Is Life Better at 48 Frames Per Second? [VIDEO]

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Movie making seems to have advanced faster than light-speed in past decades, with the advent of 3D cinema and seamless stop-motion films, but it turns out frame rates have been stuck at a steady pace since classic Hollywood days.

That left Red Digital Cinema wondering if it's time for a frame-rate upgrade or if high frame rate playback would sacrifice the true quality and authenticity of movies.

When silent films graced the screens, filmmakers used just 15 to 20 frames per second (FPS). Frame rates later increased to 24 FPS to accommodate the introduction of sound. Frame rates increased to use the least amount of film and keep production costs low.

Modern digital film has catapulted filmmakers into a new era -- one where quality doesn't have to be sacrificed for quantity. The use of high frame rate playback is not unheard of. It's common in sports and high-definition television broadcasts. Plus, upcoming movies Avatar 2 and The Hobbit have already committed to the new type of film capture.

Red Digital Cinema doesn't necessarily accept that new technology is best practice. When comparing the quality of video produced they found that faster frame rates can distort the perception of moving images or "smear" on large screens. The high faster rates will provide more precise stills -- something that could prove beneficial for something like a fashion shoot that often pulls stills from video.

Also, higher frame rates could make video watching a more natural and enjoyable experience, Red says, because human visual systems are meant to take in continuous imagery as opposed to the flickering lower frame rates creates.