Reverse jog play can be provided quickly and simply in a player that plays a recorded stream of inter-frame encoded digital video by storing, in intra-coded frame format, frames that were previously decoded by the player and are in the vicinity of the frame currently being displayed. The intra-frame encoded versions of the decoded frames may be digitally stored in random access memory (RAM) or in some other storage medium that is easily accessible. The number of previously decoded frames may be a fixed number essentially independent of the frame structure of the video stream. Alternatively, the player stores each decoded frame from a predetermined, e.g., the most recently or next to most recently decoded, intra-coded frame (I-frame) until the current frame. Thus, the number of useable stored frames is a function of the video stream structure, the design choices of the user, and the current frame being displayed. Optionally, when using reverse jog play, an additional series of frames is decoded and stored upon reaching a point near the I-frame toward which the display is moving. Advantageously, by using I-frame format for storing the previously decoded frames for possible use in reverse jog play, the storage requirement for such frames is reduced while conventional available components may be used to implement the system.