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Why is TV 29.97 frames per second?

Stand-up Maths · 2.2M views · 2016-10-03 · 14:27

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Overview

Matt Parker explains the history behind NTSC television running at 29.97 frames per second rather than 30, tracing it to the backward-compatible addition of color. He walks through the arithmetic behind the odd ratio.

On Hacker News

Go-to explanation whenever the strange 29.97 frame rate comes up, praised for its clarity and presenter.

Recommended by 4 HN people across 4 months · HN mentions 2016–2025

Topics

Audio & video engineeringRecreational & visual math
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29.97 fpsntsctelevision historycolor tvstandupmaths

What people said

mikepurvis · 2020-10 · Strong recommendation

Vaguely related, anyone who hasn't seen it, definitely go and watch Matt Parker's legendary explanation of why NTSC runs at 29.97fps: [VIDEO]

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walkerbrown · 2025-12 · Recommendation

For anyone this deep on the thread, check out this video (great presenter!) explaining TV spectrum allocation, NTSC, PAL, and the origin of 29.97 fps. [VIDEO]

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santix · 2018-01 · Recommendation

Cool video. I found another interesting one: Why is TV 29.97 frames per second? [0], which refers to NTSC's frame rate. [0]: [VIDEO]

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Sources

Video by Stand-up Maths, played through YouTube.

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