A method of resetting a trellis-coded modulation (TCM) encoder to a known state, the TCM encoder including a reset input that resets the TCM encoder to the known state when held at a reset level for a plurality of symbol clock cycles, the method including identifying an event to occur in the future that requires the TCM encoder to be reset to the known state; and holding the reset input of the TCM encoder at the reset level beginning the plurality of clock symbol cycles before a time the event will occur so that the TCM encoder will be reset to the known state immediately before the event occurs.