How is video storage calculated?

Storage requirement follows the dimensional formula: GB = ((video bitrate in Mbps × 10^6 + audio bitrate in kbps × 10^3) × duration in seconds) ÷ 8 ÷ 10^9. Bitrates are converted from bits to bytes and formatted into decimal SI gigabytes.

Why are storage drive sizes measured in decimal GB and TB?

Hard drive and solid-state storage manufacturers standardize on SI decimal units (1 GB = 10^9 bytes, 1 TB = 10^12 bytes = 1,000 GB). Operating systems reporting in binary gibibytes (GiB, 2^30 bytes) will show numerical values approximately 7% lower.

Are calculated storage requirements exact?

No. Preset bitrates represent nominal planning figures. Real-world storage varies with scene complexity, motion intensity, variable bitrate (VBR) encoder dynamics, and container overhead. Always plan a 10–20% safety margin for physical deployments.

Does frame rate scale bitrate linearly?

This calculator uses standard operational proportional scaling (fps / 30) for baseline sizing. In practice, modern inter-frame codecs often require 30–60% more bandwidth rather than 100% when doubling frame rates at constant visual quality.

How do I calculate storage for surveillance systems with motion schedules?

Select your resolution and codec, set the Daily Recording Schedule to match your operating window (such as 24/7 continuous, scheduled business hours, or motion activity like 4–8 hours/day), enter camera stream counts, and input retention days.

Video Storage Calculator

Estimate how much storage your video recordings need — choose resolution, codec, duration, daily operating hours, and camera count to get per-clip and total storage in GB or TB.

Video Settings

Resolution Preset

Codec

Frame Rate (fps)

Estimated video bitrate: 5.00 Mbps

Duration & System Configuration

Clip Duration

Hours

Minutes

Seconds

Daily Recording Schedule

Camera streams

Retention days

Audio Stream

Storage Estimates

Per Clip (Single Cam)

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Per Day (All Cams)

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Total Retention

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Drive Capacity Sizing

Available Drive Capacity

Supported Retention

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Codec Comparison — Same Resolution & Duration

Codec	Per Clip	vs H.264 Baseline
Enter values to compare

Unit Relationships & Operational Boundaries

Standard SI Units: Calculated using standard decimal units (1 GB = 10⁹ bytes, 1 TB = 1,000 GB = 10¹² bytes) adhering to HDD and SSD capacity specifications.
Nominal Planning Estimates: Preset bitrates serve as operational baselines under typical CBR/VBR encoding. They do not represent universal manufacturer standards or guarantee exact file sizes for any camera SKU.
Frame Rate Scaling: Frame rate adjustment scales baseline bitrates proportionally (fps / 30). Real-world VBR encoders typically demand less than linear bitrates at higher frame rates.
Safety Margin: Actual recorded file sizes vary with scene motion, visual entropy, encoder settings, and container headers. Plan a 10% to 20% storage buffer when purchasing hardware.

Summary