269
APPENDIX
SMPTE Timecode
C
The Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) timecode may be one of the most misunderstood concepts among individuals within the music industry. The problem with SMPTE timecode formats is that they may mean different things to people in the audio and video fields. What follows is a brief description of each SMPTE timecode format.
Important: When synchronizing audio to video, it is crucial that the SMPTE timecode format used in the sequencer or digital audio workstation is the same as the SMPTE timecode striped onto the video. This guarantees that the SMPTE times on the video screen and computer monitor synchronize during playback.
SMPTE 25 EBU (25 fps, Video)
SMPTE 25 EBU timecode runs at 25 fps (frames per second), and matches the frame rate used by European Broadcasting Union (EBU) television systems.
SMPTE 25 EBU format is used for PAL DV/D1 video projects.
SMPTE Drop Frame (29.97 fps, Video)
SMPTE Drop Frame timecode runs at 29.97 fps, and matches the frame rate used by NTSC television systems (North America, Japan).
SMPTE Drop Frame format is used for NTSC DV/D1 video projects.
Both SMPTE Drop and SMPTE
SMPTE Non-Drop Frame (29.97 fps, Video)
SMPTE
(“wall clock”) time and the SMPTE time, because there is no compensation in the counting system as there is in SMPTE Drop Frame.
SMPTE
APPENDIX C | SMPTE TIMECODE |