timecode

[Peter Pop]

01.45.09.08

1 hour . 45 minute. 9 seconds. 8 frames

[Walter Soyka]

And if you’re working in NTSC, you should get familiar with the idea of drop frame (DF) vs. non-drop frame (NDF) timecode.

Because the NTSC frame rate is 29.97 frames per second, but NDF code counts 30 frames per second, there’s a slight discrepancy (108 frames per hour) between time code and run time.

To compensate, drop frame time code was developed. The first two frames of each minute are dropped from the counter, except for every 10th minute. DF time code will jump from 01:00:59;29 to 01:01:00;02 — there are no frames addressed as 01:01:00;00 and 01:01:00;01.

01:00:00;00 and 01:00:00;01 do exist, as do 01:10:00;00 and 01:10:00;01, etc.

Walter Soyka
Principal & Designer at Keen Live
Motion Graphics, Widescreen Events, Presentation Design, and Consulting
RenderBreak Blog – What I’m thinking when my workstation’s thinking
Creative Cow Forum Host: Live & Stage Events

[Hollie Osborn]

Well thats interesting. You say the frames still exist but if they have been dropped, how do you retrieve them?

Also I work with pal i think, english format? Also whats the visual differnce between ntsc (29.9fps) and pal (25fps), does ntsc provide a clearer picture?

Thanks very much for this information.

[Walter Soyka]

[Hollie Osborn] “You say the frames still exist but if they have been dropped, how do you retrieve them?”

No — no actual frames are dropped — just the numbers that refer to them. Time code is like a unique address for a frame.

Think of it like floors in a high rise; thanks to triskaidekaphobia, some older buildings go from floor 12 to floor 14 on the elevator control panel. Of course, there is not a “skipped floor” — but what is really the 13th floor is addressed as the 14th floor.

[Hollie Osborn] “Also I work with pal i think, english format?”

Drop frame time code does not apply to PAL — so you can forget everything I’ve said, and just consider it background information.

[Hollie Osborn] “Also whats the visual differnce between ntsc (29.9fps) and pal (25fps), does ntsc provide a clearer picture?”

Standard definition NTSC has lower resolution than PAL, but a higher frame rate. Roughly said, it’s softer, but smoother. But don’t choose one or the other for artistic reasons — you should work in the format you are expected to deliver in.

Walter Soyka
Principal & Designer at Keen Live
Motion Graphics, Widescreen Events, Presentation Design, and Consulting
RenderBreak Blog – What I’m thinking when my workstation’s thinking
Creative Cow Forum Host: Live & Stage Events