Editing SMPTE timecode (section)

{{Short description|Standards to label individual frames with a timecode}}
{{more footnotes|date=July 2011}}
{{Use American English|date=May 2019}}

[[Image:Clapperboard, O2 film, September 2008.jpg|thumb|SMPTE timecode on a [[clapperboard]]]]

'''SMPTE timecode''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|s|ɪ|m|p|t|iː}} or {{IPAc-en|ˈ|s|ɪ|m|t|iː}}) is a set of cooperating standards to label individual frames of video or film with a [[timecode]]. The system is 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 new explanations and clarifications.

Timecodes are added to [[film]], [[video]] or audio material, and have also been adapted to synchronize [[music]] and [[theatrical production]]. 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 system]]s.