Method and apparatus for code group identification

A method of generating a corrected code sequence, comprising the steps of: (A) receiving first and second window of codeword symbols; (B) forming a first and second sequence of hard decision symbols from the first and second windows of codeword symbols; (C) comparing each hard decision symbol in the first sequence with a corresponding hard decision symbol in the second sequence, and explaining the hard decision symbol as valid if appropriate hard decision symbols are identical, and as invalid if they are not identical; (D) sending based a particular to the in step (c) valid hard decision symbols code sequence to a Reed-Solomon error-and-erasure decoder, if the total number of invalid hard decision symbols is smaller than a threshold value for the total number of invalid symbols, or otherwise, ending the method; and (E) generating a corrected code sequence and terminating the method if the Reed-Solomon error-and-erasure decoder successfully result returns.