1. A method of processing communication signals, comprising steps of: (a) receiving a transmitted encoded media data stream comprising a plurality of data elements, each data element representing a portion of a transmitted media session; (b) if a data element arrives prior to, or at, a predetermined playout deadline, performing steps of: (b)(i) decoding the data element; (b)(ii) playing the media represented by the decoded data element; and (b)(iii) providing the data element to a decoder state machine to update a decoder state; and (c) if a data element arrives after the predetermined playout deadline, providing the data element to the decoder state machine to update the decoder state.