PURPOSE: To transmit the answer video information in the best communication form for the equipment on the transmitter side by applying a prescribed transmission method accordant with the communicating capability of the equipment on the transmitter side for the video information stored in a storage means.

CONSTITUTION: It is decided in a capability information switching sequence whether the JPEG still picture transmitting capability is confirmed or not. If not confirmed, a voice coding mode is selected according to the capability for selection of a voice answer message accordant with the opposite parth. Then the buses are set for a voice decoding part 105 and a voice coding part 103 according to the coding mode that selected the voice answere message, or the bus is directly set for th part 105. Then an instruction is given to a digital video processing part 115 which performs the input control of the digital video signals to a selected video coding part 108 to continuously output the same frames. Meanwhile a selected answer video frame message is set to a 1st frame memory 116. When the end is detected for transmission of video information, the received message is recorded.