Abstract: At least a portion of a media file can be downloaded by accessing one or more items of media data associated with a media file stored on a remote server, wherein the media data includes at least one sample table; receiving input from a user identifying a playback location associated with the media file; determining a plurality of data items required to play at least a portion of the media file from the identified playback location based on the at least one sample table; and transmitting one or more byte-range requests to the remote server using the hypertext transfer protocol to retrieve the plurality of data items. Further, the media file can be progressively downloaded from the identified playback location until the end of the media file is reached, playback of the media file is terminated, or input is received from the user identifying a new playback location.