Color television signals obtained by scanning a still picture are converted into digital video signals and stored in video frame memory for delaying the signals. Undelayed and delayed digital video signals are added together to produce a luminance signal in which the color carrier is suppressed. A circuit for detecting a change of picture provides a start signal after which the first frame of a still picture is stored and is then recycled until there is another picture change. To reduce the effect of recycling, the continuously supplied picture signal is modified by a factor of 1-k, and the recycled picture is modified by the factor k, wherein k varies between 0 and 1 (or 100%) and is a gradually rising function whose rise time extends over a multiplicity, for example 2-4, video frame periods.