A communication system including a transmitter, a receiver, and a serial link,
in which encoded data (e.g., video, audio, and optionally also other auxiliary
data) are transmitted from the transmitter to the receiver. The serial link can
but need not be a TMDS or TMDS-like link. In typical embodiments, packets of encoded
audio data are transmitted over each of one or more channels of the link during
data islands between bursts of encoded video data. Other aspects of the invention
are transmitters for use in encoding data for transmission over a serial link,
receivers for receiving such data, and methods for sending encoded data over a
serial link.
