Device and method for recording multimedia data

1. A device for recording multimedia data received in programme form comprising temporary storage means designed to record continuously the multimedia data received in programme form and permanent storage means, comprising means of selectively transferring programmes from the temporary storage means to the permanent storage means, the device comprising:

segmentation means for segmenting the received programmes into units according to their content,

means of selectively transferring one or more units from the temporary storage means to the permanent storage means;

wherein said segmentation means further comprises:

means of breaking down each received programme into shots,

means of extracting at least one key image relating to each shot,

means of extracting visual attributes for each key image,

means of grouping the key images into units according to the similarity of the extracted attributes.

2. The device of claim 1 , wherein the segmentation means segments the programmes into hierarchically organized units.

3. The device of claim 1 , wherein the segmentation means generates, for each unit, segmentation information comprising:

a start address and an end address of the unit in the temporary storage means; and

information concerning the multimedia content of said unit.

4. The device of claim 2 , wherein the hierarchically organized units are representative of narrative units structure of the video.

5. The device of claim 1 , wherein the segmentation means segments the programmes according to informative data received with the programmes.

6. The device of claim 1 , wherein the temporary storage means and the permanent storage means are located on the same storage means.

7. The device of claim 1 , wherein the means of selectively transferring one or more units from the temporary storage means to the permanent storage means are configured to receive selection information from a user.

8. The device of claim 1 further comprising means of detecting a start of a new programme and of resetting the segmentation means upon detecting a new programme.

9. A method of recording multimedia data received in programme form in temporary storage means configured to continuously record the multimedia data received in programme form, comprising a step for selectively transferring programmes from the temporary storage means to permanent storage means, wherein the method comprises the steps of:

segmenting the received programmes into units according to their content,

selectively transferring one or more units from the temporary storage means to the permanent storage means,

wherein said segmenting further comprises the steps of:

breaking down each received programme into shots,

extracting at least one key image relating to each shot,

extracting visual attributes for each key image, and

grouping the key images into units according to the similarity of the extracted attributes.