Abstract: The invention provides a method of decoding a decided signal received from a decision circuit to supply a decoded signal, said method comprising: a step of detecting a word of N bits in said received decided signal to supply a detected word; a step of selecting an admissible word of N bits in a dictionary of the error correction code used for encoding in accordance with a criterion of the shortest distance between said detected word and said selected admissible word; and a step of decoding a word of L bits constituting said decoded signal from said selected admissible word. According to the invention, the distance used in the selection step takes account of the relative reliabilities of 2K sequences of K bits, 0<K<N.

Abstract: The invention provides a method of decoding a decided signal received from a decision circuit to supply a decoded signal, said method comprising: a step of detecting a word of N bits in said received decided signal to supply a detected word; a step of selecting an admissible word of N bits in a dictionary of the error correction code used for encoding in accordance with a criterion of the shortest distance between said detected word and said selected admissible word; and a step of decoding a word of L bits constituting said decoded signal from said selected admissible word. According to the invention, the distance used in the selection step takes account of the relative reliabilities of 2K sequences of K bits, 0<K<N.