Glossary
Drop frame vs non drop frame.
Drop frame timecode skips two frame numbers at the start of every minute except every tenth minute, so that timecode at 29.97 fps keeps pace with the clock. Non drop frame counts every number in order, which is simpler but runs 3.6 seconds slow an hour at 29.97.
What is dropped.
Numbers, never pictures. At 29.97, drop frame jumps from 00:00:59;29 to 00:01:00;02, skipping ;00 and ;01, and does it every minute except 00, 10, 20 and so on. Over an hour that skips 108 numbers, which is the 3.6 seconds non drop frame falls behind. At 59.94 it skips four numbers a minute instead of two.
Apple’s Final Cut glossary puts it the same way: drop frame skips ahead by two frame numbers each minute except every tenth minute, and non drop frame numbers every frame in order.
Which one to use.
Broadcast in 29.97 countries expects drop frame, because a 30-minute show has to be 30 minutes on the clock. For a film delivered on the web, either works: what matters is that the timeline, the notes and the deliverables all use the same one. 23.976, 24, 25, 30 and the rest have no drop frame at all.
A semicolon before the frames marks drop frame: 01:00:00;00 is drop frame, 01:00:00:00 is not.
On a DropYourFiles link.
When you download your client’s notes from DropYourFiles, the timecode uses drop frame at 29.97 and 59.94 and shows the semicolon, the way Final Cut shows it. In Final Cut every note lands on its frame either way.
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Questions.
Is 23.976 drop frame?
No. Drop frame exists for 29.97 and 59.94. 23.976 timecode always runs 3.6 seconds an hour behind the clock, and that is normal.
Does drop frame remove frames from my video?
No. Every frame is still there. The labels skip, and the count matches the clock.
Can I change a timeline from non drop to drop frame?
Most editing software lets you change the timecode display without touching the picture. The frames stay the same and their labels change.
Where this comes from.
- Apple, Final Cut Pro User Guide: Glossary (drop frame and non-drop frame timecode), read October 29, 2026.
Keep reading.
- Timecode calculator. Frames, drop frame, real time
- Timecode vs timestamp
- 23.976 vs 24 fps
- How to import comments into Final Cut Pro
- Video bitrate vs file size
- Web size vs high resolution
More in the glossary, or see what DropYourFiles does.
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