In order to search for an image recorded on an optical disk 10, a registration trigger is generated automatically or in response to an instruction of the user from a microcomputer block 30, a pointer indicating the recording position of a main image which is used as an index image in a preset area of the optical disk 10 via a data processor 36 and disk drive 32, index image data which becomes the index image is created in an encoder section 50 and data is recorded from an index image buffer memory 59 into a user menu file on the optical disk 10 via a formatter 56, data processor 36 and disk drive 32.