More or less, but it's really best not to think of them in terms of RS codes at all. The reason they're called "fountain codes" is that they're used like a wate

More or less, but it's really best not to think of them in terms of RS codes at all. The reason they're called "fountain codes" is that they're used like a water fountain. The transmitter just starts sending out bits for a file like a water fountain spews out water. The receiver(s) collect bits until they've got enough to reconstruct the file. It's like they're collecting water in a bucket, and when they've got enough water (good bits) they can reconstruct the file. The receivers with a good channel are like people standing close to the fountain who can catch lots of bits. Those with a bad channel are like people standing further away. But everybody can eventually fill up their bucket. And the transmitter is indifferent to what channel they've got.