Glossary

23.976 vs 24 fps.

23.976 fps plays 24,000 frames every 1,001 seconds, a hair slower than 24 fps, which plays exactly 24 frames each second. Both count timecode in 24s, so an hour of 23.976 timecode lasts 3,603.6 seconds on the clock.

Where 23.976 comes from.

Color television in North America runs at 30 frames a second slowed by a thousandth, 29.97. Film shot at 24 had to slow by the same thousandth to fit, which gives 23.976. On many cameras the setting labeled 24p records 23.976, so check the exact number in the menu. Cinema projection uses true 24.

Does it matter.

Not to anyone watching: the two look the same. It matters inside the edit. Put a 24 clip on a 23.976 timeline and the software has to drop a frame about every 42 seconds, or slow the clip and its sound by a thousandth. Pick one rate at the start of a job and shoot, edit and deliver in it.

23.98 is the same rate rounded. The exact number is 24,000 divided by 1,001, 23.976023 and on.

On a DropYourFiles link.

DropYourFiles counts 23.976 as 24,000 over 1,001 exactly, so a note your client leaves an hour into a film still lands on the right frame as a Final Cut marker.

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Questions.

Is 23.98 the same as 23.976?

Yes. Both are names for 24,000 frames every 1,001 seconds, rounded differently.

Should I shoot 23.976 or 24?

For anything that ends up online or on television in North America, 23.976 is the usual choice. For a cinema delivery, ask for the spec; many ask for 24.

Why does my 23.976 timecode not match the clock?

Because the timecode counts 24 labels a second and the picture plays slightly slower. Over an hour the timecode falls 3.6 seconds behind.

Where this comes from.

Apple, Final Cut Pro User Guide: Intro to markers, read October 29, 2026.

Keep reading.

More in the glossary, or see what DropYourFiles does.

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