An audio / video reproducing apparatus is connectable to a communications network for selectively reproducing items of audio / video material from a recording medium in response to a request received via the communications network. The audio / video reproducing apparatus may comprise a control processor operable in use to receive data representing the request for the audio / video material item via the communications network. A reproducing processor is operable in response to signals identifying the audio / video material items from the control processor to reproduce the audio / video material items. The data identifying the audio / video material items includes meta data indicative of the audio / video material items. The meta data may be one of UMID, tape ID and
time codes, and a Unique
Material Identifier the material items. To facilitate the identification and selection of the audio and / or video material, an audio and / or
video processing apparatus is provided for
processing audio and / or video signals representing sound and / or images. The
processing apparatus comprises an activity
detector operable to generate an activity
signal indicative of an amount of activity within the sound / images represented by the audio / video
signal, and a meta
data generator coupled to the activity
detector which is operable to generate sample images at temporal positions within the audio / video
signal, which temporal positions are determined from the activity signal. The
processing apparatus thereby provides a facility for automatically generating meta data from received audio / video signals. The meta data can be used to select the audio / video material.