Patent ID: 8537694

Claim:
A method of processing a first packet belonging to a first communication signal that comprises a header and a payload and is conveyed in a packet switched communication network, wherein said method comprises: determining a first processing indication based on the payload of said first packet and/or on a payload of at least one of its neighboring packets to provide first processing instructions for said first packet, wherein said first communication signal further comprises a second packet associated with a second processing indication, different from the first processing indication, thereby enabling different processing of said first packet and said second packet associated with said second processing indication, and wherein said first processing indication represents: (1) delay characteristics of said first communication signal to which the first packet belongs; and (2) accumulated degradation characteristics of said first communication signal that have accumulated during conveying of said first packet, the method further comprising: forwarding said first communication signal through a plurality of encoders and corresponding decoders and providing a corresponding plurality of processed copies of the first communication signal; comparing each processed copy with the first communication signal and estimating a corresponding degradation value; determining a quality function based on said degradation values; and processing said first racket as a function of said first processing indication said delay characteristics, said accumulated degradation characteristics and said quality function.