Apple Final Cut Pro 6 - Manual (Page 1893)

410 Part V Appendixes
What Is Timecode?
Timecode is a signal recorded with your video that uniquely identifies every frame of
your tape using a time stamp in hours, minutes, seconds, and frames. Timecode uses
the following format:
Timecode was invented in the late 1960s so that computer video editing systems could
automatically find specific frames on tape and record editing decisions that could then
be performed over and over again. The Society of Motion Picture and Television
Engineers (SMPTE) standardized several electronic timecode formats for video in 1967.
Note: Other types of address code, such as Keycode and ink numbers, are used for
editing film. For more information, see the documentation that came with Cinema Tools.
About Drop Frame and Non-Drop Frame Timecode
NTSC video (black-and-white) originally had a frame rate of 30 fps, so the timecode
counted at 30 fps. However, NTSC color video (the only kind of NTSC video in use
today), has a frame rate of 29.97 fps. This subtle difference between 30 fps and 29.97 fps
seems practically negligible and, in many cases, ignoring this discrepancy is fine. But
not always. What editors needed, especially in expensive broadcast markets, was
timecode that accurately reflected the exact duration of a program on tape.
There are two types of 30 fps timecode for use with NTSC video: non-drop frame and
drop frame. Non-drop frame timecode is simple: for every frame of video, there is a
corresponding timecode number. The timecode increments without any compensation.
In almost all cases, timecode is non-drop frame. In fact, drop frame timecode only
matters in the case of NTSC video.
Hours Minutes Seconds Frames
SMPTE timecode
01:32:15:28