Filmstrip interface for searching video

A video capture and playback network comprising:

• a video source;
• a recorder which encodes video from the video source;
• and
• a client device which enables a user to search and play back encoded video from the recorder via a user interface comprising:
• a filmstrip snapshot sequence of a series of chronologically ordered snapshots of the encoded video, each snapshot having an associated video segment of the encoded video from which the snapshot was taken, and wherein each of the snapshots is taken at a regular interval equal to the length of the video segments;
• a selection window which highlights a set of at least two consecutive snapshots from the filmstrip snapshot sequence;
• a first icon or equivalent input device which, when selected, advances the filmstrip snapshot sequence, causing the selection window to highlight a chronologically later set of snapshots;
• a second icon or equivalent input device which, when selected, zooms in on the filmstrip snapshot sequence as a function of time, causing a new set of snapshots to be retrieved at a smaller regular interval;
• a third icon or equivalent input device which, when selected, plays the video segments associated with the highlighted snapshots, in chronological order.

A method for locating a transition event on recorded video with a user interface, the method comprising;

• identifying an initial state and a final state which are visually distinguishable from snapshots of the recorded video;
• advancing a chronological sequence of snapshots taken at a regular time interval from the recorded video, until a snapshot showing the first state and a snapshot showing the second state are simultaneously highlighted by a selection window of the user interface;
• and
• playing video associated with snapshots highlighted by the selection window.