Ticks are the way 3ds Max views increments of time. There are 4800 ticks in a second, so you can actually access time down to 1/4800th of a second.
Given a standard, NTSC video frame rate, there are 30 frames in a second, and therefore 160 ticks in each frame.
When you use the FRAME:TICKS display format, time is shown in frames and ticks, delineated by a colon. This format lets you adjust the time slider in sub-frame increments of 1/160th of a frame. As you move through time, the ticks field counts from 0 to 159, at which point the frames field increments by one, and the ticks field returns to 0.
You can step forward or backward at single increments by clicking the single-frame buttons among the playback buttons.
When you use the MM:SS:TICKS Display format, you see minutes (MM), seconds (SS), and ticks, each separated by colons.
As you move through time in this display format, the ticks field counts from 0 to 4799, at which point the seconds field increments and the ticks field returns to 0.
You can step forward or backward at single increments by clicking the single-frame buttons on either side of the playback button.