# Variable frame rate

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{{Distinguish|Variable refresh rate}}

'''Variable frame rate''' (or VFR) is a term in [video compression](/source/video_compression) for a feature supported by some [container formats](/source/Digital_container_format) which allows for the [frame rate](/source/frame_rate) to change actively during video playback, or to drop the idea of frame rate completely and set an individual timecode for each frame.<ref name="Waggoner2009">{{cite book|last=Waggoner|first=Ben|title=Compression for Great Video and Audio: Master Tips and Common Sense|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=InWZYVRH6vcC&pg=PA150|accessdate=7 September 2012|date=2009-11-16|publisher=Taylor & Francis US|isbn=978-0-240-81213-7|pages=150–}}</ref><ref name="Higgins2000">{{cite book|last=Higgins|first=Jonathan|title=Satellite Newsgathering|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fpbVH_4iOs8C&pg=PA225|accessdate=7 September 2012|date=2000-04-24|publisher=Taylor & Francis US|isbn=978-0-240-51551-9|pages=225–}}</ref> Many smartphone cameras record their videos in VFR, sometimes causing audio-video sync difficulties when editing phone videos in video editors.<ref>{{cite web |date=2022-09-27 |title=Variable frame rate being an issue? |url=https://www.vegascreativesoftware.info/us/forum/variable-frame-rate-being-an-issue--137374/ |access-date=2025-08-20}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=2020-03-14 |title=Black thumbnails in media pool on videos from Samsung phones |url=https://forum.blackmagicdesign.com/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=212269| access-date=2025-08-20}}</ref> VFR is even more useful for creating videos of slideshow presentations or when the video contains large amounts of completely static frames, as a means of improving compression rate, or if the video contains a combination of 24/25/30/50/60 [FPS](/source/frame_rate) footages and the creator or editor of the video wishes to avoid artifacts arising from framerate-conversion.

In video recording, a lowered framerate may be preferred in darker environments to extend the exposure time per frame, allowing the [image sensor](/source/image_sensor) to capture more light, which results in brighter footage.

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== See also ==
* [Comparison of container formats](/source/Comparison_of_container_formats)

Category:Film and video technology

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Variable frame rate](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Variable_frame_rate) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Variable_frame_rate?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.