PURPOSE: To automatically provide management information in moving picture data by dividing a screen into plural areas and obtaining a motion vector from each area based on correlation between pictures so as to detect automatically a scene change picture from the moving picture.

CONSTITUTION: A timewise consecutive picture signal is inputted to an input terminal 1 of a scene change detector. Plural vector detection areas 5 are decided in a screen 11 by a detection area vector detection circuit 2 and the detection area 5 is divided into lots of small areas 8 having a representative point 9. A difference of the representative point of each small area with respect to a transited position 10 is obtained as a correlation value respectively and the sum of the correlation values is taken in the small area. The vector detection circuit 2 obtains the minimum value, the mean value and the maximum value of the correlation value and outputs them to a vector reliability introduction means 3 together with the motion vector. A scene decision means 4 detects a scene change from a change in the time series data of the correlation value between pictures obtained from the vector reliability introduction means 3.