SMPTE timecode 12M

[Steve Braker]

NTSC is 29.97 fps no matter what code you put on it.

Drop frame code skips frames in the code (doesn’t have anything to do with frames of video skipping) to make suyre 1 hour of code = 1 hour of real time.

Non-drop code just keeps counting 30 frames per second and ends up close to 4 seconds off after an hour.

BTW: NTSC is an SD standard; there’s no such thing as NTSC HD. But drop frame code can be used for any format running at 29.97. It is irrelevant for PAL and other 24 or 25 fps framerates.

[Edit.one]

Have you gone through SMPTE 12M standard ? It’s approved on 1999. In the delivery requirements for HD shows for network the time code should be confirm this standard.
Going through SMPTE journal I’ve found good explanation of drop-frame vs. nondrop-frame timecode and the ways the corrections are made. I want to address my concern that the HD shows delivered to network timecode should be at 29.97 drop-frame confirm 12M standard or is something like an open end based on each show or each network.

Best,
edit.one

[Steve Braker]

I’m sorry, I can’t answer that definitively. But non-drop has become the standard for pretty much everything in the 29.97 world, so I would be surprised if you found somebody _wanting_ drop code for anything HD that is 29.97. But you really need to find out through your own distribution chain.