How to Sync Clips by Timecode in Premiere Pro

Before you start

Timecode sync in Premiere Pro works locally on your machine and does not need an online service. If you do not see sync options for the selected clips, import them into a project first instead of trying to sync files directly from the Media Browser.

You need clips with matching or overlapping timecode. This is common when a video file and a separate audio recorder both received timecode from the same source, or when the files were recorded with synced cameras. If the clips have different timecode rates, the sync may fail or produce drift.

Step-by-step instructions

Select both clips in the Project panel. You can sync one video clip with one audio clip, or several clips from a multi-camera shoot.

• Right-click the selected clips and choose Create Multi-Camera Source Sequence.
• In the Synchronize Point section, select Timecode.
• Choose a sequence preset if Premiere Pro asks for one.
• Leave Create single multicam source sequence selected if you want one editable sequence.
• Select OK.

Premiere Pro creates a multi-camera source sequence and places the clips in order based on their timecode. The resulting sequence appears in the Project panel and can be opened in the Source Monitor or edited into a main sequence.

This method is reversible because it creates a new sequence and does not permanently modify the original clips. If the result is wrong, close or delete the generated multi-camera source sequence and try again with different sync settings.

Check the output

Open the generated multi-camera source sequence and inspect a section where you expect simultaneous action. Play it back and compare the video and audio tracks. The audio should stay aligned with visible speech or other events over the full duration of the sequence.

Timecode sync aligns the clips by their starting timecode, but it cannot identify content matching by sound. If the devices were not intentionally synced, the files may have identical-looking timecode values without actually matching. Drift can also appear if the recordings used different frame rates or clock sources.

Common problems and next steps

If Premiere Pro offers only audio waveform sync or reports that timecode is unavailable, check the clip metadata. Timecode must be present in the file metadata, not just displayed as a starting value. Some consumer video files do not carry usable timecode.

When clips sync at the wrong point, create a marker at a known matching event and compare the marker positions. For clips that have no reliable timecode, use audio-based synchronization instead. Keep a copy of the original imported clips before manually adjusting sync so you can return to the previous state.

If only one audio channel appears after sync, check whether the source file contains additional channels that were not mapped into the sequence. You may need to modify the audio track settings before creating another multi-camera source sequence.