Apparatus for generating, recording and transmitting an error product code block having an improved check code arrangement

摘要

There is provided an apparatus for processing data for generating an error correction product code block devised so as to maintain the current level of redundancy after the error correcting ability is modified as a result of advancement of semiconductor and data recording/transmission technologies. Unlike any known technique of configuring a Reed-Solomon error correcting product code block of (M+P0)x(N+PI) bytes for an information data of (MxN) bytes, an error correcting product code block data structure is obtained by configuring a (Kx(M+1)x(N+P))-byte Reed-Solomon error correcting product code block for (KxMxN)-byte data, making K variable to consequently make the entire size of the Reed-Solomon error correcting product code block variable. At the same time, the error correcting ability varies in proportion to the value of K without increasing redundancy.