Timecode is encoded in video using colored regions of pixels. Pixels in adjacent regions in frames of a video are color-coded to encode timecode. For example, two adjacent regions might both be colored red to encode the numeral ‘0.’ As another example, two adjacent regions might be colored red and purple, respectively, to encode the numeral ‘1.’ The regions can be the same size as a macroblock (e.g. 16×16 pixels) used by a video encoder and aligned to macroblock boundaries for efficient encoding. The colors of the adjacent regions can be decoded to obtain the timecode. The timecode might then be burned into frames of the video, displayed non-destructively over the video, or used in another manner.