
And, most importantly, it allows you to easily synchronize video and audio material captured and recorded by various devices. Timecode also allows the people making a video to take production notes. It also shows the exact time at which this frame was taken. If the video footage contains timecode, an editor can move to any frame in just one click because the timecode shows the exact address of every frame. One can ask a reasonable question: “I make a video for my vlog every day and I don’t understand what is timecode and why should I use it, if it’s possible to sync everything in post-production?” The answer is yes, it is possible BUT doing it manually is very inconvenient and time-consuming. In audio form, the timecode uses frequency modulation (FM). In digital form, timecode is typically represented in the form of a 32-bit word representing time, frame number, and other information. Here fps is the frame rate in frames per second.
#Video timecode calculator full#
The full number of frames FF full is defined from the timecode in the form HH:MM:SS:FF as follows: The DF suffix on 29.97 and 59.94 in the frame rate selector indicates that these two timecodes use the drop-frame method. It is added to the film, video, and audio material and is also used in music and theatrical production. The timecode in this form is defined by the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE). This timecode represents a time reference of 12 hours, 54 minutes, 5 seconds, and the 23rd frame The timecode is jammed (entered) into the clapboard when it is connected by a wire to the camera, audio recorder, or timecode generator. A timecode slate (clapperboard) has a display that shows the timecode of the video and audio.

The clip above runs at 24 frames per second from 10:29:01:00 to 10:29:04:24 or exactly 4 seconds. For example, in the slate picture above, the timecode shows that the picture begins at 10:29:01:00 (10 hours, 29 minutes, 01 seconds, 00 frames).


The timecode represents the time in the form of hour:minute:second:frame format (HH:MM:SS:FF). In other words, timecode is the information about the absolute or relative recording time of a video frame or audio recording. Timecode (spelled also as time code) is the system, which assigns a unique number to each frame of a video to allow it to be uniquely identified. Linear Timecode Data Format Definitions and Formulas What is Timecode?
