A buffering protocol and a streaming media player which utilizes the buffering protocol designed for minimizing the occurrences of pauses during the presentation due to network congestion and for scheduling pauses at appropriate times in the presentation. The substrate may have protruding portions formed in a repeating pattern on substantially an entire surface of the substrate while the rest of the surface may be substantially flat. The example control valve includes a cartridge assembly removably coupled to the valve body and disposed within the passageway of the valve body between the inlet and the outlet.