Picture phone apparatus and system which checks validity of picture data

A picture phone apparatus includes an image picking section (1) which picks up a picture data; a display section (5); a substitution picture storage section (3) which stores a substitution picture data; an image processing section (2) and a communication processing section (4). The image processing section (2) checks whether the picked-up picture data is valid or invalid, retrieves the substitution picture data from the substitution picture storage section to output as transmission picture data when it is determined that the picked-up picture data is invalid, sets the picked-up picture data as the transmission picture data when it is determined that the picked-up picture data is valid, and encodes the transmission picture data. The communication processing section (4) multiplexes the encoded transmission picture data and transmission audio data into transmission data and transmits the transmission data to a counter station.