9. An apparatus for selectively displaying video programming, comprising: a metadata generator for automatically generating metadata that delimits a start and an end of each video program segment in a set of video program segments within at least one video programming sequence, wherein each video program segment is associated with an access key, each access key operable to identify the video program segment and corresponding metadata, wherein the access key comprises a uniform resource locator, the metadata generator further for: incorporating manual adjustments to the start and end of at least one of the video program segments; accessing, over a network, additional manual adjustments to the start and end of the at least one of the video program segments; and in response to a determination that the additional manual adjustments create an improved version of the at least one of the video program segments, updating the metadata of the at least one of the video program segments to include the additional manual adjustments; a display for reproducing the set of segments in an ordered sequence specified by a playlist, in the absence of an intervening control command from a viewer; the display further operable to display a segment guide listing, the segment guide listing containing, for each segment of the set, a text description corresponding to the respective segment, with the text description corresponding to the segment currently being reproduced being visually identified on said guide listing; an interface for receiving an indication that the viewer has selected a text description of the segment guide listing, the selected text description describing a desired segment of the set of segments; and a processor for retrieving the desired segment using segment identification information corresponding to the desired segment for reproducing on the display device the desired segment.
9. An apparatus for selectively displaying video programming, comprising: a metadata generator for automatically generating metadata that delimits a start and an end of each video program segment in a set of video program segments within at least one video programming sequence, wherein each video program segment is associated with an access key, each access key operable to identify the video program segment and corresponding metadata, wherein the access key comprises a uniform resource locator, the metadata generator further for: incorporating manual adjustments to the start and end of at least one of the video program segments; accessing, over a network, additional manual adjustments to the start and end of the at least one of the video program segments; and in response to a determination that the additional manual adjustments create an improved version of the at least one of the video program segments, updating the metadata of the at least one of the video program segments to include the additional manual adjustments; a display for reproducing the set of segments in an ordered sequence specified by a playlist, in the absence of an intervening control command from a viewer; the display further operable to display a segment guide listing, the segment guide listing containing, for each segment of the set, a text description corresponding to the respective segment, with the text description corresponding to the segment currently being reproduced being visually identified on said guide listing; an interface for receiving an indication that the viewer has selected a text description of the segment guide listing, the selected text description describing a desired segment of the set of segments; and a processor for retrieving the desired segment using segment identification information corresponding to the desired segment for reproducing on the display device the desired segment. 13. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein the metadata specifies signatures of the at least one video programming sequence, the signatures identifying signal characteristics of the at least one video programming sequence to establish delimiting markers for each video program segment.