A double-rate signal achieved by subjecting a video signal to double-rate
conversion is supplied to a scan line number converter. In the converter,
the portion of the effective scan lines of the double-rate signal is
written into a frame memory on the basis of a signal achieved by
multiplying horizontal and vertical synchronous signals based on the
double-rate signal. In the effective scan line section of HDTV signal,
the video signal written in the frame memory is read out on the basis of
horizontal and vertical reference signals based on the HDTV signal. Out
of the effective scan line section of the HDTV signal, a pedestal level
signal written in a memory is read out on the basis of the horizontal and
vertical reference signals based on the HDTV signal, thereby achieving
HDTV signal whose vertical scan line number is equal to 1125 lines.
Accordingly, the HDTV signal suffers no degradation because the video
signal in the section of 960 effective scan lines of the double-rate
signal is not interpolated.