A method of video data compression is provided which is comparatively efficient in compressing data, and at the same time enables transmission of compressed data with sufficient robustness to withstand losses in the transmission channel. A frame of data is divided into coded macroblocks and skipped macroblocks which are grouped into respective slices in a sequence of slices. Respective slices are allowed to contain arbitrary numbers of consecutive macroblocks, and can begin and end at arbitrary positions within the frame. A run-length codeword, comprising a small number of bits, is inserted at the end of a slice to indicate the total number of skipped macroblocks between the final coded macroblock and the end of the slice. To further enhance error resilience an additional codeword, which also indicates the total number of skipped macroblocks, may be inserted at the beginning of the next-following slice.
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