How to chase LTC timecode in your browser (no bridge, no install)

Most show-timing tools assume a dedicated box, a driver or a bridge app sitting between your laptop and the console. EdiTour does timecode in the browser instead, over a plain audio cable. It can chase SMPTE timecode coming from a console or playback rig, so the timeline follows the show, and it can send its own timecode so a console follows EdiTour. No install, no bridge, no driver.

This guide covers both directions, how to read the status pill, and the limits worth knowing before you rely on it in rehearsal.

Timecode I/O is included in every paid plan. Free accounts can see the settings and read this guide; arming it needs a paid plan.

What you need

• A laptop running Chrome or Edge. Firefox and Safari work for chase; check the browser table at the end before relying on them for anything else.
• An audio interface with a line input (to chase) or a stereo line output (to send). A laptop's built-in mic input works for chase in a pinch.
• A console or generator that speaks LTC (SMPTE linear timecode on an audio line) at 24, 25, 29.97 non-drop or 30 fps.

Chase: EdiTour follows the console

Wiring

Run the console's LTC out into a line input on the interface, as a mono feed. Line level is right; timecode is a square-ish audio signal, not a microphone.

Setup, in order

1. Open the top-right menu and choose Timecode I/O.
2. Set the mode to Chase and the source to LTC (audio).
3. Press Arm. The browser asks for input permission once, now, so it never prompts mid-show. Then pick the input from the list that appears.
4. Set the project frame rate to what the console sends: 24, 25, 29.97 or 30. Drop-frame (29.97 DF) is not supported yet.
5. Click the TC pill in the transport to open the Timecode Offset Manager, and give each song its timecode anchor: the show-clock time at which the song's audio starts. A show that runs from 01:00:00:00 with songs back to back anchors each song where the previous one ends.
6. Start the console. The pill turns LOCKED and the playhead follows.

Watch out for voice processing

Browsers treat every audio input as a voice call. By default they apply echo cancellation, noise suppression and automatic gain, and any one of those destroys timecode. EdiTour switches all three off when it opens the input and checks that the browser obeyed. If it did not, the settings dialog shows a warning naming what stayed on. If you see it, use a line input rather than a headset or a USB microphone with built-in processing, or switch to Chrome or Edge.

Chase modes

• Jam (default): if code stops, EdiTour keeps running at the last rate and re-locks when code returns. Use this for shows.
• Lock: if code stops for about a second, playback pauses. Use this to verify a chase in rehearsal.
• One-shot: the first frame starts playback; after that, EdiTour free-runs and ignores the code.

Send: the console follows EdiTour

Wiring

EdiTour writes SMPTE on the right channel of the program output. On the transport, open Channels and choose L music · R timecode (LTC out). The left channel carries the music and the right channel carries code; take the right channel to the console's LTC in. Code level does not follow the music fader.

Setup, in order

1. In the top-right menu choose Timecode I/O, set the mode to Send and switch on LTC out.
2. Press Arm, then choose the output device (Chrome and Edge only; other browsers send on the default output).
3. Set the project frame rate to what the console expects.
4. Give each song its anchor in the Timecode Offset Manager. The code EdiTour sends is the show clock: the anchor plus the position in the song.
5. Press play. The pill reads TC OUT.

If the console reads consistently late, raise the send offset under Calibration in the Timecode I/O dialog. A positive value sends code early to absorb the interface's output latency. The latency the browser reports for the device shows beside the field as a hint; trust the console, not the number.

What the pill means

OUTSIDE SHOW deserves a second look. It is what you get when a console sends time-of-day code, or a show clock that starts at a different hour than your anchors. The wire is fine; the numbers do not meet. Fix the anchors, or start the console at the time the anchors expect.

Troubleshooting

• NO SIGNAL with the cable connected. Check the input picked in Timecode I/O, check the input level on the interface, and look for the voice-processing warning. A phone playing an LTC file into the interface is a quick way to prove the input path.
• Frame numbers look wrong, or the chase drifts slowly. The project frame rate does not match the sender. While chasing, EdiTour reads the sender's rate (24, 25 or 30) from the frame numbers within a second and turns the TC readout in the status bar amber when it differs; hover it for the fix. 29.97 and 30 count the same frame numbers, so that pair is never flagged and shows only as a slow drift. A drop-frame sender is always flagged.
• The pill flickers between LOCKED and FREEWHEEL. The signal is dropping out. Check the cable and the level; Jam mode rides through short dropouts.
• The chase sits a few frames off. Dial the chase offset under Calibration in Timecode I/O while the show runs. Positive plays the music earlier. It applies live, with no need to re-arm.
• Wrong song. Two songs' windows overlap, or an anchor is wrong. The Timecode Offset Manager flags overlaps.

Limits today

• Drop-frame timecode (29.97 DF) is not supported. Set the sender to 29.97 non-drop or 30.
• Timecode arrives and leaves over audio only. Art-Net timecode and MIDI timecode are not available yet.
• Choosing the output device needs Chrome or Edge.
• EdiTour designs the show and follows the clock; it does not run your console. The console still fires its own cues.

Browsers