📷 IP Camera Bandwidth Calculator
Calculate total network bandwidth & storage requirements for your IP camera system
| Resolution | H.264 (Mbps) | H.265 (Mbps) | H.265+ (Mbps) | @ 30fps Storage/Day |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 720p 1MP | 1.5 – 2.0 | 0.8 – 1.2 | 0.5 – 0.8 | ~8–10 GB |
| 1080p 2MP | 3.0 – 4.0 | 1.5 – 2.5 | 1.0 – 1.5 | ~20–25 GB |
| 3MP | 4.0 – 6.0 | 2.0 – 3.5 | 1.5 – 2.0 | ~30–38 GB |
| 4MP 2.5K | 6.0 – 8.0 | 3.0 – 5.0 | 2.0 – 3.0 | ~40–55 GB |
| 5MP | 7.0 – 10.0 | 4.0 – 6.0 | 2.5 – 4.0 | ~50–65 GB |
| 8MP 4K | 12.0 – 20.0 | 6.0 – 12.0 | 4.0 – 7.0 | ~80–130 GB |
| 12MP 4K+ | 18.0 – 30.0 | 10.0 – 18.0 | 6.0 – 10.0 | ~120–200 GB |
| Device Type | Max Cameras | Max Incoming BW | Max Outgoing BW | Interface Standard |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4-Ch NVR (Entry) | 4 cameras | 40 Mbps | 80 Mbps | 100M PoE x4 |
| 8-Ch NVR (Standard) | 8 cameras | 80 Mbps | 160 Mbps | 100M PoE x8 |
| 16-Ch NVR (Pro) | 16 cameras | 160 Mbps | 320 Mbps | 100M PoE x16 |
| 32-Ch NVR (Enterprise) | 32 cameras | 320 Mbps | 640 Mbps | 1G Uplink x2 |
| 64-Ch NVR (Datacenter) | 64 cameras | 640 Mbps | 1280 Mbps | 1G/10G Uplink |
| PoE Switch (8-port) | 8 cameras | 1 Gbps | 1 Gbps | IEEE 802.3af/at |
| System Size | Cameras | Resolution | 30-Day Storage | Recommended HDD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home Basic | 4 | 1080p H.265 | ~240 GB | 1 TB HDD |
| Home HD | 8 | 1080p H.265 | ~480 GB | 2 TB HDD |
| Small Business | 16 | 4MP H.265 | ~1.9 TB | 2x 2TB or 1x 4TB |
| Warehouse | 32 | 4MP H.265 | ~3.8 TB | 2x 4TB RAID-1 |
| Enterprise 4K | 64 | 4K H.265 | ~15.4 TB | 4x 4TB RAID-5 |
ip camera commonly uses a lot of bandwidth, and understanding its needs is important during the setup of a security camera system. Bandwidth simply said is the biggest amount of data that can run through a net in a given time. One usually measures it in megabits each second, or Mbps.
This determines how easily the video flows from a camera reach the recorder through the net.
How Much Bandwidth Do IP Cameras Need
The bit rate of a camera is fully tied to bandwidth and storage demand. Bit rate is like speed, one can describe it as 600 kilobits each second, what means that 600 kilobits are sent every second. A rough rule of thumb places most cameras between 500 Kb/s and 5 Mb/s.
That range is that much broad, because the bandwidth depends on things like resolution, frame rate and compression settings.
A camera with higher resolution requires more bandwidth. A camera with more megapixels swallows more data each second. Also the frame rate plays a role.
Some video flows from a camera have only 5 framse each second, while other 1080p cameras reach 60 fps. A normal 1080p ip camera in the cloud that uses H.265 encoding consumes 1 to 2 Mbps. For best mode with H.265, plan 2 Mbps download for every 1080p camera at 30 fps, or 4 Mbps for every 4K camera at 20 fps.
Compression creates a big difference. A 4K camera that watches a busy place at 30 fps without special compression could require up too 16 Mbps. The same camera with H.265 and smart compression only requires 6 to 8 Mbps.
Widely, a 4K camera uses between 8 and 10 Mbps.
One can count the total bandwidth by a simple method. Multiply the bit rate of the main flow by the number of cameras in the main flow, then add the bit rate of the sub flow multiplied by the number of cameras in the sub flow. Typically, an HD camera in 720p or 1080p at 30 fps gives around 9 Mbps in total, 8 Mbps for the main flow and 1 Mbps for the sub flow.
NVR settings commonly allow to choose main and secondary resolution. Set the sub flow to something low, like 1 megapixel with little bandwidth, on purpose. During separate view, choose the sub flow like this to spare a lot of data.
Full screen view of several cameras on board can consume an average of 10 to 25 Mbps.
ip camera units do not consume internet bandwidth, except in cases where someone accesses them from afar. The traffic between camera and local NVR units stays in the local net and does not pass through the internet provider. When cameras and NVR are on the same switch, everything stays inside of it.
Traffic from cameras in a wired local net should not affect the Wi-Fi mode. Tools like calculators for CCTV help to easily estimate settings for lens, bandwidth andstorage.
