Abstract: The present disclosure relates to the comparison of data items, such as media data items or streams, e.g. audio files or streams, to determine a similarity between the data items. A device receives a plurality, or ensemble, of data items, and calculates the pairwise similarity scores between a number of unique pairs of data items within the ensemble. For any given pair of data items, the pairwise similarity score is compared with an overall similarity score for an “indirect path” connecting the pair of data items via one or more intermediate data items. If the indirect path indicates a closer similarity between the data items, the pairwise score is updated based on the overall similarity score of the indirect path. The updated similarity score generated by this comparison then provides an improved indication of the similarity of the data items compared to the prior art method.

Abstract: The present disclosure relates to the comparison of data items, such as media data items or streams, e.g. audio files or streams, to determine a similarity between the data items. A device receives a plurality, or ensemble, of data items, and calculates the pairwise similarity scores between a number of unique pairs of data items within the ensemble. For any given pair of data items, the pairwise similarity score is compared with an overall similarity score for an “indirect path” connecting the pair of data items via one or more intermediate data items. If the indirect path indicates a closer similarity between the data items, the pairwise score is updated based on the overall similarity score of the indirect path. The updated similarity score generated by this comparison then provides an improved indication of the similarity of the data items compared to the prior art method.