Glossary
Timecode vs timestamp.
A timecode names one frame of a video as hours, minutes, seconds and frames, like 00:01:12:08, while a timestamp names a moment in clock time, like 1:12 or 00:01:12.333. Editors work in timecode because a frame is the smallest thing they can cut, and viewers and comment boxes work in timestamps.
Reading a timecode.
The last pair is frames, counted from 00 up to one less than the frame rate. At 24 frames a second, 00:01:12:08 is one minute, twelve seconds and eight frames, and eight frames is a third of a second. As a timestamp the same moment is 1:12.333.
A timeline usually starts at 01:00:00:00, a habit from tape that left room for bars, tone and a countdown before the program. So the timecode on a film is often an hour ahead of the time since it started.
Why the two drift apart.
At 23.976 and 29.97 the timecode counts 24 or 30 labels a second while the picture plays a little slower, so an hour of timecode lasts 3,603.6 seconds by the clock. Drop frame timecode exists to fix that at 29.97.
On a DropYourFiles link.
On DropYourFiles your client pauses and types, and the note is kept at that moment. When you download the notes, each one has its timecode, its frame and its seconds, and in Final Cut each lands as a to-do marker on the frame your client paused on.
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Questions.
How do I turn a timestamp into a timecode?
Multiply the seconds by the frame rate to get frames, then write the frames as hours, minutes, seconds and frames at the timecode rate. The timecode calculator does it, drop frame included.
What does the last number in a timecode mean?
Frames. At 24 fps it runs from 00 to 23, at 25 from 00 to 24, at 30 from 00 to 29.
Is the 1:12 under a video a timecode?
It is a timestamp: minutes and seconds of clock time from the start. It points near a moment, and a timecode points at one frame.
Where this comes from.
- Apple, Final Cut Pro User Guide: Intro to markers, read October 29, 2026.
Keep reading.
- Timecode calculator. Frames, drop frame, real time
- How to get client feedback on a video
- Drop frame vs non drop frame
- Client notes as Final Cut Pro to-do markers
- Web size vs high resolution
- 23.976 vs 24 fps
More in the glossary, or see what DropYourFiles does.
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