An external terminal having a communication unit capable of communicating with a video recording apparatus, the external terminal includes an input unit operable to input additional information from a user, an input start detecting unit operable to detect start of the input of the additional information to the input unit, and a recording state inquiring unit operable to inquire of the video recording apparatus and acquire information representing a recording position in video data currently being recorded by the video recording apparatus via the communication unit, when the input start detecting unit detects the start of the input of the additional information.