Abstract: A video indexing system provides a hierarchical ordered structure of video data on a sequentially accessed storage medium, such as a video tape. The index structure groups different portions of the video data together and establishes relationships between those portions. The arrangement of the index structure can be varied depending on the desires of an individual user. The inventive arrangement provides greater flexibility in viewing the contents of analog video tapes, for example and allows a user to add descriptive information that facilitates choosing the portions of the video data to be viewed.