Robust Joint Huffman and Convolutional Decoding

We introduce a joint decoding algorithm for a Huffman source code followed by a convolutional channel code. The algorithm incorporates a restriction to valid Huffman codewords into the convolutional code’s trellis. Performance is improved by this restriction. Furthermore, soft Huffman decoding is implicitly included, and a priori probabilities of input symbols can be easily exploited, if available. The joint decoding algorithm demonstrates significantly improved robustness relative to a system in which source and channel decoding are performed separately.