Send Timecode from Backstage

Last updated 7 August 2026
Convert the progress of a sequence into an LTC timecode stream and send it out of an audio output, so other equipment can follow Backstage's playback.

Before you start

  • An audio device with a free channel to carry the timecode signal.

  • The sequence whose progress you want to send.

  • The frame rate the receiving equipment expects.

Steps

1. Create an audio output

  1. Open the Outputs window.

  2. Click + under Audio Output.

  3. Give it a name you will recognise in the node editor.

  4. Select the audio device and the channel the timecode should leave through.

2. Build the timecode chain in the node editor

  1. Open the Node Editor Window.

  2. Add an Audio:LTCStream node and select the frame rate you need from its dropdown.

  3. Add an Audio:Output node and pick the audio output you just created under Name.

  4. Drag from the LTCStream's audio output pin to the Output node's audio input pin to connect them.

3. Feed the sequence into it

  1. Add a Sequence:Sequence node.

  2. Select your sequence in its dropdown.

  3. Connect the sequence node's first output pin to the LTCStream node's input pin.

Playing the sequence now sends its progress as timestamps to the LTCStream node, which converts them to an audio signal on the chosen output.

Working with 24-hour timecode

There are two ways to organise sequences so they fit a 24-hour timecode format:

  1. One 24-hour sequence — force the sequence duration to 24 h in the Sequencer and place the video and audio assets at their real times of day within the channels.

  2. Several sequences with different offsets — copy the sequence and LTCStream nodes for each one, expand each LTCStream node and give it its own Offset. All LTCStream outputs connect to the same Audio:Output node.

With the second method, never let two sequences play at once. Both would generate timecode into the same output and the signals would overlay, leaving the receiving equipment with an unreadable stream.

Common Mistakes

  • The receiver ignores the signal — the frame rate on the LTCStream node has to match what the receiver expects. There is no negotiation; a mismatch simply does not lock.

  • Timecode is audible on a programme output — LTC is an audio signal. Give it a channel of its own, not one that also carries show audio.

  • Timecode stops when the sequence does — the stream is generated from sequence progress, so it exists only while the sequence runs. Equipment needing continuous timecode needs a sequence that runs continuously.

  • Two sequences overlap — see the warning above. This is the failure most easily created by accident when using offsets.

Node Editor Window — where the timecode chain is built

Sequencer — the sequences whose progress is sent

Audio Routing Window — routing audio channels to outputs