Avatar: The Way of Water debuts in cinemas this week in 48fps HFR using a special TrueCut Motion technique that will also come to home theaters, according to parent company Pixelworks.

Peter Jackson's The Hobbit was the first major feature film to be shot and projected in 48fps, or High Frame Rate (HFR). Avatar: The Way of Water also takes advantage of 48fps HFR for 3D but employs a special technique called TrueCut Motion to help prevent the 'soap opera' effect.

You can experience James Cameron's approach to 48fps HFR for 3D in select cinemas starting this week. More on that here.


HFR at home
Pixelworks, the company behind TrueCut Motion, tells us to look forward to more information on TrueCut Motion for the home "soon", which may refer to CES 2023 in January.

- "TrueCut Motion is delivering cinematic high frame rate only in cinemas today (this is a big week for cinematic high frame rate), but no need to hold your breath, we'll have more to say about TrueCut Motion for home theaters soon," said Pixelworks.

It is unclear how this would be enabled in the home. 48fps is not supported on UHD Blu-ray, and neither is 4K 3D. None of the major streaming services (except YouTube) provide support either as far as we are aware. The key question here is what Disney+ is planning.

At CES 2022, TCL announced a partnership with Pixelworks but nothing has been heard of it since so it has most likely been delayed to 2023. Here is what TCL said in January 2022:

TCL is working with Pixelworks and other entertainment leaders to define and deploy a new motion ecosystem with a wholistic approach, to bring the power and innovation of the TrueCut Motion eco-system to its high-performance TV models in North America for the first time. A critical component to great visual experiences, TrueCut Motion is an end-to-end solution that includes a new content delivery format and device certification program to guarantee a consistent filmmaker-approved output. With TrueCut Motion, content creators have a new tool to dynamically use motion to better express style, to immerse viewers in stories and to elicit emotion. With TrueCut Motion technology, viewers can witness this incredible motion, consistently presented the way the filmmaker intended, without adjusting settings on the TV remote. The addition of TrueCut Motion along with features like 4K and HDR mean that viewers will have a home theater experience unlike anything previously imaginable.
Here is also a demonstration of how TrueCut Motion works: