Camera Bitrate Storage Calculator

Calculator Inputs

Number of Cameras

Enter the total recording channels.

Video Bitrate per Camera (Mbps)

Use average stream bitrate, not theoretical maximum.

Audio Bitrate per Camera (Mbps)

Set zero when audio recording is disabled.

Recording Hours per Day

Use 24 for full-time recording.

Retention Days

Choose the target archive period.

Recording Activity (%)

100% means continuous video all day.

Network/Container Overhead (%)

Adds protocol and file packaging allowance.

RAID Usable Capacity (%)

Example: 80 for RAID overhead and parity.

Reserve Margin (%)

Adds safety capacity for growth and spikes.

Peak Throughput Multiplier

Allows burst headroom above average ingest.

Storage Unit Base

Match your vendor sizing preference.

Example Data Table

These examples show typical surveillance planning scenarios.

Scenario	Cameras	Bitrate per Camera	Retention	Activity	Estimated Raw Storage
Small office	8	3.0 Mbps	14 days	100%	5.2 TB
Retail store	24	4.0 Mbps	30 days	100%	42.7 TB
Warehouse motion-based	40	5.0 Mbps	45 days	35%	43.1 TB

Formula Used

1) Base bitrate per camera
Base Bitrate = Video Bitrate + Audio Bitrate

2) Effective bitrate per camera
Effective Bitrate = Base Bitrate × Activity Factor × (1 + Overhead%)

3) Daily storage per camera
Daily Storage (GB) = Effective Bitrate ÷ 8 × 3600 × Hours per Day ÷ Unit Base

4) Total daily storage
Total Daily Storage = Daily Storage per Camera × Number of Cameras

5) Usable retention storage
Usable Storage = Total Daily Storage × Retention Days

6) Raw disk requirement
Raw Storage = Usable Storage × (1 + Reserve%) ÷ RAID Usable Factor

7) Recommended recorder throughput
Recorder Throughput = Total Average Bitrate × Peak Multiplier

How to Use This Calculator

Enter the total number of cameras.
Fill in the average video bitrate for one camera.
Add audio bitrate if microphones are enabled.
Set recording hours and retention days.
Adjust activity if cameras record only on motion.
Add network overhead, reserve margin, and RAID usable percent.
Choose decimal or binary storage units.
Press calculate and review the results and graph.
Export the summary as CSV or PDF when needed.

Frequently Asked Questions

1) What bitrate should I enter?

Use the average live stream bitrate per camera. Pull it from the encoder, VMS, or camera profile. Avoid using only the advertised maximum.

2) Why does storage jump so quickly?

Surveillance runs continuously or for long periods. Even modest bitrate values become large daily totals when multiplied by seconds, cameras, and retention days.

3) Should I use motion percentage?

Yes, when cameras record on motion or events. Lower activity can greatly reduce archive size, especially in warehouses, yards, and after-hours sites.

4) What does overhead include?

Overhead covers container, protocol, indexing, metadata, and recording inefficiencies. Many planners use 5% to 15% unless measured data is available.

5) Why include a reserve margin?

Reserve capacity protects you from scene complexity, bitrate spikes, firmware changes, more cameras, and future retention increases. It reduces unpleasant surprises.

6) What is RAID usable capacity?

It is the percent of installed disk space left after parity or mirroring overhead. Enter the usable percentage that your storage design actually delivers.

7) Should I use decimal or binary units?

Use decimal for most vendor drive labels and procurement estimates. Use binary when matching operating system or storage software reporting.

8) Is this enough for recorder sizing?

It handles bitrate, throughput, and capacity planning. You should still verify recorder write speed, disk bay count, redundancy design, and camera licensing.