SMPTE timecode is a set of cooperating standards to label individual frames of video or film with a time code defined by the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers in the SMPTE 12M specification. SMPTE revised the standard in 2008, turning it into a two-part document: SMPTE 12M-1 and SMPTE 12M-2, including important new explanations and clarifications.
Timecodes are added to film, video or audio material, and have also been adapted to synchronize music. They provide a time reference for editing, synchronization and identification. Timecode is a form of media metadata. The invention of timecode made modern videotape editing possible, and led eventually to the creation of non-linear editing systems.
Read more about SMPTE Timecode: Basic Concepts, Discontinuous Timecode, and Flywheel Processing, Drop Frame Timecode, Color Framing and Timecode, Studio Operations and Master Clocks, SMPTE Timecode Media, History