Patent ID: 6891799

Claim:
A data transmission method for performing relay processing of relaying plural input packets which are successively input from a transmitting end, to output the same to a receiving end, and for performing at least one of processing of retransmitting an input packet which is instructed to be retransmitted from the receiving end and processing of transmitting a correction packet containing an error correcting code for a predetermined input packet, said method comprising: deciding a priority attached to each input packet input from the transmitting end and priorities attached to at least one additional packet constituted by at least one of the correction packet and the input packet which is instructed to be retransmitted; thinning out the input packets and the at least one additional packet on the basis of the priority, and outputting the remaining packets which have remained after said thinning out; and transmitting the remaining packets; wherein, in said thinning out, lower priority packets having lower priorities than the at least one additional packet, corresponding to a size of the at least one additional packet, are thinned out.