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CCTV & NVR Surveillance Storage Calculator
Estimate storage requirements for CCTV and NVR systems with this video storage calculator. Quickly calculate how much capacity you'll likely need based on cameras, resolution, FPS, compression, and recording time.
Build your estimate
Enter your setup details below. The calculator will estimate the total storage capacity for your surveillance environment.
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How does the calculator work?
This tool estimates total storage capacity based on the parameters you select, including the number of cameras, recording duration, resolution, frames per second (FPS), and compression format (MJPEG, H.264, H.265, or H.265+). It also factors in typical compression ratios, video quality, scene activity, and color depth — 30 bits for 4K and higher resolutions, and 16 bits for all other resolutions. Higher resolution, higher FPS, more cameras, and longer recording times all increase the storage required.
Estimated total storage capacity
(TB)*
Complete the fields and calculate to see your estimate.
Recommended drive family
WD Purple and WD Purple Pro drives are designed for surveillance workloads and continuous recording environments. Not sure which to choose? Checkout detailed specifications with the comparison tool.
View purchasing options
Compare product options and learn more about surveillance storage
Frequently Asked Questions
Storage depends on the number of cameras, resolution, frames per second (FPS), compression, and recording duration. Higher video quality and longer recording times require more storage capacity.
Disclaimer
This tool is provided for illustrative purposes only. Actual storage needs may vary depending on the number of cameras connected, days of storage required, video format, compression ratio, camera resolution, frames per second, color depth, and your system's capabilities, hardware, configuration, and software. Any reliance on this tool and its output is at the user's own risk. As used here, one gigabyte (GB) equals one billion bytes and one terabyte (TB) equals one trillion bytes — actual accessible capacity may vary depending on the operating environment.