Patent ID: 7711071

Claim:
A method of setting a slice level in a binary signal in presence of noise, the binary signal having a first signal level during a first signal portion and a second signal level during a second signal portion, the method comprising the steps of: setting the slice level initially at a level intermediate the first and the second signal level, providing a noise indication by measuring a first noise level during the first signal portion and by measuring a second noise level during the second signal portion wherein measuring the respective noise levels includes detecting a root mean square (RMS) level of the binary signal and includes detecting peaks in the binary signal to indicate that the noise peaks in the respective first and second portions have on average different magnitudes, and adjusting the slice level substantially uniformly during both the first and the second signal portions using the noise indication and as a function of an asymmetrical distribution in the first noise level and in the second noise level the step of adjusting the slice level includes adjusting the slice level substantially uniformly during both the first and the second signal portions.