The invention operates to determine a measure of one or more input data parameters, such as input data rate and input data buffer fill at the beginning of a data burst. The invention then proceeds to the selection of an operating data rate for the data burst as a function of the input data parameter measures. In a further step, the invention proceeds to a selection of a duration for the data burst as a function of the selected operating data rate and an end-of-burst data residue parameter.
