The Best Frame Rate for 4k Video: Is It 60 FPS or 50 FPS?

This essay offered by MiniTool Software mainly discusses the definition of frame rate and how it is applied in video creation. Besides, it also tells the ideal frame rates for different types of videos.

Knowing frame rates and selecting suitable frame rates for your different videos is important when creating any kind of audiovisual recordings like video podcasts and interviews. Frame rate influences many aspects of your videos from file size to the watching experience. Thus, it is of great importance to choose the right frame rate for your video.

What Is Frame Rate?

When we watch a video, we are actually watching a sequence of still pictures. Those pictures are displayed at a rate that makes them look like they are moving. Those still pictures are called frames. Frame rate refers to the number of pictures that are shown in a unit of time, usually one second.

Therefore, frames per second (FPS) becomes the unit of frame rate, so there comes 24 fps, 25 fps, 30 fps, 60 fps, etc.

Why Frame Rate Is Essential in Videos?

Frame rates have a great impact on the style of a video and audience-watching experience. That is to say, different picture displaying speeds have different effects. The frame rate of the video defines how the video looks.

Lower frame rates, under 24fps, will have a bad appearance and will flicker, showing the low quality of a video. Whereas, higher frame rates will look smoother and more realistic.

Besides, frame rates can also influence the size of the video file and the network use. The higher the frame rate, the larger the video file will be and the more bandwidth it will consume.

Then, how many frame rates do human eyes see? What frame rate do we prefer to watch? According to the studies, the generally accepted average frame rate is between 30 to 60 FPS while 24 FPS is the standard for videos for it’s the lowest frame rate to make motion appear natural to people’s eyes.

Choose the Right Frame Rate for Your Videos

The following recommended frame rates depend on the content and desired impact of the video, as well as geographical region.

24fps: the standard frame rate for most video content.
25fps (UK and Europe) and 30fps (US and other places): the standard frame rate for TV videos. The higher frame rate is good for fast-moving videos such as sports coverage.
50fps (UK and Europe) and 60fps (US and other places): high frame rate with much more detail making it the best frame rate for 4K resolution videos. Those or higher frame rates like 120fps are usually used to shoot slow-motion videos.

Therefore, what is the best frame rate for 4K videos? The standard answer is 60 or 50 FPS depending on different geographical locations.

Most cameras including the mobile phone camera will record at a standard 30fps but can increase to 60fps or even higher frame rate to create slow-motion videos.

Videos/Audios/Photos Management Tools Recommended

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About The Author

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Position: Columnist

Helen Graduated from university in 2014 and started working as a tech editor in the same year. Her articles focus on video creation, editing, and conversion. She also has a good knowledge of disk management and data backup & recovery. Through an in-depth exploration of computer technology, Helen has successfully helped thousands of users solve their annoying problems.