A method and system for segmenting video into an optimal set of video
clusters that correspond loosely to one or more events, date ranges, time
ranges, chapters or other logical segmentations of the digital video that
is meaningful to the user. Video shots are selected from one or more
video files on a computer-readable medium. The video shots are arranged
in chronological order and a distance (e.g., time gap) between each
successive pair of the arranged video shots is determined. Video
clustering are generated as function of the determined `distances` and/or
user input, and an optimal video clustering is identified. After the
optimal video clustering is identified, a time span for each of the video
clusters is determined and a label is generated for each cluster. The
clusters are then displayed for the user to browse using the generated
labels and thumbnails derived from the video clips, transferred to a
separate medium for display on another computer or other electronic
device (e.g. DVD-video player) or made available for the user or other
software to manipulate further.