Why 23.976 FPS?

[DR]

I was curious why we use 23.976 fps instead of 30 fps. So I asked ChatGPT, and here's what it said.

You said:​

Why 23.976 FPS?

ChatGPT said:​

The frame rate 23.976 fps (frames per second) is a legacy artifact of analog television standards, and it stuck around into the digital and streaming era because of compatibility and industry inertia. Here’s the full story:

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• 23.976 fps is a direct descendant of 24 fps, the standard for film projection.
• When color was added to black-and-white NTSC TV in the U.S., the engineers had to slightly tweak the signal to prevent interference between the color subcarrier and the audio.
• To solve this, they reduced the frame rate of NTSC video from 30 fps to 29.97 fps.

Since most TV content needed to convert 24 fps film to television, a method called 3:2 pulldown was developed:

• This technique spreads 24 film frames over 60 interlaced video fields.
• But for perfect timing with 29.97 fps video, film had to be slowed down by 0.1% to 23.976 fps (technically 24,000 ÷ 1.001).

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• Compatibility: Digital formats (Blu-ray, streaming, broadcast) adopted 23.976 fps to stay compatible with legacy NTSC workflows.
• Standardization: Many cameras, editing tools (like DaVinci Resolve), and display devices are built around this rate.
• Distribution: Many streaming platforms expect 23.976 fps files for smooth playback and sync.

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TL;DR​

23.976 fps is just 24 fps slowed down by 0.1% to make it work smoothly with 29.97 fps NTSC video.
It’s a quirk of history that became a standard.

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If you're producing for modern streaming or digital cinema and not constrained by NTSC requirements, you can often just use true 24 fps — especially for theatrical or global distribution.

Let me know your use case (e.g. YouTube, Netflix, TV broadcast, film festival), and I can tell you which to choose.