A system and methods are provided for automatically classifying data
according to perceptual properties of the data to form a classification
chain that is suited to the searching and sorting of large databases of
media entities. During classification, experts assign each media entity
in the training data set to one or more classes, with each class
corresponding to a given subset of perceptual properties of the data. In
conjunction with digital signal processing properties of the data
corresponding to the perceptual properties, the classified data is then
used to construct an initial classification chain. During operation, when
presented with an unclassified entry, the classification chain returns an
estimate of the class of the entry, as well as a confidence measure that
is proportional to the level of confidence of the class assignment. Over
time, as the classification chain evolves, the classification chain
becomes more and more effective for quickly characterizing media
entities.