Frame per Second Calculator

Video timing · both directions

Frames & time converter

Set the project frame rate, choose one direction, and convert between an exact frame count and an HH:MM:SS:FF non-drop timecode label.

1. Frame rate

Set project FPS

Shared by both directions

Choose a common rate or enter any positive FPS value up to 1,000,000.

Frames per second

FPS

Examples: 24 for cinema, 29.97 or 59.94 for fractional-rate video.

2. Convert

Choose a direction

60-frame timecode base

Enter the total frame countUse a whole number; zero is allowed.

Frame count

frames

Example: 3,600 frames at 60 FPS is one minute of real time.

3. Result

Conversion result

Example

Non-drop timecode00:01:00:003,600 frames at 60 FPS

Real duration: 00:01:00.000
Total seconds: 60
Time per frame: 16.666667 ms
Frames per hour: 216,000

Formula usedreal time = frames ÷ FPS

Quick reference

Common project frame rates

Use the rate specified by the source footage or delivery workflow.

23.976 FPSFilm and streaming delivery

24 FPSDigital cinema

25 FPSPAL-region video

29.97 FPSNTSC-rate video

30 FPSWeb and general video

50 / 59.94 / 60 FPSBroadcast and high-motion video

Frame counts, elapsed time, and editorial labels

Keep real duration separate from the timecode written on the frame

Frames per second converts a count into elapsed time. HH:MM:SS:FF timecode identifies positions using a frame-numbering convention. They coincide in simple integer-rate cases, but fractional rates and drop-frame rules make the distinction essential.

Side-by-side guide · Frame counts, elapsed time, and editorial labels

Two clocks are hiding in one familiar display

24 FPS frame: 41.667 ms of elapsed time
30 FPS label base: FF runs from 00 through 29
29.97 non-drop: 1,800 frames last about 60.060 s

Elapsed duration
Real time follows count ÷ FPS. At 24 FPS, 240 frames last 10 seconds. At an entered 29.97 FPS, 1,800 frames last approximately 60.060 seconds. This quotient is continuous time and can be expressed in seconds or milliseconds.
Non-drop frame label
A colon-delimited HH:MM:SS:FF label counts frame addresses at a nominal whole-number base. At a 30-frame base, FF runs from 00 through 29 before the seconds field advances. Non-drop means the labels advance consecutively; it does not mean that fractional-rate footage runs at exactly 30 frames each second.
Drop-frame timecode
Drop-frame systems omit selected frame numbers from the label sequence so the displayed time stays closer to wall-clock time at applicable fractional rates. They do not delete video frames. This calculator intentionally does not implement that skipped-number rule, so semicolon notation belongs in a tool that explicitly supports drop-frame timecode.

Keep real duration separate from the timecode written on the frame: Frames per second converts a count into elapsed time. HH:MM:SS:FF timecode identifies positions using a frame-numbering convention. They coincide in simple integer-rate cases, but fractional rates and drop-frame rules make the distinction essential.

Two clocks are hiding in one familiar display

Elapsed duration

Real time follows count ÷ FPS. At 24 FPS, 240 frames last 10 seconds. At an entered 29.97 FPS, 1,800 frames last approximately 60.060 seconds. This quotient is continuous time and can be expressed in seconds or milliseconds.

Non-drop frame label

A colon-delimited HH:MM:SS:FF label counts frame addresses at a nominal whole-number base. At a 30-frame base, FF runs from 00 through 29 before the seconds field advances. Non-drop means the labels advance consecutively; it does not mean that fractional-rate footage runs at exactly 30 frames each second.

Drop-frame timecode

Drop-frame systems omit selected frame numbers from the label sequence so the displayed time stays closer to wall-clock time at applicable fractional rates. They do not delete video frames. This calculator intentionally does not implement that skipped-number rule, so semicolon notation belongs in a tool that explicitly supports drop-frame timecode.

Read HH:MM:SS:FF as an address, not a decimal timestamp

The final field is a whole frame number within the current nominal second, not hundredths of a second. At a 24-frame base, 00:00:10:12 identifies the twelfth frame position after the ten-second boundary under the selected counting convention; “12” does not mean 0.12 seconds. Apple documents the four fields as hours, minutes, seconds, and frames and uses timecode to navigate to precise positions in an edit.

Source timecode, sequence timebase, and export display settings can also differ. Adobe notes that a clip can retain source timecode from one timebase while it is used inside a sequence with another. Before converting a label, identify which rate and convention generated it. A copied number without its rate, drop/non-drop state, and starting-timecode context is incomplete production metadata.

Pick the calculation from the evidence you actually have

Known frame count
Choose Frames → Time, enter the exact non-negative whole frame count, and enter the project FPS. The duration result is frame count divided by that FPS; the displayed non-drop label is a separate formatting of the same count. Use the time calculator when that elapsed result must be added to or subtracted from another hours:minutes:seconds duration; it does not convert frame-address labels.
Known colon label
Choose Timecode → Frames only when the label is non-drop. Enter hours, minutes, seconds, and the FF field, making sure FF is below the nominal base. Preserve leading context such as a one-hour program start when it is part of the source convention.
Known clip duration but uncertain rate
Do not guess FPS from a rounded duration. Inspect the file, camera report, edit sequence, or authoritative metadata. Variable-frame-rate footage cannot be reconstructed reliably from one constant FPS number.
Known display refresh target
Treat refresh rate as a display capability, not automatically the produced frame rate. If the question is whether a PC can sustain the target, take the rate and resolution to the PC bottleneck planning tool and verify the actual workload with frame-time capture.

A preflight list for trustworthy frame arithmetic

Record these choices beside the result so another editor can reproduce it.

The numeric rate exactly as used in the calculation, including a fractional value rather than an assumed rounded integer.
Whether the label is non-drop or drop-frame; use this page only for the former.
Whether frame numbering begins at zero or one and whether a source starting timecode offsets the clip.
Whether the media is constant-frame-rate; a single FPS conversion does not describe variable presentation timestamps.
Whether the requested output is real elapsed time, a navigational label, or a number of frames—three results that should not be interchanged silently.

Carry timing into picture and delivery planning

Frame rate says nothing about the frame's shape. Use the aspect ratio calculator to preserve or solve pixel dimensions before creating proxies, review files, or social variants. A 24 FPS portrait sequence and a 24 FPS widescreen sequence share temporal sampling but require different canvases.

After export, measured delivery speed is a separate network property. Use a trusted network measurement service to sample latency, jitter, download, and upload throughput for the relevant route. That measurement does not infer codec bitrate or file size, so compare measured Mbps with a separately verified media requirement rather than treating FPS as a bandwidth value.

Important limitations

The colon label is non-drop only. The calculator does not accept semicolon drop-frame notation, skip frame numbers, replace 29.97 with 30000/1001, inspect variable-frame-rate media, encode LTC or VITC, or model display refresh, frame pacing, shutter angle, latency, or transcoding.

Review the stated scope, calculation method, assumptions, supported inputs, and effective dates, and obtain qualified advice before using a high-stakes result.

This formula passed its registered engineering tests and is published under an explicit site-owner policy authorization. No independent expert, QA, editorial, legal, or third-party review is claimed. Verify consequential results with a qualified professional.

Frame counts, elapsed time, and editorial labels

Keep real duration separate from the timecode written on the frame

Side-by-side guide · Frame counts, elapsed time, and editorial labels

Two clocks are hiding in one familiar display

24 FPS frame: 41.667 ms of elapsed time
30 FPS label base: FF runs from 00 through 29
29.97 non-drop: 1,800 frames last about 60.060 s

Elapsed duration
Real time follows count ÷ FPS. At 24 FPS, 240 frames last 10 seconds. At an entered 29.97 FPS, 1,800 frames last approximately 60.060 seconds. This quotient is continuous time and can be expressed in seconds or milliseconds.
Non-drop frame label
A colon-delimited HH:MM:SS:FF label counts frame addresses at a nominal whole-number base. At a 30-frame base, FF runs from 00 through 29 before the seconds field advances. Non-drop means the labels advance consecutively; it does not mean that fractional-rate footage runs at exactly 30 frames each second.
Drop-frame timecode
Drop-frame systems omit selected frame numbers from the label sequence so the displayed time stays closer to wall-clock time at applicable fractional rates. They do not delete video frames. This calculator intentionally does not implement that skipped-number rule, so semicolon notation belongs in a tool that explicitly supports drop-frame timecode.

Two clocks are hiding in one familiar display

Elapsed duration

Non-drop frame label

Drop-frame timecode

Read HH:MM:SS:FF as an address, not a decimal timestamp

Pick the calculation from the evidence you actually have

Known frame count
Choose Frames → Time, enter the exact non-negative whole frame count, and enter the project FPS. The duration result is frame count divided by that FPS; the displayed non-drop label is a separate formatting of the same count. Use the time calculator when that elapsed result must be added to or subtracted from another hours:minutes:seconds duration; it does not convert frame-address labels.
Known colon label
Choose Timecode → Frames only when the label is non-drop. Enter hours, minutes, seconds, and the FF field, making sure FF is below the nominal base. Preserve leading context such as a one-hour program start when it is part of the source convention.
Known clip duration but uncertain rate
Do not guess FPS from a rounded duration. Inspect the file, camera report, edit sequence, or authoritative metadata. Variable-frame-rate footage cannot be reconstructed reliably from one constant FPS number.
Known display refresh target
Treat refresh rate as a display capability, not automatically the produced frame rate. If the question is whether a PC can sustain the target, take the rate and resolution to the PC bottleneck planning tool and verify the actual workload with frame-time capture.

A preflight list for trustworthy frame arithmetic

Record these choices beside the result so another editor can reproduce it.

The numeric rate exactly as used in the calculation, including a fractional value rather than an assumed rounded integer.
Whether the label is non-drop or drop-frame; use this page only for the former.
Whether frame numbering begins at zero or one and whether a source starting timecode offsets the clip.
Whether the media is constant-frame-rate; a single FPS conversion does not describe variable presentation timestamps.
Whether the requested output is real elapsed time, a navigational label, or a number of frames—three results that should not be interchanged silently.