# What are the furthest right digits on videotapes counting?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-furthest-right-digits-on-videotapes-counting/978344>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [January 17, 2023, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-furthest-right-digits-on-videotapes-counting/978344 "2023-01-17T06:44:37Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![whc.03grady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a6a055/32.png) [@whc.03grady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whc.03grady)\
**Post date:** [January 17, 2023, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-furthest-right-digits-on-videotapes-counting/978344/1 "2023-01-17T06:44:37Z")

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On many videos, say of an interrogation or raw video from a television show, there’s a counter. They seem to be of the form HH:MM:SS:?? and my question is what do the ?? stand for? It’s confusing because they seem to only go from :00 to :30 (or rather, :29 with :00 standing for :30), and the seconds increase by one with each cycle. That is, they seem to be dividing seconds up into 30 parts. Why?

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**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\
**Post date:** [January 17, 2023, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-furthest-right-digits-on-videotapes-counting/978344/2 "2023-01-17T06:52:16Z")

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The old television broadcast standard = 30 frames per second.

(Which is shorthand. It’s technically measured at 29.97, and it’s also actually double that, because it’s half-frames interlaced. But that’s the number at the end of the counter.)

> **[29.97 Things You Didn't Know About Frame Rates](https://www.studionetworksolutions.com/video-frame-rate-facts-and-figures/)**
>
> Understanding your footage is an important part of being a video editor. Learn the history and standards of the video frame rate.

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**Author:** ![whc.03grady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a6a055/32.png) [@whc.03grady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whc.03grady)\
**Post date:** [January 17, 2023, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-furthest-right-digits-on-videotapes-counting/978344/3 "2023-01-17T06:52:49Z")

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Frame rates…duh. Thank you.

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**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\
**Post date:** [January 17, 2023, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-furthest-right-digits-on-videotapes-counting/978344/4 "2023-01-17T11:54:05Z")

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[annoying pedant mode]

> The counter is counting _frames_. The rate at which frames happen AKA the “frame rate” is ~30/sec.

[/annoying pedant mode]

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**Author:** ![ZonexandScout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zonexandscout/32/544_2.png) [@ZonexandScout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZonexandScout)\
**Post date:** [January 17, 2023, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-furthest-right-digits-on-videotapes-counting/978344/5 "2023-01-17T13:04:57Z")

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And it’s not at all unusual to see other common frame rates in these displays, including 25 FPS (PAL), 24 FPS (film), and 15/10 FPS (surveillance video).