A TRANSCODER

摘要

A transcoder (400) for converting a received data stream encoded according to a first coding scheme to a data stream coded according to a second coding scheme, which schemes specify a first and a second maximum amount of jitter that may be present in the encoded data streams, respectively. The transcoder includes a decoder section (204) and an encoder section (206) and is operated such that the data stream received by the encoder section (206) has a non-zero amount of jitter and the encoder section produces a coded data stream having an amount of jitter which is less than or equal to the second maximum amount of jitter. By operating the transcoder to provide a decoded video data stream to the encoder section (206) which retains a degree of jitter relative to the original video signal, the buffer requirements can be minimised therefore providing reduced buffer delay and hence a transcoder with smaller buffer delay than previously obtainable.