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IP camera bandwidth calculator

Estimate camera bitrates, the network and PoE switch uplink, NVR incoming bandwidth and storage from the number of cameras, resolution, codec and frame rate.

Cameras

Put cameras with different settings in separate groups.

Camera group 1

Network, storage and viewing

The headroom factor leaves room for bitrate peaks, noisy night images and other network traffic.

Estimated result

Estimate: 32 Mbps in total; recommended network uplink 43.7 Mbps; storage for 30 days: 10.37 TB.

Total camera bitrate (main streams)
32 Mbps 8 cameras
Recommended network uplink
43.7 Mbps Network (main + sub) 33.6 Mbps × factor 1.3 A 100 Mbps link is enough.
NVR incoming bandwidth
33.6 Mbps Every stream the recorder receives (main and sub).
Remote viewing (internet upload)
1.59 Mbps Viewers × cameras: 2 × 4
Storage
10.37 TB for 30 days of recordings 345.6 GB per day Disk capacity with 10% kept free: 11.52 TB

Per group

  1. Camera group 1 8 × 4 MP · H.265 · 25 fps · medium activity

    Per camera
    4 Mbps
    Sub-stream
    0.2 Mbps
    Group network
    33.6 Mbps
    Per day
    345.6 GB

PoE switch and uplink

The heaviest camera sends 4.2 Mbps with its sub-stream. A 100 Mbps port per camera is enough.

Uplink for a switch full of these cameras (factor 1.3)
PoE portsUplink neededUplink port
4 21.8 Mbps 100 Mbps
8 43.7 Mbps 100 Mbps
16 87.3 Mbps 100 Mbps
24 131 Mbps Gigabit

KDT Platinum PoE switches

KDT recorders that fit

Needed: at least 8 channels, 33.6 Mbps incoming bandwidth and 11.52 TB of disk.

From the product specifications ("IP Channel Input", "Input Bandwidth", "HDD", "Capacity" and "RAID Support"); eSATA ports do not count as drive bays.

All KDT NVRs

This is an estimate for planning. Real bitrates depend on the scene, the light (night-time image noise raises the bitrate) and the camera settings; for large projects, talk to KDT's engineers.

Every IP camera streams to the recorder all the time, and the sum of those streams decides which PoE switches and uplinks you need, how much incoming bandwidth the NVR must take and how fast the disks fill up. Underestimating the bandwidth leads to dropped frames, lost video and gaps in the recordings. With this calculator you can estimate these figures for your cameras before you buy the equipment.

The result is an estimate for planning. For a precise design of the network, the recorders and the storage, especially in large projects, KDT's sales engineers are ready to help.

How it is calculated

Each camera starts from a base bitrate per megapixel (H.264 at 25 fps), multiplied by the factors below; both KDT calculators (storage and bandwidth) use this same model. The result matches the usual camera defaults: about 4 Mbps for a 2 MP H.264 or a 4 MP H.265 camera and about 8 Mbps for 8 MP H.265.

kbps = kbps/MP × MP × codec × (fps ÷ 25)^0.85

Base per megapixel (H.264, 25 fps)
low activity 1,200 kbps · medium activity 2,000 kbps · high activity 3,000 kbpsAt least 128 kbps per stream.
Codec
H.264 ×1 · H.265 ×0.5 · H.265+ ×0.35
Frame rate (fps)
× (fps ÷ 25)^0.85
Sub-stream
640×480 at up to 15 fps with the same codec; it adds to the network, the NVR input and remote viewing, not to the storage.
Recording
Motion-only recording lowers only the storage, by the share of time with motion; the camera streams all the time, so the network bandwidth stays the same.
Storage per day
kbps × 86,400 ÷ 8 ÷ 1,000,000 = GB1 TB = 1000 GB; 10% of the disks is kept free. Raw capacity with RAID: RAID 5 ×8/7 (3 drives or more), RAID 6 ×8/6 (4 or more), RAID 1/10 ×2 (an even number of drives).
Recommended network uplink
(main + sub-streams) × the headroom factor; up to 100 Mbps: a 100 Mbps link, up to 1000 Mbps: a gigabit link, more: 10 Gbps or several links.
NVR incoming bandwidth
The sum of the main and sub-streams, without a factor; compare it with the "Input Bandwidth" of the recorder's datasheet.
KDT recorders that fit
A recorder is suggested when it has at least as many channels as cameras, an incoming bandwidth (the RAID figure with RAID) of at least the total bitrate, the chosen RAID level, and drive bays × the largest drive it takes of at least the capacity needed (the raw capacity with RAID). Its drives: the fewest drives, then the least spare capacity.
Remote viewing (internet upload)
Viewers × cameras each × the average sub-stream bitrate (the main stream where there is no sub-stream).
Estimated bitrate of one camera at 25 fps, medium scene (Mbps)
ResolutionH.264H.265H.265+
2 MP (1080p) 4 2 1.4
4 MP (1440p) 8 4 2.8
5 MP 10 5 3.5
6 MP 12 6 4.2
8 MP (4K) 16 8 5.6
12 MP 24 12 8.4

Need help designing the camera network?

KDT's sales engineers suggest the right PoE switches, recorders and disks for your project.

Ask for a project design Contact us

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