Surveillance & NVR Storage Calculator. Australia

This surveillance and NVR storage calculator estimates total storage required for your security camera system based on camera count, resolution, codec, and retention period, using representative per-resolution bitrate assumptions rather than a bitrate you enter. Designed for Australian home and small business setups using NAS-based NVR storage.

Enter your camera count, resolution and retention period to get a planning-grade NAS storage estimate, plus recommended NAS units and surveillance drives.

Camera Setup

Number of cameras 1-64 cameras

Resolution

Recording mode

Retention period (days) Typical: 14-90 days

Codec

Apply RAID overhead (mirroring on 2-bay, parity on 4/8-bay — overhead scales with the recommended array size)

Storage Estimate

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Raw footage (TB)

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NAS capacity needed (TB)

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Daily write (GB/day)

Recommended NAS Units

Best value pick

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Performance pick

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Recommended Drives

Budget drive

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Pro drive

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Assumptions and risk factors This estimate uses constant bitrate assumptions per camera; actual footage size varies with scene motion, lighting and compression efficiency, so treat the result as a planning figure and add headroom rather than sizing to the exact number. Retention requirements vary by use case and jurisdiction; this calculator does not determine a legally required retention period for your situation.

Related Tools & Guides

Surveillance Storage Hub → Best NAS for Surveillance (AU) → Camera Compatibility Guide → Footage Retention Guide (AU) → RAID Usable Capacity Calculator → All Tools →

Frequently Asked Questions

How much storage do I need for 4 cameras at 4K for 30 days?

At 4K with H.264 continuous recording, each camera uses approximately 16 Mbps. Four cameras running 24/7 generate around 691 GB of raw footage per day. For 30-day retention that's about 20.7 TB raw, or 41.5 TB with RAID 1 mirroring on a 2-bay NAS. Switching to H.265 halves the raw footage to around 10.4 TB, or 20.7 TB with RAID. Motion-triggered recording (assuming 30% duty, H.264) reduces it to roughly 12.4 TB with RAID for 30 days.

What is RAID overhead and why does it double storage?

RAID 1 (mirroring) keeps two identical copies of all data across two drives. If one drive fails, the other keeps your footage safe. The downside is you need twice the raw drive capacity. RAID 5 / SHR use parity instead and are more space-efficient for three or more drives, but for two-drive NAS units (the most common for home surveillance), RAID 1 is the standard choice. This calculator automatically applies the right overhead for the recommended array size: 2× for a 2-bay mirror (1-4 cameras), about 1.33× for a 4-bay single-parity array (5-16 cameras), and about 1.14× for an 8-bay single-parity array (17-64 cameras).

Does H.265 really halve storage compared to H.264?

In practice H.265 (HEVC) achieves 40-60% better compression than H.264 at the same quality level. Most modern IP cameras support H.265, and Synology Surveillance Station, QNAP QVR Pro and other NVR software handle both codecs. If your cameras and NVR software both support H.265, enabling it is the single biggest way to reduce storage requirements without changing retention or resolution.

What is the Synology camera licence cost?

Synology Surveillance Station includes two free camera licences with every NAS. Additional cameras require a paid licence from the Synology licence portal, typically around AUD $89-99 per camera for a permanent licence (some resellers list them from around $73). QNAP QVR Pro includes eight free camera channels, so most small deployments (up to 8 cameras) need no extra QNAP licences at all. For systems with more than two Synology cameras or more than eight QNAP cameras, factor licence cost into your total budget alongside hardware.

Why does the calculator recommend Seagate SkyHawk over standard hard drives?

Standard desktop drives are designed for sequential reads and writes, not 24/7 continuous write cycles from multiple camera streams simultaneously. Surveillance-optimised drives like the Seagate SkyHawk series are rated for always-on operation, have firmware tuned for high write duty cycles, and are validated to handle up to 64 concurrent camera streams. Using a standard desktop drive for continuous surveillance recording risks early failure and voided warranties.