Efficient trellis state metric normalization

摘要

A method and apparatus for normalizing a plurality of state-metric registers in a decoder using a trellis. The method includes determining an approximate minimum of respective state-metric values stored in the plurality of state-metric registers, and subtracting the approximate minimum from the values. Determining the approximate minimum preferably includes determining the minimum of a predetermined number of most significant bits in the plurality of state-metric registers.