Abstract: There is disclosed a video recorder and playback unit in which video and audio signals broadcast from a conventional television station are encoded on a recording medium. During playback of the medium, the medium is advanced relative to a pickup unit in a playback direction at a predetermined rate for playing back the encoded signals. During playback, a picture tube and a speaker respectively displays an image representative of the video signal and creates sound energy representative of the audio signal. A selective fast forward advance mechanism is operable from a position remote from the picture tube for selectively advancing the medium relative to the pickup in the playback direction a predetermined distance at a rate in excess of the playback rate. This allows the viewer to skip segments of predetermined time duration that the viewer does not desire to see.