Drop frame alert message
 

I know this is s stupid question, but I am new to FCP and learning.

When I went to cpature some video I got this message...

"You are about to capture drop frame media from a device detecting non drop frame media"

I don't quite understand what "drop frame" means, but I can read later. How do I adjust my settings or whatever so I don't get this message?

Obviously the video on the tape is non drpped frames and I have a setting or something setup to capture drop frames...I'm guessing. I looked around and could not figure it out.

Hi Adam,
I took this from FCP's Help menu -> Final Cut Pro user manual.

With the exception of timecode used with NTSC video, all video formats use non-drop frame timecode, which simply counts at the frame rate of the video itself. For example, PAL video runs at 25 fps, and it uses 25 fps timecode.
When working with NTSC video, you have the option to use drop frame timecode to compensate for the fact that NTSC video has a frame rate of 29.97 fps, while the timecode runs at 30 fps. Timecode can only be represented by whole numbers, so drop frame timecode periodically skips numbers so that the timecode count and the amount of actual time passed stays in sync. This way, the timecode count matches the the number of hours, minutes, and seconds that it takes for your video footage to play.
NTSC video can use either drop frame or non-drop frame timecode.
Important: No video frames are dropped when you use drop frame timecode. Only the associated timecode numbers are skipped.
To determine the type of timecode used in Final Cut Pro:
- Non-drop frame timecode has a colon (:) between the seconds and frames fields, and no numbers are dropped from the counter.
01:16:59:29, 01:17:00:00
- Drop frame timecode has a semicolon (;) between the seconds and frames fields, and two timecode numbers are skipped from the frames counter each minute (except every tenth minute).
01:16:59;29, 01:17:00;02
A clip’s timecode comes directly from its media files. To set sequence timecode, you can use the Drop Frame checkbox in the Timeline Options pane of Sequence Settings. For more information, see “Changing Timeline Display Options” on page 124.