CCTV Storage Calculator Pakistan
Estimate how much recording storage your camera system needs. Adjust the settings to match your site — the result updates instantly, no sign-up required.
Estimated storage required
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This is an estimate only. Final storage capacity depends on camera bitrate, FPS, codec, recording mode, NVR configuration and retention requirements.
How the CCTV storage calculator works
Storage for a camera system is driven by five things: how many cameras you have, each camera's bitrate (set by resolution, codec and quality), the frame rate, how many hours a day it records, and how many days of footage you want to keep. Multiply them together and you get the total bytes your DVR or NVR hard drive must hold.
Most installers in Pakistan size systems for 15 to 30 days of retention. Switching from H.264 to H.265 roughly halves the storage, and recording on motion instead of 24/7 can cut it further in quiet areas — the motion slider above models that. If your cameras are already installed, check their actual bitrate in the camera or NVR settings and enter it in the optional field for an exact result.
The calculator also suggests surveillance-rated drive sizes. Surveillance drives are built for continuous writing, 24 hours a day — a desktop drive in an NVR will wear out far sooner.
How much storage do I need for 8 CCTV cameras for 30 days?
It depends on resolution, codec, frame rate and motion activity. As a rough guide, eight 2 MP (1080p) cameras recording 24/7 in H.265 at 25 FPS need about 5.2 TB for 30 days. Use the calculator above with your exact settings for a precise estimate.
Does H.265 really use half the storage of H.264?
Yes, roughly. H.265 (HEVC) compresses video about twice as efficiently as H.264 at similar quality, so the same cameras and retention need about half the hard disk space.
What size hard drive do I need for my NVR?
Add up the bitrate of all cameras, multiply by recording hours and retention days. The calculator above does this and also suggests surveillance-rated drive sizes (e.g. 2 x 8 TB). Surveillance drives are built for 24/7 write workloads, unlike desktop drives.
Is this the same as a CCTV calculator or surveillance storage capacity calculator?
Yes — different names for the same kind of tool. Whether you search for "CCTV storage calculator", "surveillance storage calculator", "surveillance hard drive storage calculator" or "surveillance storage capacity estimator", this page does the job: it estimates how much hard drive space your DVR or NVR needs.
Is this calculator accurate?
It is an estimate. Real bitrate varies with scene motion, lighting and camera settings. If you know your camera's actual bitrate, enter it in the optional field for an exact result — otherwise confirm the final design against your selected camera and NVR settings.
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