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# Ticks

3ds Max stores time internally in integer units called Ticks.

One second always contains 4800 ticks, thus one Tick is defined as a 1/4800 th of a second.

The importance of the number 4800 comes from the fact that it is divisible by all typical frame rates without a floating point part:

4800 ticks per second / 24 frames per second (Movies) = 200 ticks per frame

4800 ticks per second / 25 frames per second (PAL TV) = 192 ticks per frame

4800 ticks per second / 30 frames per second (NTSC TV) = 160 ticks per frame

The current number of Ticks per Frame can be acquired using the TicksPerFrame system global variable.