Timecode calculator
Add and subtract timecodes, convert between timecode, frames and real time, and move a timecode to another frame rate, with drop-frame handled correctly.
Runs in this tab. Nothing you paste or drop is uploaded.
Frame rate
Most "24p" cameras and film-look video. Runs 0.1% slower than its label: an hour of timecode lasts 1:00:03.6 of real time.
Add and subtract timecodes
720 frames
1,812 frames
120 frames
Fields fill from the right, like an editing app: 1000 or 10:00 is ten seconds. Press Enter for a new line; tap + or − to switch a line between adding and subtracting.
Total of 3 lines at 23.976
00:01:40:12
- Frames
- 2,412
- Real time
- 00:01:40.601
Timecode, frames and real time
Type in any box and the other two follow, at 23.976.
Change frame rate
Move the timecode above from 23.976 to another rate.
Same running time
01:00:03:15
90,090 frames at 25. What a frame-rate conversion keeps: the duration stays 01:00:03.600.
Every frame kept
00:57:36:00
Plays 4.27% faster and runs 00:57:36.000. This is the "PAL speed-up" used to deliver 24p material at 25.
Keep going
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- PublishSafe zone checker for TikTok, Reels and ShortsDrop a frame or a short clip to see where TikTok, Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts put their buttons, captions and username over your video.
How it works
Timecode labels every frame as hours:minutes:seconds:frames. The calculator turns each timecode into a frame count at the frame rate you pick, does the maths on whole frames, and turns the answer back into timecode, so nothing is lost to rounding.
Pick the frame rate first. 01:00:00:00 is 86,400 frames at 24 fps, 90,000 at 25 and 107,892 at 29.97 drop-frame. The rates marked NDF and DF are the same speed with different labels (see below).
Add and subtract. Type one timecode per line and tap + or − to choose whether it adds or subtracts. Fields fill from the right, as in most editing apps: 1000 and 10:00 both mean ten seconds, and 00:00:00:30 at 25 fps is read as 00:00:01:05. The total is shown as timecode, frames and real time. Typical uses: summing clip lengths, or out point minus in point for a duration.
Timecode, frames and real time. Type in any of the three boxes and the other two follow. Real time is the actual playing time, which differs from the timecode at fractional rates:
- 23.976, 29.97 NDF and 59.94 NDF run 0.1% slower than their labels: an hour of timecode plays for 1:00:03.6.
- 29.97 DF and 59.94 DF skip some frame labels (;00 and ;01 at 29.97, ;00 to ;03 at 59.94) at the start of every minute except every tenth, so the timecode stays within a few milliseconds of the clock. No pictures are dropped; only the numbers are.
Change frame rate. Pick a target rate to see two answers. Same running time keeps the duration and gives the timecode at the new rate, which is what a frame-rate conversion does. Every frame kept plays the same frames at the new rate, which changes the length: 23.976 played at 25 runs 4.27% faster, so an hour of timecode becomes 57:36.
Everything runs in your browser. Your lines and settings are remembered on this device, and the frame rate is kept in the page link.
When to use it
Whenever a duration has to be exact to the frame.
- Adding up clip or scene lengths for an edit decision list, a cut-down or a delivery spec.
- Working out a duration from an in point and an out point.
- Converting a frame count from a render log or VFX shot list into timecode, or back.
- Checking how long a 29.97 programme really runs, and whether you need drop-frame.
- Planning a 23.976 to 25 conversion or speed-up for a PAL-region delivery.
- Turning timecode into the HH:MM:SS.mmm times used by subtitle files and chapter markers.
For subtitle files themselves, the SRT to VTT converter handles the timestamp format.
Questions
How do I convert timecode to frames?
Multiply out the fields: ((hours × 60 + minutes) × 60 + seconds) × frame rate + frames. At 25 fps, 00:01:00:00 is 1,500 frames. Drop-frame also subtracts 2 frames for every minute that is not a multiple of ten (4 at 59.94). Type the timecode into the converter and it does this for you.
What is drop-frame timecode?
NTSC video runs at 29.97 frames per second, not 30, so counting 30 labels per second drifts 3.6 seconds behind the clock every hour. Drop-frame skips the labels ;00 and ;01 at the start of each minute, except minutes 0, 10, 20 and so on, which keeps the timecode in step with real time. No frames are removed. Drop-frame timecode is usually written with a semicolon before the frames.
Should I use drop-frame or non-drop-frame?
Use drop-frame at 29.97 or 59.94 when the timecode has to match clock time, as in broadcast programme lengths. Non-drop is common in editing because every second has the same number of frames. There is no drop-frame for 23.976; its timecode always runs 0.1% slower than the clock.
How do I add timecodes together?
Put each timecode on its own line in the calculator, leave them on +, and read the total. Switch a line to − to subtract it, for example out point minus in point. The answer is exact because the sum is done in whole frames at the rate you picked.
Why is my editor's duration one frame different?
Some editing apps count the frame under the out point as part of the clip, so their duration is out minus in plus one frame. Add a line of 00:00:00:01 to match.
What happens to timecode when I change frame rate?
It depends on whether the running time or the frames are kept. A conversion keeps the running time and gives new timecode at the new rate. A conform keeps every frame and changes the speed: 24 fps played at 25 runs about 4% faster and an hour becomes 57:36. The tool shows both.
Last tested: