TC Generator & start TC

LTCast has two timecode sources, chosen with the two tabs above the big timecode display:

• LTC Reader — the timecode comes from the LTC channel of the song's audio file. The badge shows SIGNAL OK (with the detection confidence and the channel) or NO SIGNAL.
• TC Generator — LTCast makes the timecode itself from the playhead position and the song's Start TC. The badge reads GENERATING. Use it for a song with no LTC of its own, or when you want to set the timecode address yourself.

The generated timecode drives the big display and every output, including an encoded LTC signal on the LTC output device. The TC Generator is a Pro feature (a Pro licence or an active trial): without Pro LTCast holds it off and shows a message instead of generating timecode.

Start TC — per song

In TC Generator mode the controls under the display show Start TC: the timecode at which the song starts. It belongs to one song — the song you have preselected (STANDBY) or, failing that, the active song — and there is no global start timecode. It shows 00:00:00:00 until you set it. Click the field and type HH:MM:SS:FF, or eight digits such as 01000000, and press Enter. A common convention is one hour per song (01:00:00:00, 02:00:00:00, …).

If the song already has triggers when you change its Start TC, LTCast asks what to do: Move the triggers too shifts them by the same amount (right when you are moving the whole show to another hour), or Keep their timecodes leaves them where they are (right when you are correcting a start TC that was typed wrongly).

Frame rate

The Frame Rate buttons — 23.976, 24, 25, 29.97 (drop-frame) and 30 — set the generator's rate. In LTC Reader mode the equivalent control is Force FPS (Auto, 24, 25, 29.97, 30), which overrides the rate read from the file; it is disabled while chasing.

Pre-roll

Pre-roll runs the timecode for a few seconds before the music starts, so a console has time to lock and you have room for a pre-cue. In TC Generator mode a Pre-roll box appears in the transport bar next to Offset, with − and + buttons and the unit s. It is set per song, from 0 to 60 seconds, and it lights up when it is not zero. Right-click the box to reset it to 0.

When you press Play, the timecode starts at the Start TC minus the pre-roll and counts up while the music is silent; the box shows a countdown; and the music enters exactly on the Start TC. Cues and triggers are unaffected, because the music still lands on the timecode you set. Two limits apply:

• The pre-roll cannot be longer than the Start TC itself, because timecode cannot go below zero. With a Start TC of 00:00:00:00 the box is disabled — set a later Start TC first.
• It happens only when you press Play. Seeking, resuming from a pause and auto-advancing to the next song never run it again.

The guide has the same steps with screenshots.