CaliberVisual
Log inStart free
Free tool

Timecode calculator

Timecode to frames, frames to timecode, and the arithmetic between two of them — at any frame rate, drop frame included.

Counting

Timecode and frames

Real time
00:00:59.993
Seconds
59.993

Add and subtract

Sum
00:00:42;15 · 1,275 frames
Difference
00:00:17;15 · 525 frames

Drop frame is shown with a semicolon before the frames, which is the convention that tells you at a glance which counting rule a timecode is using.

What this does

Converts between HH:MM:SS:FF timecode and a frame count at 23.976, 24, 25, 29.97, 30, 50, 59.94 and 60fps, and adds or subtracts two timecodes so you can work out a duration or an offset without counting on your fingers. Drop frame is handled properly: at 29.97 and 59.94 the counter skips two frame numbers at the start of every minute except every tenth minute, which is why a drop-frame timecode matches the clock and a non-drop one drifts by about 3.6 seconds an hour. The tool shows both the frame count and the real elapsed time, because at 23.976 and 29.97 those are not the same number and mistaking one for the other is how an edit ends up a frame short.

How to convert timecode to frames

  1. 01

    Set the frame rate

    It changes everything downstream. 29.97 and 59.94 offer a drop frame switch; the others do not have one because drop frame only exists to reconcile those rates with the clock.

  2. 02

    Type a timecode or a frame count

    Either field fills the other as you type. The real elapsed time is shown alongside, which is what differs from the timecode at fractional rates.

  3. 03

    Add or subtract

    Put two timecodes in the second panel for the total or the gap between them, in both timecode and frames.

Questions

What is drop frame timecode?

A counting rule, not dropped footage. NTSC runs at 29.97fps rather than 30, so a timecode that counts 30 frames per second gains about 3.6 seconds every hour against the wall clock. Drop frame skips frame numbers 00 and 01 at the start of each minute except every tenth minute, which cancels the drift out. No frames are lost — only labels.

How many frames are in a second at 23.976fps?

Timecode counts 24, because timecode counts labels rather than elapsed time. In real time those 24 frames take 1.001 seconds. Over a ten-minute sequence that is a difference of about 0.6 seconds, which is why a music cue laid to timecode drifts against one laid to the clock.

Why does my timecode not match my editor's?

Usually a different start timecode — a sequence that begins at 01:00:00:00 rather than at zero — or a drop frame setting that differs between the sequence and the source. Check both before assuming the frame count is wrong.

What frame rate should I work at?

Match the footage. If it was shot at 24 or 23.976, edit at that; if it was shot at 60 for slow motion, edit at 30 and retime. Converting frame rates mid-project is the expensive kind of decision, and doing it at the export is cheaper than doing it in the timeline.

Other free tools