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Origins of 29,97 fps
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  • The crazy thing is that we are still living with the consequences of that decision 60 years later. Most cameras don't even support shooting in true 30.0 or 60.0 fps.

  • Yep. And some editors do not have 30/60fps among some resolutions as preset options :-)

    Also each manufacturer has their own lens mount, sometimes not one even. :-)

  • I can even tell you more, 16-235 levels shit also originate from analog and also from idea to embed some info into video values. Same shit continue in latest Rec.2020 UHD specs that have not full range for 10bit and up.

    As I understand core players who make standards have tons of patents on levels and embedding information in video and can not just let it go.

  • In the broadcast industry, compatibility between old video recordings and new recordings is critical. This is just one of the reasons why a new standard has not been adopted globally. Old technology does not go away just because we have some new technology.

  • Wasn't the choice of AC with 60 cycles per second made to avoid paying royalties to Tesla?

  • from: http://www.school-for-champions.com/science/ac_world_volt_freq.htm

    How values were selected

    The type of electricity delivered to homes and businesses was initially direct current (DC) but then changed to alternating current (AC) electricity. AC frequencies varied considerably, according to equipment used. For example, electrical generators at Niagara Falls put out 25Hz power.

    Tesla starts AC

    Early in the history of electricity, Thomas Edison's General Electric Company was distributing DC electricity at 110 volts in the United States.

    Then Nikola Tesla devised a system of three phase AC electricity at 240 volts. Three-phase meant that three alternating currents 120° out of phase were combined in order to even out the great variations in voltage occurring in AC electricity. He had calculated that 60 cycles per second or 60Hz was the most effective frequency. Tesla later compromised to reduce the voltage to 120 volts for safety reasons.

    (See the biography of Nikola Tesla for more information.)

    With the backing of the Westinghouse Company, Tesla's AC system became the standard in the United States. Westinghouse chose 60 Hz because the arc light carbons that were popular at that time worked better at 60 Hz than at 50 Hz.

    Europe goes to 50Hz and 230V

    Meanwhile, the German company AEG started generating electricity and became a virtual monopoly in Europe. They decided to use 50Hz instead of 60Hz to better fit their metric standards, but they stayed with 120V.

    Europe stayed at 120V AC until the 1950s, just after World War II. They then switched over to 230V for better efficiency in electrical transmission.