How Long Do Home & Business Security Camera Record?

Calculating how long a security camera can record requires checking several variables that determine CCTV camera recording time.

These variables include resolution, compression, bitrate, number of cameras, and storage space. Higher resolution reduces recording time, while video compression offers longer recording time. Additionally, the number of cameras and storage space affect the recording time.

• Resolution: The higher the resolution is, the shorter time the security cameras will record.
• Compression: Video compression reduces the size of the original video and offers longer security camera recording time.
• Bitrate: Higher bitrate will provide shorter recording period of a CCTV camera.
• The number of cameras: More cameras will require more storage space, thus reduce the video recording time.
• The storage space: Larger storage space usually provides longer CCTV camera footage recording time.

Our team has developed a formula to help you calculate how long security cameras can record. This formula can help you determine if a security camera or system with onboard storage space meets your video storage requirements.

For recording videos in an HDD of an NVR/DVR security camera system, use the following formula:

Recording Days = (Storage Space (GB) * 1024² * 8)/ (Bitrate (kb/s) * 3600 * 24 * Cameras)

For recording videos in the SD card of a standalone IP camera, use the following formula:

Recording Hours = Storage Space (GB) * 1024²* 8/Bitrate (kb/s)/3600

To demonstrate how long surveillance cameras can record and how long you can record with 1TB of storage space, let’s take the ZOSI C225 security camera system (with 4pcs 4K cameras and a built-in 2TB HDD in the NVR) and the C289 standalone IP camera with an SD card slot as examples.

ZOSI C225 security system basics:

• 2 TB HDD for video recording = 2048 GB
• 4 PoE IP cameras
• Bitrate for IP cameras: 15 Mb/s (for 4K Ultra HD)

Using the variables in the formula, we can determine how long the security camera system can record:

Recording Days = (Storage Space (GB) * 1024²* 8)/ (Bitrate (kb/s) * 3600 * 24 * Cameras)

Recording Days = (2048 GB * 1024²* 8)/(15 (Mb/s) * 3600 * 24 * 4) = 9 Days

You can also check the CCTV camera storage consumption formula here>>

This means that with the 2TB built-in HDD in the NVR, the system can support 4 cameras recording 24/7 in 4K Ultra HD for 9 days.

If you want to extend the recording time of this CCTV security camera system, you can lower the bitrate of the video recording streaming or use motion detection recording, which will only start recording when motion events occur.

If you prefer recording continuous videos in high definition, you can install an external hard disk drive via e-SATA for more storage space and longer recording time (up to 8TB with maximum 4TB HDD/port).

You can review the footage and back up the important data you want before the videos get overwritten once the storage space is full.

ZOSI C296 standalone IP camera basics:

• C296 IP camera comes with an SD card slot, and assumes we insert a 128GB SD card into it.
• The bitrate of this camera is 8192 kb/s (for 5MP Super HD).

Using the variables in the formula, we can determine how far back this security camera can record:

Recording Hours = Storage Space (GB) * 1024²* 8/Bitrate (kb/s)/3600

Recording Hours = 128 (GB) * 1024²* 8/8192 (kb/s)/3600 = 13 Days

Please note that the C296 standalone IP camera can only support motion detection recording when there are no other video storage options. This means that the camera will start recording footage only when there are motion-triggered events.

Based on our team’s tests, this 5MP IP security camera can record and save up to 1600 motion events in the 128GB SD card for later playback.

Before the storage space on your SD card runs out, you can back up the recording footage you want to avoid erasure.

Some may wonder, “How often do CCTV cameras overwrite materials?”. In general, security cameras and systems will automatically overwrite the oldest video footage once the storage space runs out.

Now that you know how to determine if a security camera or system can meet your recording period requirements, it’s important to note that having enough recording period doesn’t necessarily mean that you can capture what you want when playing back recorded videos.

Read also: How Long Do Security Cameras Record: Easy Formula to Calculate & Top Things to Know