Apparatus and method for correcting jitter in data packets

An arrangement (apparatus and method) for detecting jitter caused during transport of digitally-coded information, such as MPEG-encoded data packets, and for correcting time stamp reference values in accordance with the detected jitter. The disclosed arrangement detects program clock reference (PCR) values from an MPEG-encoded transport stream, where each PCR value represents an expected arrival time of a corresponding stream segment. An actual arrival time for the corresponding stream segment is determined in response to detection of the corresponding PCR value and an independent clock signal. The expected arrival time of the stream segment and the actual arrival time are correlated with an accumulation of expected and actual arrival times of previously-received data packet stream segments in order to determine the jitter and the desired expected arrival time of the corresponding stream segment. The jitter is corrected by a combination of adaptive buffering techniques and restamping the PCR value with corrected values coinciding with the actual arrival time of the stream segments. The disclosed arrangement may be implemented in a receiver system, or as part of the network node that minimizes the effects of cell delay variation in an ATM network.