Method and system for accessing video data

摘要

A method and system are described for accessing video data stored on a storage device 16. A processor 22 is used to generate a preview sequence comprising video sequences extracted from each video programme in the storage device. The preview sequence may be provided as a grid containing a plurality of video sequences and other textual or graphical data related to the programmes displayed, or may be provided as a sequence of video sequences. The processor also generates a graphical user interface to allow a user to select a video programme from the video sequences that are displayed. Once selected, the programme corresponding to the video sequence may be viewed, deleted or edited. Furthermore, data related to the programme may be displayed. The processor can generate the preview sequence, or update the existing preview sequence, as a background process.