Patent attributes
A transmit path in a physical layer device comprises a first transmit encoding device that has N outputs, that receives a first data stream at a first data rate and that performs a first type of encoding on the first data stream. A second transmit encoding device has an output, receives a second data stream at a second data rate and performs a second type of encoding on the second data stream. The first data rate is N times the second data rate. An output selector has a first set of N inputs that communicates with the N outputs of the first transmit encoding device, a second set of N inputs that communicate with the output of the second transmit encoding device and N outputs. The output selector selectively connects one of the first and second sets of N inputs to the N outputs.