HHMMSSFF

HHMMSSFF is a compact numeric notation used in video production to encode a point in time or duration as hours, minutes, seconds, and frames without separators. The first two digits (HH) denote hours, the next two (MM) minutes, the next two (SS) seconds, and the final two (FF) the frame number within the current second. It is commonly seen in file names, logs, or metadata where separators are inconvenient or disallowed.

In practice, HHMMSSFF is a shorthand for timecode expressed without colons. The colon-separated form HH:MM:SS:FF is more common in professional workflows, but HHMMSSFF can be preferred when formatting must remain strictly alphanumeric or when sorting by string order. The interpretation of FF depends on the project’s frame rate, since frames are counted from 00 up to frame_rate − 1 within each second.

Typical ranges are HH 00–23 for a 24-hour clock, MM 00–59, SS 00–59, and FF from 00 up to the chosen frame rate minus one (for example 00–29 at 30 fps, 00–23 at 24 fps, etc.). Because FF is frame-based, the same two-digit FF value corresponds to different time lengths at different frame rates, and one frame equals 1/fps seconds.

Applications include organizing media, logging shot times, and generating time-stamped filenames for archival and editing workflows. When interpreting HHMMSSFF, it is essential to know the associated frame rate to convert the value into an exact real-time duration. Related concepts include timecode, frame rate, and edit decision lists.