1. A computer-implemented method for processing multimedia data, the method comprising: receiving a user preference description defining a hierarchical structure to describe preferences for filtering and searching of multimedia content, the hierarchical structure including first and second preference elements, the first preference element identifying a single content description component and the second preference element identifying a combination of a plurality of content description components, wherein the user preference description specifies a first preference value for the first preference element and a second preference value for the second preference element; and using the user preference description to filter or search for multimedia content.