Timecode Filter

October 24, 2009 2:32 PM

Does any one know of a free or inexpensive software that will use the computers sound card to generate LTC timecode. I would like to be able to use a PC as a master clock to feed time of day time code to various decks.

I have seen this software but not much else. Thanks!!

posted by jmsta to computers & internet (3 comments total)

It looks like it's pretty easy to generate in software, although one difficulty is that computers' clocks aren't usually very accurate (at least as crystal-controlled oscillators go). Dunno how many ppm error is acceptable in a timecode, since I know nothing of video production.

What platform are you looking to run this software on? Some particular Windows version?
posted by hattifattener at 5:57 PM on October 24

I'm looking to run this in windows. For accuracy Ideally i'm looking at +or- 1/60th of a second but the reality is + or - 1/2 second would suffice for my needs
posted by jmsta at 6:20 PM on October 24

Normally, Timecode needs to be locked to some sort of external video reference to be useful. For this reason, a software LTC generator is probably going to be of limited use unless it is paired with a video input device to lock to. Without a video reference, your generated time code and the video (or film) you want to match it to will drift with respect to one another, and the final product may not be usable for editing. You're probably better off finding a cheap generator from Hortia or ESE. If your budget will allow it, I highly recommend this product from Evertz . You Really dont want to skimp on the time code portion of your video/film production. Dealing with screwed up timecode in post production wont make anyone happy.
posted by taubman at 9:33 PM on October 24