HD frame rate for TV broadcast (in U.S.)

[interstellar]

Hi Everyone,

I have read that, with respect to high-definition television broadcasting in the United States, "24 frames-per-second" should more accurately be called "23.976 frames-per-second". So, when I render a project in EI that will be used in a high-definition broadcast, should I set the frame rate to "24" or "23.976"? I'm not trying to synchronize my animation to an audio track.

Thanks for your advice,

Joe Tucciarone

[KurtF]

Only if you're working on a really, really long project. Say, more than a couple of minutes. The amount of 'slip' between your rendered video and the audio will be minimal for shorter clips.

If you want to be very particular, then yes, go for the 23.976 number, as it certainly won't hurt anything.

[RichardJoly]

Joe,

I read that 24.976 is a "Film looking" NTSC compatible frame rate. Is it the preferred format for broadcasting? It depends... I had to deal with different directors asking for different format in the same broadcasting house...

Usually Broadcasters can give you a Producer Tech Sheet with the settings they prefer.

Here is one for Discovery HD:

http://dhd.discovery.com/guidelines/gallery/guidelines.pdf

Some "interesting" reading:

http://www.cnet.com/hdtv-resolution/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-definition_television

[Tango]

Hi Joe,

We do a lot of work for broadcasters in Canada and the U.S., which share the same broadcast standards:

HD- 1920x1080 @ 29.97 fps (drop frame)

HD- 1920x1080 @ 30 fps (non drop frame)

Some production houses will work at a frame rate closer to film rate:

HD- 1920x1080 @ 23.97 fps (drop frame)

HD- 1920x1080 @ 24 fps (non drop frame)

You should ask the editor what format they want the deliverables in. This also includes codec information. Every edit system uses a specific set-up. Most editors will take Animation codec, but for best quality you want to go uncompressed.

Editors usually dislike working with 30 or 24 fps since most edit systems are using drop frame rates. Animations should match their frame rate.

Christian

[Tomas Egger]

Ola Tango,

Agree with file formats and frame rates..

About Codec, I use a lot Quicktime PNG, its lossless but have 1/3 size of Animation format...

Thanksss

Tom

[interstellar]

to Christian, Kurt, Richard and Tomas,

Thank you very much for your comments; you have all been a big help to me. It would be nice if there was a single, standard format for high-definition TV instead of the confusing maze of pixel dimensions and frame rates. In one of the articles I read about this subject, the author said "The great thing about standards is that there are so many of them!"

Joe Tucciarone

[interstellar]

Hi Gang,

I have one more question please . . . I set the frame rate of an EI project to 23.976 fps, rendered it, imported the rendered clip into After Effects and performed an "Interpret Footage" on it. After Effects reported the frame rate of the clip as 23.98 fps. In After Effect's "Interpret Footage" window I can replace 23.98 with 23.976. Then, when I perform another "Interpret Footage", it reports the frame rate as 23.976 fps. Should I do this or leave the Interpret Footage value at 23.98? Someone in an Adobe Premiere forum said 23.98 was just a rounding procedure for the display box (in Premiere).

Thank you in advance,

Joe T