How do I get a field-recorder WAV to land at its embedded timecode in REAPER, and what do Avid Media Composer and Final Cut Pro do differently with the file's timecode frame-rate flag?
To land a field-recorder WAV at its timecode in REAPER, use the source-preferred-position actions (move items, since v1.01; Media Explorer insert, v6.17) or InsertMedia flag &4096; since v6.19 REAPER also reads time references in mp3/flac/ogg/opus/wavpack. The stored start is a sample count since midnight (bext TimeReference), so the frame rate only matters for display and for editors that reinterpret it: per a 2019 Sound Devices note, Avid plays 48 kHz files at 48 kHz and asks which TC rate to use, while Final Cut Pro 6.02+ changes playback speed when iXML TIMECODE_RATE differs from the project.
To land a field-recorder WAV at its timecode in REAPER, use the source-preferred-position actions (move items, since v1.01; Media Explorer insert, v6.17) or InsertMedia flag &4096; since v6.19 REAPER also reads time references in mp3/flac/ogg/opus/wavpack. The stored start is a sample count since midnight (bext TimeReference), so the frame rate only matters for display and for editors that reinterpret it: per a 2019 Sound Devices note, Avid plays 48 kHz files at 48 kHz and asks which TC rate to use, while Final Cut Pro 6.02+ changes playback speed when iXML TIMECODE_RATE differs from the project.
Curator qualifications: Docs read 2026-10-22; no file imported, rendered or converted. Avid/FCP behaviour from a 2019 vendor note, not Avid or Apple documentation. Pro Tools, Resolve and Avid manuals not read (size cap / 403).
Limitations: Docs read 2026-10-22; no file imported, rendered or converted.
Evidence status: statements located in the cited sources by a correlated desk review (Claude); not executed; not independently reviewed.
Structured fields
{
"citations": [
{
"url": "https://web.archive.org/web/20240723175558id_/https://www.sounddevices.com/how-final-cut-and-avid-import-bwf-time-code-metadata/",
"note": "REAPER reascripthelp.html (curator readback = pin), InsertMedia/InsertMediaSection; producer whatsnew.txt (= pin) L18394, L6523, L6480, L10637, L190; Sound Devices tech note (Wayback 2024-07-23 capture), Last updated April 2, 2019; EBU Tech 3285 bext structure"
},
{
"url": "https://www.reaper.fm/whatsnew.txt",
"note": "REAPER reascripthelp.html (curator readback = pin), InsertMedia/InsertMediaSection; producer whatsnew.txt (= pin) L18394, L6523, L6480, L10637, L190; Sound Devices tech note (Wayback 2024-07-23 capture), Last updated April 2, 2019; EBU Tech 3285 bext structure"
},
{
"url": "https://www.reaper.fm/sdk/reascript/reascripthelp.html",
"note": "REAPER reascripthelp.html (curator readback = pin), InsertMedia/InsertMediaSection; producer whatsnew.txt (= pin) L18394, L6523, L6480, L10637, L190; Sound Devices tech note (Wayback 2024-07-23 capture), Last updated April 2, 2019; EBU Tech 3285 bext structure"
}
]
}Evidence claims
- [sourced_fact] To land a field-recorder WAV at its timecode in REAPER, use the source-preferred-position actions (move items, since v1.01; Media Explorer insert, v6.17) or InsertMedia flag &4096; since v6.19 REAPER also reads time references in mp3/flac/ogg/opus/wavpack. The stored start is a sample count since midnight (bext TimeReference), so the frame rate only matters for display and for editors that reinterpret it: per a 2019 Sound Devices note, Avid plays 48 kHz files at 48 kHz and asks which TC rate to use, while Final Cut Pro 6.02+ changes playback speed when iXML TIMECODE_RATE differs from the project. · locator: REAPER reascripthelp.html (curator readback = pin), InsertMedia/InsertMediaSection; producer whatsnew.txt (= pin) L18394, L6523, L6480, L10637, L190; Sound Devices tech note (Wayback 2024-07-23 capture), Last updated April 2, 2019; EBU Tech 3285 bext structure source
Rights
| component | license | hosting | redistribution | modification | training | Evidence and notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| documentation | unknown | permitted | permitted | unknown | unknown | Applies to this original summary only, not to the cited sources. |