Patent ID: 7092447

Claim:
A VSB transmitter for use with an MPEG data signal and a supplemental data signal, the VSB transmitter comprising: a VSB supplemental data processor configured to preprocess the supplemental data signal, the VSB supplmental data processor comprising: a first forward error correction coder that codes the supplemental data signal; a data expander for expanding the coded supplemental data signal by inserting null bits into the supplemental data signal; a header inserter for inserting a header to the supplemental data signal having the null bits inserted therein; and a first multiplexer for multiplexing the MPEG data signal and the supplemental data signal having the header inserted thereto in at least one of a predetermined multiplexing ratio and unit; and a VSB main data processor configured to process the multiplexed data signal, the VSB main data processor comprising: a second forward error correction coder for coding the multiplexed data signal; and a data format converter for formatting the coded multiplexed data signal for transmission and for transmitting the formatted signal to one or more VSB receivers.