CCTV Storage Calculator

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CCTV Storage Calculator

Calculate the total storage required for your CCTV surveillance system based on camera specifications, recording schedule, and retention period.

Number of Cameras

Resolution

D1 / CIF (0.3 MP) 720p HD (1 MP) 1080p Full HD (2 MP) 4 MP 3K / 5 MP 4K Ultra HD (8 MP) 12 MP

Frame Rate (fps)

Compression Codec

MJPEG H.264 H.265 / HEVC H.265+ / Smart Codec

Video Quality

Low Medium High Ultra / Maximum

Recording Hours per Day (hrs)

Motion Detection Only?

No — Continuous Recording Yes — ~20% Activity Yes — ~35% Activity Yes — ~50% Activity

Retention Period (days)

Storage Overhead (%)

Calculate Storage

function cctCalc() { // --- Gather inputs --- const cameras = parseFloat(document.getElementById('cct-cameras').value); const resMp = parseFloat(document.getElementById('cct-resolution').value); const fps = parseFloat(document.getElementById('cct-fps').value); const codec = parseFloat(document.getElementById('cct-compression').value); const quality = parseFloat(document.getElementById('cct-quality').value); const hoursDay = parseFloat(document.getElementById('cct-hours').value); const motion = parseFloat(document.getElementById('cct-motion').value); const retention = parseFloat(document.getElementById('cct-retention').value); const overhead = parseFloat(document.getElementById('cct-overhead').value);

// --- Validation --- const errors = []; if (isNaN(cameras) || cameras 120) errors.push("Frame rate must be between 1 and 120 fps."); if (isNaN(hoursDay) || hoursDay 24) errors.push("Recording hours must be between 1 and 24."); if (isNaN(retention) || retention 100) errors.push("Overhead must be between 0 and 100%.");

const resultDiv = document.getElementById('cct-result'); if (errors.length > 0) { resultDiv.style.display = 'block'; resultDiv.innerHTML = 'Please fix the following:' + errors.map(e => '').join('') + ''; return; }

/ * ── Core Formula ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── * * Bitrate (Mbps) per camera: * Bitrate = Resolution_MP × FPS × Compression_Factor × Quality_Factor × Base_Constant * * Base constant (0.07) derived from industry benchmarks: * A 2 MP camera at 15 fps with H.264 at high quality ≈ ~2 Mbps * → 2 / (2 × 15 × 2 × 1) = 0.0333 ... adjusted for H.265 baseline = 0.07 * * Storage per camera per day (GB): * = Bitrate (Mbps) × 3600 s/hr × Hours/day × Motion_Factor * ÷ 8 (bits→bytes) ÷ 1024 (MB→GB) * * Total raw storage (GB): * = Storage_per_camera_per_day × Cameras × Retention_days * * Total storage with overhead (GB): * = Raw_storage × (1 + Overhead% / 100) /

const BASE_CONSTANT = 0.07; // Mbps per (MP × fps) normalised to H.265 high quality

// Bitrate per camera in Mbps const bitrateMbps = resMp * fps * codec * quality * BASE_CONSTANT;

// Storage per camera per day in GB const secondsPerHour = 3600; const bitsPerByte = 8; const mbToGb = 1024;

const gbPerCameraPerDay = (bitrateMbps * secondsPerHour * hoursDay * motion) / bitsPerByte / mbToGb;

// Total raw storage in GB const rawStorageGb = gbPerCameraPerDay * cameras * retention;

// Apply overhead const totalStorageGb = rawStorageGb * (1 + overhead / 100);

// Convert to useful units const totalStorageTb = totalStorageGb / 1024; const dailyStorageGb = gbPerCameraPerDay * cameras; const dailyStorageTb = dailyStorageGb / 1024;

// HDD recommendation (round up to nearest common HDD size: 1,2,4,6,8,10,12,14,16,18,20 TB) const hddSizes = [1,2,4,6,8,10,12,14,16,18,20]; let recommendedHdd = hddSizes[hddSizes.length - 1]; for (let s of hddSizes) { if (s >= totalStorageTb) { recommendedHdd = s; break; } } const hddCount = Math.ceil(totalStorageTb / recommendedHdd) || 1;

// Format helpers
const fmt = (n, d=2) => n.toLocaleString('en-AU', {minimumFractionDigits:d, maximumFractionDigits:d});
const fmtGbTb = (gb) => gb >= 1024
? fmt(gb/1024) + ' TB': fmt(gb) + ' GB';

resultDiv.style.display = 'block'; resultDiv.innerHTML = ` ### Storage Estimate

MetricValue Bitrate per Camera${fmt(bitrateMbps)} Mbps Total Bitrate (all cameras)${fmt(bitrateMbps * cameras)} Mbps Storage per Camera per Day${fmtGbTb(gbPerCameraPerDay)} Total Daily Storage (all cameras)${fmtGbTb(dailyStorageGb)} Raw Storage (${retention} days)${fmtGbTb(rawStorageGb)} Total Storage Required (with ${overhead}% overhead) ${fmtGbTb(totalStorageGb)} Recommended HDD Size${recommendedHdd} TB × ${hddCount} drive${hddCount>1?'s':''}

⚠️ These are estimates. Actual storage varies with scene complexity, lighting, and encoder settings. Always add a safety buffer and verify with your NVR/DVR manufacturer's calculator.

`; }

#### Formula

Bitrate per camera (Mbps):

Bitrate = Resolution (MP) × FPS × Codec Factor × Quality Factor × 0.07 Storage per camera per day (GB):

GB/camera/day = Bitrate × 3600 × Hours/day × Motion Factor ÷ 8 ÷ 1024 Total storage (GB):

Total = GB/camera/day × Cameras × Retention Days × (1 + Overhead / 100)

The base constant 0.07 is derived from industry benchmarks where a 2 MP camera at 15 fps with H.265 at high quality produces approximately 2 Mbps. Codec factors: MJPEG = 8×, H.264 = 2×, H.265 = 1×, H.265+ = 0.8× (relative to a normalised baseline).

#### Assumptions & References

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