Redundant compression techniques for transmitting data over degraded communication links and/or storing data on media subject to degradation

• Main Author: Gottesman, Oded
• Format: Patent
• Language: English
• Published: 01.08.2002

Encoding/decoding systems and methods for use with data signals representing speech, audio, video, and/or other types of information, including, but not limited, to EKG, surround sound, seismic signals, and others. These systems and methods encode signal parameters into a plurality of frames, each frame having a predetermined number of bits. The encoder encodes signals into frames that are of longer duration than a transmission (or storage) interval, except in cases where signals may be characterized by an axis other than time, such as image or video-coded signals, wherein the encoder codes signals into frames that are larger than the coded segment. When no bits are lost during data transmission (or storage), the decoder uses the received (or retrieved) bits to reconstruct segments having a length equal to the transmission (or storage) interval. When a frame erasure occurs, the decoder uses the received (or retrieved) bits to reconstruct segments having a length that is greater than the transmission (or storage) interval. This technique reduces the need for interpolation- or extrapolation-based techniques for error concealment. The invention can also be used as an enhancement layer for standard or other prior art coding systems. In such cases, an existing coding scheme may operate as a base layer, and the present invention can be used as enhancement layer for less than ideal communication environments, by coding additional look-ahead and/or look-back parameters.