US Patent 8374284 Universal decoder

The invention is directed to a method and apparatus for decoding encoded data symbols. The invention is also directed to corresponding encoding methods. The decoder arrangement comprises an input for receiving encoded data and an identifier associated with a coding scheme used to create said encoded data. A processor in the decoding arrangement determines from the identifier, a mapping between said encoded data and the original data. A decoder uses the mapping to extract the original data from the encoded data. The operation of the decoder is independent of the coding scheme used in the encoding process.