For slow motion playback operation with a digital video magnetic tape recording and reproducing equipment an intermediate memory system has four picture field memories of which there are always three available for writing into but only one of them at a time is in read-out operation. In a first reading operation of a particular picture field memory an AND correlation of a write flag and an error flag is necessary for providing an error recognition signal to following circuits and before a reading goes to the next address the write flag is erased by writing in a logic zero, but the correlated signal is used to rewrite the error flag in the error flag memory. In subsequent readings any error flag is transmitted and rewritten, but all write flags remain erased to signify that the memory has been read out at least once.