Patent ID: 7376159

Claim:
An apparatus for adding auxiliary data D A to an output data stream, comprising: a statistical multiplexer having a plurality of inputs including a first input, and an output providing the output data stream; a first encoder, having an output communicatively coupled to the a first statistical multiplexer input, the first encoder for compressing a first data stream D 1 according to a first actual data rate BW A 1 that is less than or equal to a first granted data rate BW G 1 granted by the statistical multiplexer in response to a requested data rate BW R 1 from the encoder, the difference between the first actual data rate BW A 1 and the first granted data rate BW G 1 defining an encoder overhead rate BW OE1 such that BW G 1 −BW A 1 =BW OE 1 ≧0, the first encoder having an output including a compressed version of the first data stream d 1 provided at the actual data rate BW A 1 and encoder null data N E 1 at the overhead rate BW OE1 ; and an auxiliary multiplexer, communicatively coupled to the statistical multiplexer, for sensing encoder null data N E and for substituting at least a portion of the auxiliary data D A for the encoder null data N H .