A method includes determining, at a first computing device, whether data to be communicated to a second computing device includes media data or protocol data. The method also includes, in response to determining that the data includes media data, generating a message header and a message body based on the media data. The message header includes a header flags portion and a header fields portion, and the header flags portion includes at least one flag having a value that indicates a length of a corresponding field of a plurality of fields of the header fields portion. The method further includes encapsulating the message header and the message body into a message and inserting the message into a media stream to be transmitted from the first computing device to the second computing device in accordance with a media communication protocol.