This week, Google announced that 48fps and 60fps video playback will be available on YouTube sometime in the next few months. Most video is still shot at 24 or 30 frames per second, but there is a growing demand for high frame rate videos -- specifically for video game footage. The transition to higher frame rates has been painfully slow across the board, but this move from the YouTube team could force game devs and Hollywood to focus on pumping out more frames per second. Once you've experienced silky-smooth 60fps video, it's hard to go back to the blurry mess found at lower frame rates.
On its Creators Blog, Google unveiled a number of upcoming improvements(Opens in a new window) for YouTube. Features like fan funding and crowdsourced subtitles are headed to the world's most popular video distribution service, but the announcement of 48fps and 60fps video blows everything else out of the water. Users are still months away from being able to take advantage of higher frame rates for their own videos, but we did get a sneak preview of three HFR videos: a three minute clip of 60fps Titanfall gameplay, a 48fps trailer for season two of Video Game High School, and the 60fps Battlefield Hardline trailer embedded below (60fps playback is only available at 720p and 1080p).
Infamously, The Hobbit movies were shot at 48fps -- twice the frame rate of most movies. While some people bemoaned the lack of a "cinematic" aesthetic, the faster frame rate allows for more fluid movement, and results in crisp footage that more closely resembles reality. High frame rate movies haven't taken off quite yet, but James Cameron wants to film the Avatar sequels(Opens in a new window) at either 48fps or 60fps. Now, innovators like Jackson and Cameron can use YouTube to spread the good word about high frame rate movies. After all, seeing is believing.
Of course, video games benefit from faster frame rates as well, but it's traditionally been considered a hard sell to consumers. A fighting game or first-person shooter will play better at 60fps, but how do you effectively communicate that? Until recently, all consumers had to go by was screenshots and 30fps trailers. Under those constraints, many developers chose to sacrifice frame rate to beef up the visual effects on screen.
Now, sites like IGN are starting to run more 60fps videos(Opens in a new window), and the support from YouTube will take that to a whole new level of visability. Average consumers can finally see 60fps in action, so let's hope that higher frame rates can become a selling point outside of the sphere of core gamers. When normal people can see 60fps and 30fps videos side-by-side, devs won't be able to hide behind the traditional wisdom that prioritizes visual effects over frame rate.
[Image credit: Tony Eccles(Opens in a new window)]
