A system and method for digital communication wherein a host provides a host clock and a clockless device transmits to the host a bit stream synchronized according to the clock at a data rate that is an integer multiple of the clock rate. A training mechanism using training data detects time skew between host clock and bit stream, and a digital skew compensation mechanism compensates, substantially in real time, for the skew and for variations in the skew that may occur with the passage of time, in accordance with a vote among at least three samples of a bit of the bit stream, subsequent sampling being retarded or advanced if, respectively, an early or late sample is in disagreement with the vote. Preferably, the compensation value is selected from at least four possible compensation values, and can be stored in a memory to hasten subsequent restarts of the system.