Editing SMPTE timecode (section)

== Discontinuous timecode, and flywheel processing ==
Timecodes are generated as a continuous stream of sequential data values. In some applications [[wall-clock time]] is used, in others the time encoded is a notional time with more arbitrary reference. After making a series of recordings, or after crude editing, recorded timecodes may consist of discontinuous segments.

In general, it is not possible to know the linear timecode ([[linear timecode|LTC]]) of the current frame until the frame has already gone by, by which time it is too late to make an edit. Practical systems watch the ascending sequence of the timecode and infer the time of the current frame from that.

As timecodes in analog systems are prone to bit-errors and drop-outs, most timecode processing devices check for internal consistency in the sequence of timecode values and use simple error correction schemes to correct for short error bursts. Thus, a boundary between discontinuous timecode ranges cannot be determined exactly until several subsequent frames have passed.