An approach is provided for generating Low Density Parity Check (LDPC) codes. An LDPC encoder generates a LDPC code with an outer Bose Chaudhuri Hocquenghem (BCH) code. For ⅓ rate, the relevant parameters are as follows: q=120, nldpc=64,800, kldpc=nBCH=21600, kBCH=21408 (12 bit error correcting BCH). For ¼ rate, the LDPC code has the following relevant parameters: q=135, nldpc=64,800, kldpc=nBCH=16200, kBCH=16008 (12 bit error correcting BCH). For ⅖ rate, the following parameters exist: q=108, nldpc=64800, kldpc=nBCH=25920, kBCH=25728 (12 bit error correcting BCH). The above approach has particular application in digital video broadcast services over satellite.