When you are choosing a timecode generator for your next project, make sure you consider the number of outputs that it offers, so you can be sure it is possible to sync all of your different audio and video using the device. In addition, you will want to look at the individual features of each of the rental or lease offerings and compare them to find the one that will work the best for your project. Do not overlook this device. It really can make it much easier to get the audio and video synced up properly.

A timecode generator will have a control panel that will allow the user to create the timecode stamps for their video and audio. The panel, as well as the number of features of the generator, will vary based on the make and model, as you would expect. They may have a different number of outputs, as well as a different type of front panel display.

The timecode generator will generate the SMPTE for the audio and video while recording. This signal is encoded into the video and audio, which will then make synchronizing the video very easy. You can input the timecode, or have it lock on to an external signal. The editors will only have to make sure that the timecode matches on the different segments. What might once have been a jumble of video and audio should become very easy to sort out relatively quickly.

Timecode, sometimes called SMPTE, is a type of electronic signal that denotes a specific location in a recording on a digital system. It can be audio or video. The elements of the SMPTE display show the hours, minutes, seconds, and frames. Hours are calculated in military time, and they go from 00 through 23. A timecode generator is highly accurate and it makes synchronizing the video and the audio of a piece of video or film much easier.

• Feature films
• Television
• Short films

• Denecke
• Ambient Recording
• ESE
• Autoscript
• Horita
• Imagine Communications
• Tektronix