What method does a digital receiver use to correct errors during transport?

A digital receiver relies on Forward Error Correction (FEC) to enhance data integrity during transport. This method involves adding redundant bits to the original data before transmission. These additional bits allow the receiver to detect and correct errors without the need for retransmission. By analyzing the received data along with the redundant bits, the receiver can accurately reconstruct the original information even when some errors occur during transmission.

The robustness of FEC makes it especially important in environments where retransmission may be costly or impractical, such as in satellite communications or real-time data streaming. While other methods like redundant data encoding, signal regeneration, and checksum verification play roles in data integrity, they do not provide the same level of proactive correction as FEC does. Redundant data encoding adds extra bits but does not correct errors directly. Signal regeneration re-establishes signal integrity but does not address errors in data content. Checksum verification can detect errors but typically requires a retransmission after detection, which is not as efficient as the correction capabilities of FEC.