Array codes correcting likely burst error patterns

This contribution considers data transmission over channels which are corrupted by two-dimensional bursts of errors. A code is constructed that allows to correct one rectangular burst. Its code rate is close to the generalized Singleton bound, and in the case of binary code symbols it can be implemented efficiently using only shift registers and XOR gates. Based on this code, constructions of codes are studied whose error correcting capabilities are restricted to a subset of rectangular bursts. When only likely error patterns can be corrected, the code rate can be raised while accepting only a small increase in error probability. In particular it will be shown that asymptotically these codes permit data transmission with arbitrarily low error probability at a rate beyond the Generalized Singleton bound.