LTC WAV Export

LTC WAV Export generates a standalone audio file that contains only an LTC signal. Use it to put timecode on a DAW timeline as a reference track, to burn timecode onto a recorder, to make a playback file for a device that does not connect to LTCast directly, or as a quick way to test chase (add the file to the setlist as a song).

Accessing LTC WAV Export

Choose File → Export LTC WAV from the File menu in the title bar. It is the only way in — there is no button in the Tools tab.

Export parameters

Set these in the dialog before exporting:

• Start Timecode — the SMPTE address at which the generated LTC begins. It starts as the TC Generator start timecode, or 00:00:00:00. A common choice is 00:59:58:00 for a 2-second lead-in before 01:00:00:00.
• Duration — how many seconds of LTC to generate, from 1 to 86,400 (24 hours); the default is 3,600 (one hour). Set it to the length of the show segment plus any post-roll. The hint beside the label shows the length and the size of the file that would be written, and turns orange when that file would be too big (see below).
• Frame rate — 23.976 (24 pull-down), 24, 25, 29.97 drop-frame or 30. It must match your show.
• Sample rate — 44.1 kHz or 48 kHz (the default). Match the target system — DAW project, recorder or playback device.
• Amplitude — the level of the LTC signal as a percentage of full scale, from 10% to 100%; the default is 50% (about −6 dBFS). It is a linear slider, not a dB control; right-click or double-click it to return to 50%. Check your console's documentation for the LTC input level it expects.

Exporting

Click Export. LTCast first checks what it can without generating anything — that the start timecode is valid at the chosen frame rate, that the file would not be too big, and that the session is Pro — and tells you in the dialog if one of them fails. Otherwise it generates the signal mathematically — no audio plays and nothing is recorded — with a progress bar while it works. When it finishes, a save dialog opens. Choose a location and file name; the suggested name records the settings, for example ltc_01-00-00-00_25fps_3600s.wav.

If something goes wrong while the file is being built or saved, the reason is shown in the dialog as well — for example Not enough memory to build a file this long. Try a shorter duration. — instead of the spinner simply stopping.

Output format

The file is a mono 16-bit PCM WAV: a single channel carrying the LTC. In a DAW, place it on a mono track and route that track to the timecode output. If you want LTC on one side of a stereo file, with music on the other, use a stereo track in the DAW or merge the two with Separate music + LTC import.