Joint source/channel coding for variable length codes using a precoder

The use of the residual redundancy present at the output of a source encoder for the purpose of error correction and detection is explored. Joint source/channel coding schemes of this type utilize redundancy due to the mismatch between the source and the model used to design the source encoder. This idea is extended to include the use of a precoder at the transmitter to create additional redundancy for error correction. A list Viterbi decoder is used at the receiver to perform joint source/channel decoding. The efficacy of this approach is investigated through computer simulation and comparisons to alternative joint source/channel coding schemes.