Movies on film are almost
exclusively projected at 24 FPS. Television, however, does not have an
internationally accepted frame rate. In Europe and many other countries, PAL
and SECAM use 25 FPS, whereas NTSC video in North America and Japan uses
29.97 FPS. Other common frame rates are usually multiples of these.
Note: Converting video formats from one frame rate to another is technically
challenging, and there are often unwanted visual side effects. This is
especially true when the frame rates do not evenly divide. For example,
converting 30 FPS to 60 FPS is fairly easy to do, but converting
29.97 FPS to 25 FPS is much more difficult. Making sure audio stays
in sync throughout the conversion is yet another challenge.
Some digital video formats support
several frame rates within a single format, allowing variable frame rate video
recording and film (24 FPS) compatibility.
Frame rate
|
Media
|
Description
|
24 fps
|
Film; high definition video
|
This is the universally accepted film
frame rate. Movie theaters worldwide almost always use this frame rate. Many
high definition formats can record and play back video at this rate, though
23.98 is usually chosen instead (see below).
|
23.98 (23.976) fps
|
Film; high definition video with NTSC
compatibility; NTSC
|
This is 24 fps slowed down by
99.9% (1000/1001) to easily transfer film to NTSC video. Many high definition
video formats (and some SD formats) can record at this speed, and it is
usually preferred over true 24 fps because of NTSC compatibility.
|
25FPS
|
PAL; high definition video
|
The European video standard. Film is
sometimes shot at 25 FPS when destined for editing or distribution on
PAL video.
|
29.97 fps
|
NTSC; high definition video
|
This has been the color NTSC video
standard since 1953. This number is sometimes inaccurately referred to as
30 fps.
|
30 fps
|
High definition video; early
black-and-white NTSC video
|
Some high definition cameras can
record at 30 fps, as opposed to 29.97 fps. Before color was added
to NTSC video signals, the frame rate was truly 30 fps. However, this
format is almost never used today.
|
50 fps
|
PAL; high definition video
|
This refers to the interlaced field
rate (double the frame rate) of PAL. Some 1080i high definition cameras can
record at this frame rate.
|
59.94 fps
|
High definition video with NTSC
compatibility
|
High definition cameras can record at
this frame rate, which is compatible with NTSC video. It is also the
interlaced field rate of NTSC video. This number is sometimes referred to as
60 fps, but it is best to use 59.94 FPS unless you really mean
60 FPS.
|
60 fps
|
High definition video
|
High definition equipment can often
play and record at this frame rate, but 59.94 FPS is much more common
because of NTSC compatibility.
|
Important: Many people round 29.97 FPS to 30 FPS, but this can lead to
confusion during post-production. Today, it is still very rare to use a frame
rate of 30 FPS, but very common to use 29.97 FPS. When in doubt, ask
people to clarify whether they really mean 30 FPS, or if they are simply rounding
29.97 FPS for convenience.