Free tool · UK
CCTV storage calculator
How big a hard drive does your recorder need? Enter your cameras, resolution, codec, frame rate and how many days of footage you’re after, and we’ll work out the drive size and the network bandwidth.
Storage needed
2.4 TB
Suggested: 1 × 3 TB
Recording bandwidth
14.7 Mbps
All cameras, main stream
Per camera / day
10 GB
At your recording mode
Our drives that are big enough
All hard drives- 3 TB3TB - HDD 3.5" SATA Hard Drives – Free Installation with Any CCTV Kit or Package -Ideal for 24/7 continuous recording£97.00
- 4 TB4TB - HDD 3.5" SATA Hard Drives – Free Installation with Any CCTV Kit or Package£109.00
Surveillance drives are built to record non-stop. Put a desktop drive in a recorder instead, and that’s the most common reason for a failed drive in year two.
How we work it out
We start from a typical bitrate for your resolution and codec. Then we multiply by how many cameras you have, the frame rate, the recording mode and how many days you keep. Switching from H.264 to H.265 roughly halves the space you need for the same picture. Recording only when there’s motion usually takes 30–50% of the space 24/7 recording would; the busier the scene, the more it records.
Use the answer as a guide, not an exact figure. Real bitrates change with how busy the picture is, night mode and the camera’s encoder settings. When you buy, round the figure up to the next drive size. Surveillance drives (WD Purple, Seagate SkyHawk) are the ones to put in a recorder, not desktop drives.