A streaming media codec may include a collection of media stream processing modules arranged into a processing graph. One or more of the modules may perform a Fourier-related transform, and a significant fraction of media stream processing may occur post-transform. The media stream may be considered as a sequence of processing blocks, and post-transform processing blocks contain transform coefficients. Such transform coefficients are amenable to classification into processing classes. Some processing classes may require significantly less processing effort than others by post-transform processing modules. Such transform coefficient classes may be efficiently specified, for example, with coefficient bounding rectangles, and the specification provided to one or more post-transform streaming media processing modules to enable the modules to allocate their processing resources more effectively. Streaming media processing modules making effective use of the transform coefficient class information, and streaming media codecs that incorporate them, are called transform coefficient bounding (TCB) enhanced.