After-sales services

CCTV storage (hard disk) calculator

Enter the number of cameras, their resolution, codec and frame rate to see how much hard-disk space and network bandwidth continuous recording needs.

Estimated result

Estimate: 7.78 TB of disk space for 30 days of recordings, at 24 Mbps in total.

Total storage: 7.78 TB for 30 days of recordings
Storage per day: 259.2 GB
Cameras in total: 8
Total bitrate (network bandwidth): 24 Mbps A 100 Mbps link is enough (with 30% headroom for live view and bitrate peaks).

Bitrate per group

Camera group 1 8 × 4 MP · H.265 · 25 fps · medium activity
Per camera
3 Mbps
Whole group
24 Mbps
Per day
259.2 GB

Recommended hard disks

Suggested: 1 × 10 TB drives

Capacity needed with about 10% kept free: 8.64 TB

Drive size	Drives	Total capacity
4 TB	3	12 TB
6 TB	2	12 TB
8 TB	2	16 TB
10 TB	1Our pick	10 TB
12 TB	1	12 TB
16 TB	1	16 TB

Before buying, check how many drive bays your NVR has and the largest drive it supports.

This is an estimate. Real bitrates depend on the scene, the light (night-time image noise raises the bitrate), the camera settings and the recorder, so always keep a safety margin.

Hard-disk capacity is one of the main costs of a video surveillance system: too little and the recorder overwrites footage before you need it; too much and the project budget is wasted. With this calculator you can estimate, in a few seconds, the disk space and the network bandwidth your cameras need.

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

How is this estimated?

Each camera starts from its resolution's reference bitrate (H.264, 25 fps, medium activity), multiplied by these factors:

Codec: H.264 ×1 · H.265 ×0.5 · H.265+ ×0.3
Frame rate (fps): × (fps ÷ 25)^0.85
Image quality / scene activity: low activity ×0.6 · medium activity ×1 · high activity ×1.5
Storage per day: Mbps × 3,600 × h ÷ 8 ÷ 1,000 = GB1 TB = 1000 GB, as printed on the drives; h = recording hours a day.
Recommended hard disks: About 10% of the disk is kept free; we suggest the set with the fewest drives, then the least spare capacity.
Total bitrate (network bandwidth): The sum of all camera bitrates; the network-link advice adds 30% headroom.

Reference bitrate of one camera at 25 fps, medium activity (Mbps)
Resolution	H.264	H.265	H.265+
1 MP (720p)	2	1	0.6
2 MP (1080p)	4	2	1.2
3 MP	5	2.5	1.5
4 MP (1440p)	6	3	1.8
5 MP	8	4	2.4
6 MP	9	4.5	2.7
8 MP (4K)	12	6	3.6
12 MP	16	8	4.8

Planning a video surveillance project?

KDT's sales engineers size the recorders, hard disks and network for your site and suggest the right cameras and NVRs.

Ask for a project design Contact us

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