U.S. Philips Corporation

Guillene E Teboul

Petrus A Van Grinsven

Sabine V Giorgi

Carel J Van Driel

Nicos Achilleoudis

Jean C Bedgedjian

In a transmission system for transmitting synchronous data portions and asynchronous data portions, a transmission frame includes regularly spaced synchronous data portions interleaved with asynchronous data portions. To insure that the packing density of asynchronous data portions is optimal, the position of the synchronous data portions is allowed to deviate from its nominal value to increase the packing rate of the asynchronous data portions.

Transmission system for synchronous and asynchronous data portions

In an interactive audio-video digital distribution system a pointer is transmitted at least once every T milliseconds to indicate the position of a time marker. An interruption (V) occurs every T milliseconds. A given number N of integer frames being transmitted in T milliseconds, there remains only space for transmitting a portion containing R symbols of the N+.sup.th frame before the next interruption. Following transmission of a signaling packet (x) with a pointer indicating a number (x) of symbol periods, during the next interruption N packets will have been completely transmitted since the last pointer, plus R symbols. The end of the transmission of this packet is waited for, that is, U.dbd.C-R symbol periods before a new signaling packet (x-U) is transmitted. The value of the pointer contained in this packet will thus have to take this offset into account as it is decremented by U symbols, that is, x-U, and so on.

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Guillene E Teboul