Block noises generated on an input video signal that has been coded and decoded
per pixel block are detected. The input video signal is differentiated per pixel
to obtain a differentiated signal. Impulses of the differentiated signal are detected
to obtain a detection signal carrying the impulses. The detection signal is integrated
and compared with a reference signal to determine whether the block noise is generated
on the input video signal. For noise reduction, the detection signal is filtered
to obtain a corrected signal. The input video signal is delayed by a predetermined
period. The correction signal is added to the delayed video signal to cancel the
difference in signal level on the boundary between a first pixel block on which
a block noise is generated and a second block adjacent to the first pixel block
of the input video signal.