Studies and advances on joint source-channel encoding/decoding techniques in flow media communications

Joint source-channel coding/decoding （JSCC/JSCD） techniques in flow media communications have become a state-of-the-art and one of the challenging research subjects in the spatial communication area. They have great application prospective and deep impact in various manned space flights, satellite missions, mobile ra- dio communications and deep-space explorations. In the last few years, there have been influential achievements in JSCC/JSCD studies. This paper aims at an introduction to the basic principles of joint source-channel optimal design. A general summarization and classification for various existing JSCC/JSCD methods is addressed. Also presented is a JSCD scheme based on variable-length coding, capable of providing reliable resolutions for flow media data transmission in spatial communications. Keywords