Video storage calculator
Enter the format and the duration. The calculation is exact for the data rate entered; the ProRes and DNxHR presets come straight from the manufacturers’ tables.
Storage calculator
Space required —
- per minute
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- per hour
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- data rate
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- per frame
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How we calculate
- Size = data rate × time. 1 Mb/s = 1,000,000 bits per second; a byte = 8 bits. GB and TB are decimal (10⁹ and 10¹² bytes), as disk manufacturers state them. Operating systems often show GiB (2³⁰ B) — the same data then looks about 7% smaller.
- ProRes: values from the ‘Target Data Rates’ table in the Apple ProRes White Paper. ProRes is VBR — the actual file is usually close to the target or smaller; the maximum is about 10% higher. The table gives 24p, 25p, 30p, 50p and 60p; for 23.976 / 29.97 / 59.94 we use the 24p / 30p / 60p row (Apple gives, for example, 147 Mb/s ‘at 1920 × 1080 and 29.97 fps’, which is the 30p row value). The table has no values for 100 and 120 fps — we derive them from the bits per frame of the 50p / 60p row and mark the result as derived.
- DNxHR: Avid gives a fixed number of bytes per frame for each level and resolution; data rate = bytes per frame × 8 × fps. This is also how the MB/s values in Avid’s table come out.
- H.264, H.265, AV1: the data rate is chosen by the encoder or the camera, so you enter it yourself. For orientation: YouTube recommends 8 Mb/s for 1080p SDR uploads (24–30 fps) and 35–45 Mb/s for 2160p.
- Audio, metadata and container overhead are not included. Uncompressed 48 kHz / 24-bit stereo audio adds 2.304 Mb/s.
Data rate sources
How to use the tool
- Choose a resolution, codec and frame rate — for ProRes and DNxHR the data rate is filled in from the official table.
- You can overwrite the data rate (for example with the figure shown in the camera). For H.264, H.265 and AV1 you always enter it yourself.
- Enter the recording length. The result updates immediately, including usage per minute, per hour and per frame.
Every control also works from the keyboard: Tab moves between groups, the arrow keys change the choice within a group. If reduced motion is switched on in your system, animations don’t start by themselves.
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