Patent ID: 7486206

Claim:
A method for encoding a stream of input words into a stream of code words using a channel code for storage of the stream of code words on a recording medium comprising tracks for storage of the stream code words, said method comprising the step of: coding the stream of input words into the stream of code words, characterized in that the method further comprises the steps of: determining a control point in the data stream of input words or the stream of code words where the data stream of input words or the stream of code words can be altered by an alteration; for each alteration of a group of N possible alterations, determining, between a group of code words in a first track and a group of code words in a second track which is adjacent to a third track which is adjacent to the first track, a crosstalk value representing the cross talk affecting the third track corresponding to the alteration; selecting an optimum alteration, where the optimum alteration is that alteration from the group of N alterations which has a lowest cross talk value; and altering the data stream using the optimum alteration.