59.94 or 60.00 for Live Streaming - Does it Matter?

B

Bassman2003

Veteran
Hello,

I have a friend that is stuck on thinking YouTube prefers to have true 60 fps over 59.94 for a live stream. I told him that the camera world is going to give you 59.94.

In the end does it really matter? Has anybody experienced a need or improvement by converting to 60 fps before sending a stream to YouTube? Thanks.
 
At first, I was going to say; no, it doesn't matter.

But then did a quick Google search to see what other earthlings are saying about it on the world wide web and the first hit was actually some random guy saying he has a problem streaming @59.94 and the problem fixes itself @60.

Is that him? lol

https://obsproject.com/forum/threads...onfirm.100869/

Nevertheless...still doesn't seem like a common concern.
 
Yes. The doesn't matter opinion was mine too. I posted here to hopefully get some experienced point of views. Many folks outside of video production are not dialed in on this topic. So you can keep the 'go Google it' advice in your pocket :)

It is odd to me that YouTube would want 60 when cameras and capture cards are so focused on 59.94. I know it is due to 59.94 being a broadcast induced problem/fix and YT being a new world computer entity. Is it worth the conversion horsepower on the local side? That is the topic of discussion for me.
 
haha, I tried to slide in the 'go Google it' advice subtly...it didn't work - huh, champ?

When critically-thinking about it, why is he asking this question? Meaning...is he having issues streaming? Has anyone actually streamed yet, maybe in both ways to test it, or are we concerned first and we'll try it later?

Bottom line is YouTube isn't clear what they exactly mean when they write 60 frames per second. Some people write 60 but mean 59.94 - and others mean both - and others may only mean 60 when they write 60 or 59.94 when they write 59.94.

With that said, YouTube says "other framerates are acceptable" on their specifications page:

https://support.google.com/youtube/a...=%2Cframe-rate

That's for uploading, but maybe email support and see what they say?

Like you said...59.94 is the standard and only a handful of cameras offer true 60, so I don't imagine Google creating such a problem for people with such a heavily used worldwide service where they truly mean 60p and 59.94 will cause issues.
 
Now you are referring to me as champ? Kind of rude. I thought this was a discussion board where people exchange opinions and experience. Norbro, you are helpful and rude at the same time. Kind of an odd combination. Why do you reply if it is mainly teach somebody a lesson?

Anyway, I would like to ask if anybody would share some field experience? I have been streaming during jobs for a few years and just wondering if or how others' approach this. (I know most are probably streaming at lower frame rates). Thanks
 
Bassman, I thought I could joke with you (and I always do and you joke back), I've 'known you' for years!

So sensitive...:violin:

Good luck with your question and I hope you figure it out ASAP.
 
FWIW, I've always sent 23.98 for livestreams, as cleared by the team running the truck, but for all I know there's a conversion going on downstream.
However, in watching the livestream at a later date it didn't feel like 59.94 or 60.
 
Thanks Bill. I am assuming the same that if YT prefers 60.00 it will convert it. In the end, the only difference is if a local conversion looks better or performs better for viewing the Live stream compared to a YT conversion. (This is for 59.94 shot material).
 
59.94, 29.97, and 23.98 frame rates are only relevant for over the air TV broadcasts in North America. For streaming content delivered solely by digital networks, it should not matter which is used. The difference is only 1 frame in 1100. You may run into sound sync problems if you use sources with different frame rates when editing. If there is a chance a livestream may be picked up for broadcast, better to use the NTSC offsets, it will have to be reclocked by the broadcaster otherwise.
 
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