Why a high frame rate might be hurting your YouTube channel

or 60 frames per second (fps) on youtube makes me sick


I've been noticing some videos make me queazy and often I will see in the comments someone saying they feel the same way.  So what's going on?

The thing these videos have in common is that they are published in 60 or 30 fps.  Mostly 60fps.

And reading around the internet, this seems to be getting more and more common - mostly with video games, but also with YouTube videos.  60fps makes people uncomfortable.  

I also noticed that the creators in Europe defend themselves and say "it looks fine to me".  The viewers complaining are mostly in North America.

That got me thinking.  Our electricity, at least in Canada, runs at 60 hertz.  If I have a light on in the room, especially an LED light, I'm much more likely to feel the symptoms.  If the video is filmed in natural light, I am far less likely to have the symptoms.  If the video is filmed in North America at 30 or 60fps and is artificially lit with LED - I find it completely unwatchable, the symptoms are so strong.  

(most) LED lights here have a flicker rate of 30.  

I wonder if they are syncing up with the recording or playback to create an optical illusion.  Like how a strobe light in a highschool dance can trigger weird perceptions.  


Whatever is causing it, there's another good reason to film (and publish) at 24fps.

It's cheaper!

It saves time, you don't need such fancy equipment to render out the video, and requires fewer memory cards.


I noticed, on my own youtube channel, when I switched from 30fps to 24, the retention went up (although the quality of the video didn't).  I think there's something to it, even if my explanation is off.  High frame rates aren't the future.  

It looks like my old monitor refreshes at 60hz

Back when LCD screens were backlit by fluorescent bulbs, the answer to obnoxious flickering was to turn the refresh rate higher, into the 70s or 80s. But most modern screens max out at 60 fps. So I run flux to keep the blue light down. Best I can do right now.

I know I have watched a movie at 60 fps at a theater that supported that frame rate. It was the newest, fanciest place in town. I could barely tell the difference.