Hesham M. al-Salman Nov 2001
36
The Dilemma:
Block or Convolutional?
nMany debates are out there in the literature on which coding technique is better.
nIt really depends on the application.
nFor an AWGN channel convolutional codes are preferable. They approach asymptotic gains at relatively high BER (10-5 to 10-7) (e.g sat TV).
nFor low BER requirements RS codes are better because they achieve higher asymptotic gains at lower BER (10-10).
nConcatenation of RS and convolutional codes produce very strong error correcting capabilities.