In one aspect, the present invention provides a method of communicating across a serial line 26. In this method, n parallel streams of data 30 are to be received at a destination 20. In a first embodiment, the n parallel streams of data 30 characterized in that one of streams of data includes a unique characteristic that can be used to distinguish that one from each of the other streams of data. In a second embodiment, each of the n streams of data 30 are in a particular pattern that includes a detectable characteristic. At the destination 20, the unique characteristic and/or detectable characteristic can be detected to correct space and/or time errors in the streams of data. For example, the destination 20 might be a receiver that includes a serial-to-parallel converter 28 and calibration circuitry 34.