A method and apparatus for accessing messages from a message server. Messages are stored on the message server in their current format without transcoding. When a client opens a session with the message server, a data transfer rate is determined for the client. In response to a message retrieve request, the bit rate of the message is compared to the data transfer rate, and if less than the data transfer rate, the message is downloaded to the user terminal without transcoding. If the bit rate is greater than the data transfer rate, then the message is transcoded to a lower bit rate according to a codec supported by the user. The codec may be selected from a set of codecs supported by the user terminal. The user is provided with the capability to override the system selected codec, for example, to pick a codec for secure encoding or encryption.