Frame rate is the clock of moving images: 24 fps is cinema’s look, 30 broadcast’s, 60 the floor for motion that feels connected to live input, with 120 and beyond increasingly common on modern displays.
For reactive visuals the number is responsiveness, not just smoothness. At 30 fps an event can sit unrendered for 33 milliseconds, a delay eyes read as lag against a kick drum; 60 halves that penalty.
Dropped frames hurt worse than a low steady rate because rhythm breaks: a stutter during the drop is the visual equivalent of the audio glitching. Real-time systems therefore manage a frame budget, trading effect cost and resolution to hold the rate the show promises.