TimeCalc V1.0 © 1993 Paul Huxham paulh@wavefrm.DIALix.oz.au PO Box 875 Morley, Perth, Western Australia 6062 Well, I never found a decent timecode calculator, so here is one that works correctly (For me at any rate) with EBU and SMPTE timecodes (SMPTE Drop Frame is not currently supported). It has clever string gadgets that make timecode entry a breeze. The timecode entry routines are part of the "Diamond Edit" package which is a single frame recorder for the PAL environment (soon for NTSC) that is a very powerful and cost effective means of recording hires 24bit animations to video tape for playback at a full frame rate (for professional VTRs only). Please direct all comments and criticisms (all welcome) to the authors interNET address above. =========================================================================== OverView Timecode is entered into Timecode Entry Gadgets. At first sight they look very much like standard string gadgets, except they have three colons ':' inside of them. When you have clicked in a timecode entry gadget, there are shortcuts available that make for quick and easy timecode entry. You can enter an IN and OUT time and TimeCalc will show you the difference between them, or you can enter an IN time and a DURATION and TimeCalc will generate the corresponding OUT time automatically. TimeCalc will also show the total number of frames to the right of each gadget. Pull down menus enable you to select a timecode entry mode, as well as get infor about the author and quit the program. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- CLI interface ------------- There are 5 options available when executing TimeCalc from a CLI/Shell: 1) FILM - 24 Frames per second 2) EBU - 25 Frames per second (default) 3) SMPTEDF - 29.97 Frames per second (Not implemented yet) 4) SMPTE - 30 Frames per second 5) PUBSCREEN= Entering any of the first 4 options, will set the timecode entry mode in TimeCalc to that mode. The PUBSCREEN can be used to force TimeCalc to open on a public screen. This is best when called as a hotkey from Tool Manager, using "GetPubName" to retrieve the frontmost public screens' name. Workbench interface ------------------- Currently there is only one tooltype: MODE= This is used to preset the timecode entry mode for TimeCalc. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Clicking in an Entry Gadget When you click in an entry gadget do not bother worrying about where you click. Timecode entry will always start at the right and move to the left, just like a calculator. The cursor will snap over to the right when you start typing. So, to enter 1 second and 5 frames, you only need to type 105. The separator colons ':' are not entered by you, they are placed by the gadget automatically. The only part of the timecode you need to worry about is the numbers themselves. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Movement between gadgets Pressing in the IN gadget moves you automatically to the OUT and then on to the DURATION gadget and then deselects all gadgets. You can also TAB between the gadgets or use the up and down cursor keys to move between gadgets. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Entering digits You do not have to enter all of the hours, minutes, seconds and frames. Unentered digits always assume the value of zero. This means if you enter 312, you have entered 3 seconds and 12 frames. Entering 450622 means 45 minutes, 6 seconds and 22 frames. If you do not enter enough digits to reach hours, the gadget will assume you mean no hours. You will be unable to enter any more than 8 digits into any entry gadget. This is because there are only 2 digits available for each of the hours, minutes, seconds and frames. Pressing the backspace key will erase the last entered digit. You can move the cursor across to other digits, but it will always snap back to the right when you enter more digits. If you have entered 4 digits and you find that the first digit is incorrect, you will have to delete all of the entered digits and retype them. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Incorrect timecode entry Timecode that is not correct i.e. 28 frames; will be corrected by summing the total number of frames in the entered timecode and then splitting this value up into hours, minutes, seconds and frames. With EBU timecode selected, entering 250 would appear to be 2 secs and 50 frames. However you can't have 50 frames so this will be summed to a value of 100 frames and then split into a value of 4 seconds and 0 frames. (Because there are 25 frames in one second in EBU). --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Wrap around Timecode that runs over 23 hours, 59 minutes, 59 seconds and 24 frames will turn over to 0 hours, 0 minutes, 0 seconds and 0 frames. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Aborting timecode entry Pressing escape will cancel the current timecode entry operation and return the timecode previously entered into the gadget before you started changing it. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Entering two zeros Pressing the fullstop key on the numeric keypad or main keyboard enters a double zero '00'. It is a quick way of entering say 2 minutes, which would normally be entered as 20000. Type 2.. instead. To delete a double zero, you will need to press backspace twice as double zeros are just two normal zero digits. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Entering a number of frames If you need to enter a number of frames less than 99, you just enter them and press . They will be converted to the correct timecode value for you. If however you need to enter say 1000 frames, enter 1000 and instead of pressing , press 'f'. This will enter 100 frames and convert it to its correct timecode value. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Plus Mode Pressing + on the numeric keypad or = on the main keyboard enters the plus mode where the timecode you enter next will be added to whatever was displayed in the gadget before you entered plus mode. A + sign will appear in the left end of the entry gadget indicating plus mode is active. This is an easy way to add one or two frames or minutes to the current timecode value. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Minus Mode Pressing - either on the numeric keypad or main keyboard enters the minus mode where the timecode you enter next will be taken away from whatever was displayed in the gadget before you entered minus mode. A - sign will appear in the left end of the entry gadget indicating minus mode is active. This is an easy way to subtract one or two frames or minutes from the current timecode value. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sum Mode Pressing * on the numeric keypad or \ on the main keyboard will resolve a plus or minus operation currently being entered and then continue entry until you press . You must press return to store your entry. After using this function you can continue entry as though you had just clicked in the entry gadget with the mouse. This is extremely useful when you are adding to an existing timecode, to see a plus or minus result before accepting a final value.