1. A method of determining a timing related action by a PHY, comprising: receiving a packet; determining an encapsulation scheme for the packet by sequentially performing a plurality of comparisons of portions of the packet with programmable register stored bit patterns for different protocols, wherein portions of the packet other than a portion for a first comparison are selected based on an offset, the offset determined based on results of each comparison other than a last of the comparisons; and determining an action to take regarding modification of a time stamp of the packet based on a result of at least one of the comparisons of the plurality of comparisons.