Abstract: A block of picture elements is DCT transformed and coded to produce a corresponding data block of variable length codewords having an average length. The data blocks are apportioned among fixed length transport blocks as needed to produce full transport blocks. The transport blocks include a direct (DC) component and alternating components at prescribed locations, as well as an address information flag indicating whether or not block data is longer or shorter than the average length, and an address pointer, to facilitate recovery and synchronization of apportioned data blocks at a decoder.

Abstract: For transmission of coded picture data, coded data may be arranged in blocks having a predetermined average length. Blocks which are not full are filled with data from other blocks. To support decoding in the presence of interference, each of the blocks additionally contains an address pointer which points to addresses in a decoder memory from which data separated from blocks having a greater than the average word length are reconstituted and used for decoding. The additional address pointer information, for a constant channel capacity, results in a lower data rate for picture data, which may lead to reduced picture quality during undisturbed decoding. Respective recovery pointer pairs having full word width are inserted between a predetermined number of data blocks, whereby other address pointers only cover the Least Significant Bits having full word width. Accordingly, additional data can be inserted into the data stream.

Abstract: A video signal processing system includes encoder apparatus applying a Discrete Cosine Transform (DCT) to N.times.N (e.g., 8.times.8) image data blocks. Resulting DCT coefficients are further transformed by multiplying them with a special transform matrix of predominantly zero values. A comparator determines whether the original DCT coefficients or the further transformed DCT coefficients will be coded for data compression, with respect to static or dynamic image content. Complementary transformation is performed at a decoder.