The correlation of the output of a binary convolutional encoder

In this paper we discuss the correlation properties of the output of a binary convolutional encoder. We consider both random statistically independent inputs and first-order Markov inputs. It is shown that for random inputs, the ensemble average of the product of the outputs of a convolutional encoder taken two at a time is always either 0 or 1, and that for almost all good codes the ensemble average is always 0.