A media subsystem of a processing element includes a plurality of elements and a latency manager. The plurality of elements are capable of processing media data including a plurality of instances wherein a first element inserts a length of media data into buffer(s) from which a second element thereafter reads the length of media data for subsequent output from the media subsystem. The latency manager is capable of determining a latency requirement of the media subsystem, and then dynamically tuning the length of media data inserted into the buffer(s) based upon the latency requirement, including increasing or decreasing the length of media data inserted into the buffer(s) during one or more instances(s).