Date & Time Tools

SMPTE Timecode Calculator

Convert SMPTE timecode to frames and seconds at 23.976, 24, 25, 29.97 DF, 30, 50, 59.94 DF, and 60 fps. Drop-frame correct, runs in your browser.

Source frame rate

True cinema. Always non-drop.

Target frame rate

30000/1001 fps with SMPTE 12M drop-frame correction. Skips two frame numbers at the start of every minute except every tenth minute.

Conversion method (source to target)

Keep wall-clock durationSame real elapsed time at both rates. Use this when the running time of the programme must not change.Keep frame numberReuse the integer frame count at the target rate. Use this when conforming cut decisions to a different rate without re-timing the picture.

Input

Timecode (HH:MM:SS:FF or HH:MM:SS;FF for drop-frame)

Accepts colon, semicolon, or period before the frames. Shorter forms like MM:SS:FF and SS:FF also work, with hours assumed to be 00.

Try a sample

Source: 24 fps

Timecode

01:00:00:00

Frames from 00:00:00:00

86,400

Wall-clock time

01:00:00.000

Wall-clock seconds

3,600

Exact fps

24

Target: 29.97 fps drop-frame

Timecode

01:00:00;00

Frames

107,892

Wall-clock time

00:59:59.996

Wall-clock seconds

3,599.9964

Exact fps

29.97003

Keeping the wall-clock duration. The frame count is rounded to the nearest target frame.

What the math is doing

SMPTE 12M drop-frame
At 29.97 fps drop-frame, frame numbers 00 and 01 are skipped at the start of every minute except every tenth minute (00, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50). At 59.94 fps drop-frame, frame numbers 00, 01, 02, and 03 are skipped under the same rule. Drop-frame keeps the displayed timecode in step with real elapsed wall-clock time for a 30000/1001 or 60000/1001 fps signal. Non-drop drifts behind real time by roughly 3.6 seconds per hour.
Same wall-clock vs same frame
When converting between rates, Keep wall-clock duration maps the real elapsed seconds across rates, which is what you want for delivery checks and running-time calculations. Keep frame number reuses the integer frame count at the new rate, which is what an edit conform expects when cut decisions are reused against a different timeline.
Why 23.976 reads as 24
23.976 fps is the cinema rate slowed by 1000/1001 so it can be carried on an NTSC signal. The displayed timecode still uses the nominal 24 fps base (frames 00 to 23 per second), which is why a 24-fps timecode and a 23.976 fps timecode look identical even though their wall-clock durations differ.
Hours limit
SMPTE timecode rolls over at 24:00:00:00. This tool accepts hours up to 99 so multi-day production timelines still parse, but for SMPTE-compliant delivery the hours field should stay in 0 to 23.

All math runs in your browser. The timecodes you enter here never leave your device.

How to use

Pick the source frame rate. 29.97 DF and 59.94 DF use the SMPTE 12M drop-frame correction, the others are simple integer counters.
Choose what you want to type: a timecode (HH:MM:SS:FF), a frame count from frame 0, or a duration in seconds.
Type the value. Use a colon for non-drop timecode and a semicolon before the frames for drop-frame, or paste either, the parser accepts both.
Pick the target frame rate and a conversion method. Keep wall-clock duration for delivery checks. Keep frame number for edit conform.
Read the source and target panels for timecode, frame count, wall-clock time, exact fps, and copy any field with the Copy button.

About this tool

SMPTE Timecode Calculator converts between SMPTE 12M timecode, raw frame counts, and wall-clock seconds at every frame rate used in cinema, broadcast, and streaming. Pick a source frame rate (23.976, 24, 25, 29.97 non-drop, 29.97 drop-frame, 30, 50, 59.94 non-drop, 59.94 drop-frame, or 60), type a timecode, a frame number, or a duration in seconds, and the tool returns the other two values plus a clean wall-clock readout in HH:MM:SS.mmm. The drop-frame math follows the published SMPTE 12M algorithm exactly: at 29.97 fps drop-frame, frame numbers 00 and 01 are skipped at the start of every minute except every tenth minute, and at 59.94 fps drop-frame the first four frame numbers are skipped under the same rule. The conversion uses the canonical formula frames per ten minutes = nominal x 600 minus 9 x drop, so the displayed timecode and the real elapsed time agree to within one frame across hours of footage. A second pane converts the same point to any other rate using one of two methods: Keep wall-clock duration (the answer broadcasters want when checking that a programme remains the same running time) or Keep frame number (the answer editors want when conforming a cut list to a different timeline). Both directions round-trip exactly for any valid timecode, the inputs accept either colon, semicolon, or period separators between seconds and frames so paste targets from Premiere, Final Cut Pro, DaVinci Resolve, Avid Media Composer, OBS, and FFmpeg all parse without manual fixes, and the parser also accepts the shorter MM:SS:FF and SS:FF forms used in cue lists. Useful for editors verifying delivery durations, broadcast engineers reconciling drop-frame and non-drop timelines, sound mixers locking audio to picture, animators counting frames per second of action, and motion designers exporting render plates at a different rate than the picture. Everything runs in your browser, so the timecodes and frame counts you enter never leave your device.

Free to use. Works in your browser. No signup, no login.

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