Enter the number of seconds of the video and the total time amount of real-time passed into the calculator to determine the playback speed.

Playback Speed Formula

The following formula is used to calculate a playback speed (playback rate). 

R = V / T
  • Where R is the playback speed/playback rate
  • V is the total time in the video that has passed
  • T is the total amount of real time that has passed

To calculate a playback speed, divide the total video time by the total amount of real time.

What is playback speed?

Definition:

A playback speed, also known as a playback rate, is a measure of the rate at which a video is either sped up or slowed down. It’s a ratio of video time to real-time.

How to calculate playback speed?

Example:

The following example outlines the steps to calculate a playback speed or playback rate.

First, determine the total amount of time that has passed in the video. For example, if you play a video for “X” amount of real-time, how many seconds does the video player say.

In this case, the video time is 300 seconds.

Next, determine the real-time. This is the amount of time it took in real life to get to 300 seconds in the video.

In this example, the real-time is 150 seconds.

Finally, calculate the playback speed using the formula above:

R = V / T

R = 300 / 150

R = 2 X playback speed