Timecode to Frames Calculator
Table of contents
What is a timecode?What is a frame rate?How to convert from timecode to frames?FAQsIf you sometimes dabble in video editing, this timecode-to-frames calculator will save you the time needed to convert from a timecode to a frame number. You can also use it to check how the number of frames in your video depends on the frame rate.
For the conversion from frames to timecode, check the frames to timecode calculator.
What is a timecode?
Every frame in a video is described by a sequence of numbers called a timecode. If, for example, you would like to locate the end of a particular scene in a movie, you would most likely write down the timecode that describes the last frame of that scene.
The most common format for a timecode is:
HH:MM:SS:FR
where HH stands for hours, MM for minutes, SS for seconds, and FR for frames.
For example, consider the timecode 00:08:35:13. It describes a frame that will be shown within 8 minutes, 35 seconds, and 13 frames from the beginning of the video.
What is a frame rate?
Every video consists of video frames – pictures shown one after the other. The number of frames shown during one second is called the frame rate.
The higher the frame rate, the smoother the transitions are. For example, animations with frame rates of about 12 fps (frames per second) may look a bit "crude." On the other hand, experimental movies with 60 fps or more seem incredibly smooth.
The most common frame rate is 24 fps. This number of frames guarantees that the human eye will not perceive the video as a series of images but rather as a "moving image."
💡 You might find it interesting to also check out the video frame size calculator.
How to convert from timecode to frames?
Using this timecode to frames calculator is a piece of cake! All you have to do is input the timecode into the four designated fields and determine the frame rate you'd like to use.
For example, the timecode 00:08:35:13 describes
- The 6,193rd frame in the case of 12 frames per second;
- The 12,373rd frame in the case of 24 frames per second; or
- The 15,463rd frame in the case of 30 frames per second.
Interested in how many gigabytes your video will have? Be sure to check out the video file size calculator!
How do I convert the timecode to the frame number?
To convert timecode to frame number, follow these easy steps:
- Convert the timecode to second, to do so:
- Multiply the number of minutes by
60; - Multiply the number of hours by
3600; and - Sum the two results to get the number of seconds.
- Multiply the number of minutes by
- Find the frame rate of the video.
- Divide the number of seconds by the frame rate.
- Add the result to the number of frames specified by the timecode.
That's it!
How do I express a timecode?
To express a timecode, we need to specify both the time and the number of frames exceeding an integer amount of seconds. The quantities specified by a timecode are:
- Hours (
HH); - Minutes (
MM); - Seconds (
SS); and - Number of frames (
FR).
We write a timecode in the format HH:MM:SS:FR.
What is the frame number corresponding to the timecode 01:31:50:18?
The frame number is 132,258 at 24 frames per second. To find this result, follow these steps:
-
Multiply the hours by
3,600:1 × 3,600 = 3,600. -
Multiply the minutes by
60:31 × 60 = 1,860. -
Add the results to the number of seconds:
3,600 + 1,860 + 50 = 5,510 -
Multiply the result by the frame rate:
5,510 × 24 = 132,240 -
Add the number of excess frames:
132,240 + 18 = 132,258
How many frames are in an hour?
It depends on the frame rate. At 24 frames per second, you have 86,400 frames (the same number of seconds in a day). This answer is the result of these simple steps:
-
In an hour there are
60 minutes × 60 seconds = 3,600 seconds. -
Multiply the number of seconds by the frame rate (which measures the number of frames per second) to find the result:
3,600 × 24 = 86,400.
For a 60 fps video, you would have 216,000 frames: more than twice what you had before!