This invention is directed to the transferring of information in two-dimensional form. The form may be an image or may be printed word. The information is converted to a digital bit map. The bit map information is compressed by any compression technique (JPEG, MPEG, WAVELET, FRACTAL, etc.) and at the same time a first forward error-correcting code is generated of the bit map. The compressed information and the first forward error-correction code is formed into a data packet. These packets are transmitted with a second forward error-correcting code of the packet in order to correct any transmission errors. After correcting any transmission errors found at the receiving end as a result of the second forward error correction code, the data stream is decompressed, and an image bit map is regenerated. The first forward error-correction code is applied, and the bit map is corrected. This data bit map is converted to be compatible with the receiving equipment format so that it can be displayed optimally by the receiving equipment.