Calculator Inputs
Example Data Table
| Garden setup | Cameras | Bitrate (Mbps) | Hours/day | Recorded % | Retention (days) | Margins | Estimated storage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greenhouse aisle monitoring | 4 | 4 | 24 | 100% | 14 | Overhead 10% + Safety 15% | ~0.97 TB |
| Night-only wildlife watch | 2 | 3 | 12 | 30% | 30 | Overhead 10% + Safety 15% | ~0.10 TB |
| Perimeter cameras with audio | 6 | 6 | 24 | 60% | 21 | Overhead 12% + Safety 20% | ~1.68 TB |
Formula Used
How to Use This Calculator
- Choose a method: known bitrate is most accurate.
- Enter cameras, retention days, and hours per day.
- If using motion recording, set recorded percent.
- Add audio bitrate only when audio is enabled.
- Set overhead and safety margin for reliable planning.
- Pick redundancy planning if you mirror or use parity.
- Press calculate, then export CSV or PDF if needed.
Retention planning for garden operations
Retention defines how long footage remains available for incident review, visitor questions, and crop protection. Start with your risk window, then translate it into days. Longer retention improves traceability and staff accountability, but it multiplies storage linearly, so it should match your response process and reporting needs. For audits, align retention with policy and local guidance. Track required GB per day per camera, then multiply by retention to validate the estimate against real recorder reports after a one-week trial period setup.
Bitrate is the real storage driver
Resolution alone does not determine storage; bitrate does. Use the camera or recorder bitrate when possible, because it reflects codec efficiency, detail level, and scene complexity. In gardens, moving foliage, irrigation spray, pets, and insects raise motion detail, increasing bitrates beyond typical indoor settings. When you switch to H.265, you may reduce storage, but verify device compatibility.
Scheduled hours and motion recording
Outdoor systems often record only at night, during deliveries, or when gates open. The hours-per-day setting captures that schedule. If recording is motion-based, recorded-percent models how much scheduled time becomes video. Review a typical day of clips to set a realistic percentage and avoid oversizing. Use higher percentages during stormy, windy weeks.
Margins for overhead and future growth
Overhead covers file headers, indexing databases, thumbnails, and formatting space on SD cards or drives. Add a safety margin to handle seasonal spikes, firmware changes, or adding cameras later. If you plan remote backups, cloud sync, or analytics, reserve extra headroom beyond the suggested capacity. Audio streams add small but continuous demand across every camera.
Redundancy and buying decisions
Mirroring and parity improve resilience, but they reduce usable capacity. The redundancy factor here is a planning multiplier to compare options quickly. After estimating total storage, choose a common card or drive size above the requirement, then verify your recorder supports that capacity and write speed. Use decimal or binary units consistently when comparing vendor labels and system reports.
FAQs
What bitrate should I use if I do not know it?
Use your recorder’s default stream setting, then check the camera menu for average Mbps. If unknown, start with 4 Mbps for 1080p and 10 Mbps for 4K, then refine after reviewing a day of clips.
Why does motion in plants increase storage?
Compression works harder when many pixels change between frames. Windy leaves, sprinklers, and insects create constant fine movement, so the encoder raises bitrate to preserve detail, which increases storage per hour.
Should I select decimal or binary units?
Drive labels often use decimal GB/TB, while many systems report binary GiB/TiB. Pick one unit system and stay consistent when comparing totals, so you do not underestimate capacity by unit conversion.
How do I set recorded percent for motion recording?
Open a typical day in your recorder and estimate how many minutes contain clips during the scheduled window. Divide recorded minutes by scheduled minutes, then enter that percentage. Recheck during peak season for accuracy.
Do I need a safety margin if I already have overhead?
Yes. Overhead covers formatting and metadata, while the safety margin covers growth, seasonal activity, firmware changes, and added cameras. A modest margin reduces the risk of retention dropping unexpectedly.
How should I plan for redundancy such as mirroring?
If you mirror drives, plan roughly double the raw storage so usable space meets retention. For parity layouts, usable space depends on disk count; use the planning factor first, then confirm with your exact RAID level.