how long is a movie?

[Extrocomp]

Wikipedia, IMDb and Amazon.com all say how many minutes long a certain movie is, but sometimes they contradict each other. Does anyone know which one of these websites is the most reliable?

Are there any websites where I can find out how long an individual episode of a TV series is? The major websites usually say that an episode is 45 minutes long, but I'm interested in knowing exact length.

 

[Sephiroth]

it depends on the individual episode itself, and the contradictory runtimes you are getting are usualy the result of disscounting the credit crawl

 

[Rii]

I imagine Amazon.com would be the most reliable source as their information would be drawn from and associated with the specific product in question.

 

[Servo]

Discrepancies in runtimes can also come from the various different refresh rates between NTSC and PAL video.

 

[Extrocomp]

I forgot that movies on PAL are always shorter than movies on NTSC. Are there any programs that can convert PAL in NTSC?

 

[spinnerlys]

You mean runtime?

If it's that, then a calculator will do fine.

PAL is 25 frames per second (50 interlaced fields per second).

NTSC (Never The Same Colour) is 29.97 frames per second (59.94 interlaced fields per second).

PAL to NTSC = (runtime/25) x 29.97

NTSC to PAL = (runtime/29.97) x 25

But there is also a method of converting NTSC to PAL, called the 3:2 pulldown, which might come into play.


And most US american "one-hour" TV episodes are now 40 to 42.5 minutes long, with exceptions like Fringe or Breaking Bad, with more like 48 minutes.

Why are you so interested in the exact lengths?

 

[tharpdevenport]

TV series in length, like hour long shows, change from decade-to-decade. An average episode of ST:TNG was somewhere between 46 and 48 minutes, while "Enterprise" episodes, according to IMDB, are about 42. It's all a ploy to get more commercials in.

There is NO end-all, be-all running time for series or films.

In fact, there can often be multi edits of films, so there are different running times.

 

[Mistral]

Last time I checked, the typical movie runs from the beginning right through to the end.

 

[TGTheodore]

There isn't a universal "measurement" of movie or episode lengths.

Many instances have their own standards, but they're not universal. What might constitute a "short" film at the Academy Awards, would probably be different at the Sundance Festival.

Each "hour-long" series also has their own particular length requirements depending on advertising space needed for the network and local affiliates.

--Ted

 

[Smiley]

Compare the time at the end of the credits of a DVD you own to an online listing for that movie. Once you find a site that matches, then that site should be correct for most other movies/shows as well.

 

[Extrocomp]

You mean runtime?

If it's that, then a calculator will do fine.

PAL is 25 frames per second (50 interlaced fields per second).

NTSC (Never The Same Colour) is 29.97 frames per second (59.94 interlaced fields per second).

PAL to NTSC = (runtime/25) x 29.97

NTSC to PAL = (runtime/29.97) x 25

But there is also a method of converting NTSC to PAL, called the 3:2 pulldown, which might come into play.

Thank you for that information.

Why are you so interested in the exact lengths?

Just the kind of person I am.

 

[Brent]

Typical american TV shows are 42 minutes long cause they like to cram a lot of commercials in these days.