PURPOSE: To exactly and stably reproduce an arbitrary still picture signal by detecting whether the frequency of a pilot signal is superimposed onto that of a picture signal recorded to a video floppy or not.

CONSTITUTION: It is detected whether the pilot signal is recorded or not together with the picture signal to a track on a video floppy 2 to which magnetic heads 3-1 and 3-2 are abutted. Namely, according to whether the pilot signal is added to the picture signal to be reproduced from the recording medium or not, it is discriminated whether the picture signal is reproduced from the track recording high fidelity still picture signals for one picture or reproduced from the track recording still picture signals for one field or one frame. Thus, the arbitrary still picture signal can exactly and stably be reproduced.