A method includes receiving streaming media data having a media frame and a frame index referencing the media frame; allocating a frame budget for an output media frame by estimating a frame size of the output media frame based on the frame index; generating the output media frame in real-time by processing the media frame based on first processing parameters and, if the allocated frame budget is greater than a frame size of the processed media frame, padding the processed media frame; and providing the output media frame.