VERFAHREN ZUR ÜBERTRAGUNG QUELLENCODIERTER DIGITALER SIGNALE

摘要

A method of transmitting encoded digital signals and decoding the digital signals at a receiver. During source encoding, the signals are divided into a plurality of subunits. Each subunit is assigned one of a plurality of differing levels of significance. The subunits are hierarchically ordered in a data frame according to their levels of significance. The subunits are then channel encoded utilizing a variable rate code. The rate increases for increasing levels of significance. At the receiver decoder, a subset of the subunits are correctly decoded to produce a correct portion of decoded data. The correct portion is defined by a position of a first error in the data frame. The position of the first error in the data frame is dependent upon at least one of the encoding rate, channel quality, and decoding complexity. The digital signals are then reconstructed using only the correct portion of decoded data.