Patent ID: 8503863

Claim:
An image playback device comprising: a storage unit for storing (i) a plurality of videos and a plurality of still images, and (ii) for each video and each still image, an image information piece including an imaging time at which the video or the still image was taken; a playback control unit operable to playback each video and each still image; a time management unit operable to manage a reference time in accordance with the playback performed by the playback control unit and the imaging times at which the videos and the still images are taken; a reception unit operable to receive, from a user, a switch instruction that causes an image switch to be performed; and a search unit operable to, when the reception unit receives the switch instruction, perform at least one of the following (i) and (ii) with reference to the image information pieces: (i) searching for, from among the videos stored in the storage unit that are not currently being played back, a video that meets at least part of a video search time range that includes the reference time, such that t2<t1<t3, where t2 does not equal t3, where t1 is the reference time, where t2 represents a time point that is older than t1, and where t3 represents a time point that is more recent than t1: and (ii) searching for, from among the stored still images, a still image having an imaging time that is within an image search time range that includes the reference time, such that t4<t1<t5, where t4 does not equal t5, where t1 is the reference time, where t4 represents a time point that is older than t1 and where t5 represents a time point that is more recent than t1, wherein the playback control unit performs the playback in accordance with a result of the search performed by the search unit.