paper proposes a three-layer system model, which divides the IHC process into adaption ＆ execution, transmission management and IH application. The functionality, service and interface of each layer are defined. An analytical model for primary parameters is then established, obtaining the presentation of effective IH channel usage. The optimal system parameter is calculated using the partial derivative method. The system model has been implemented on the VoIP platform. Experiments and tests show that the layered model successfully solves the inconsistent problem due to different carriers for IHC. The theoretical value of the optimal parameter serves the function of guiding the design of a practical system.

Key words: streaming media, information hiding, layered model, performance optimizing