To reduce an initial storage time by a reception memory by transmitting data at a faster transmission rate than a compression bit rate to a receiver side without causing a failure in the reception of a stream at a receiver side compression decoder section.

A read signal generating section 12 brings an FIFO memory 7 to a read state based on an empty flag 8. On the other hand, a write signal generating circuit 18 detects groups of pictures in compression data 19 based on a clock signal 17 to provide the output of a write signal 20. Furthermore, a vbv-delay control section 27 calculates an initial storage amount based on a value of vbv-delay in the case that the data are written in a vbv-buffer 21 at a compression rate indicated in a header. Then the vbv-delay control section 27 counts the write signal 20 and detects the data equivalent to the initial storage amount stored in the vbv- buffer 21 to provide an output of a read signal 22 and to start read of compression data 23 from the vbv- buffer 21 and decoder section 24 receiving the data 23 starts decoding the data 23.