Why estimate video file sizes
Planning storage for a video production shoot is one of the most overlooked steps in pre-production. Running out of disk space mid-take is costly, disruptive, and entirely preventable. Whether you are shooting a short film on a cinema camera, recording a multi-day conference, or archiving raw dailies to a NAS, knowing your data rate before you press record lets you budget drives, plan offloads, and avoid surprises.
Uncompressed and mezzanine codecs like ProRes and DNxHR generate vastly more data than delivery codecs such as H.264 or H.265. A single hour of 4K ProRes 422 HQ can exceed 900 GB, while the same footage in H.264 might fit in 20 GB. This tool calculates the exact disk footprint for any combination of resolution, frame rate, and codec so you can plan with confidence.
Understanding video codecs
A video codec determines how each frame is stored. The three broad categories relevant to storage planning are:
- **Uncompressed**: Every pixel is stored at full bit depth with no compression. This yields the largest files but zero quality loss. Common in VFX pipelines and scientific imaging. - **Visually lossless (mezzanine)**: Codecs like Apple ProRes and Avid DNxHR apply light, intra-frame compression. They are the standard acquisition and editing formats in professional film, television, and commercial production. - **Lossy delivery codecs**: H.264, H.265, VP9, and AV1 use heavy inter-frame compression to shrink files by 10-100x. They are designed for streaming and distribution, not editing or archiving.
This estimator focuses on the first two categories because they are the formats that dominate on-set storage requirements.
**Bit depth matters.** An 8-bit frame stores 3 bytes per pixel (one byte per channel). A 10-bit frame stores 30 bits per pixel (3.75 bytes), and 12-bit stores 36 bits per pixel (4.5 bytes). Higher bit depth gives more color precision and grading latitude but increases file size proportionally.
Common production formats
**Apple ProRes family** is the most widely used mezzanine codec in film and broadcast. The variants, from lightest to heaviest, are:
- **ProRes 422 Proxy** (~45 Mbps at 1080p24) -- offline editing and proxy workflows - **ProRes 422 LT** (~102 Mbps) -- lightweight acquisition - **ProRes 422** (~147 Mbps) -- standard broadcast and editing - **ProRes 422 HQ** (~220 Mbps) -- high-quality acquisition and finishing - **ProRes 4444** (~330 Mbps) -- alpha channel support, compositing - **ProRes 4444 XQ** (~500 Mbps) -- maximum quality with alpha
**Avid DNxHR family** is the standard in Avid Media Composer workflows:
- **DNxHR LB** (~45 Mbps) -- low bandwidth proxy - **DNxHR SQ** (~145 Mbps) -- standard quality - **DNxHR HQ** (~220 Mbps) -- high quality - **DNxHR HQX** (~330 Mbps) -- 12-bit high quality - **DNxHR 444** (~440 Mbps) -- 12-bit 4:4:4
**CinemaDNG** is an open raw format used by Blackmagic cameras and others. It stores each frame as an individual DNG file at full sensor resolution and bit depth, producing files comparable in size to uncompressed video.
How to use
1. Select your shooting resolution from the dropdown, or choose "Custom" to enter non-standard dimensions 2. Choose your frame rate -- common cinema rates are 23.976 and 24 fps; broadcast uses 25 or 29.97 fps; slow-motion shoots use 48, 60, or 120 fps 3. Pick your codec or format from the grouped dropdown 4. Enter the total recording duration in hours, minutes, and seconds 5. View the estimated file size, data rate, per-frame size, and storage capacity table instantly 6. Use the storage capacity table to determine which drive size meets your needs 7. Check the quick reference table for common duration benchmarks
FAQs
Q: How accurate are the ProRes and DNxHR estimates? A: The estimates use Apple and Avid published reference bitrates for 1080p at 24 fps, scaled proportionally by pixel count and frame rate. Real-world file sizes typically fall within 5-10% of these estimates. Actual sizes may be slightly larger due to container overhead, embedded audio tracks, timecode, and metadata.
Q: Why is uncompressed video so much larger than ProRes? A: Uncompressed video stores every pixel at full bit depth with zero compression. ProRes uses DCT-based intra-frame compression that is visually lossless but achieves roughly 3:1 to 6:1 compression ratios depending on the variant. The visual difference is imperceptible, but the storage savings are substantial.
Q: Does this include audio track size? A: No. This calculator estimates video-only file size. Professional audio (24-bit, 48 kHz, stereo) adds roughly 1 GB per hour, which is negligible compared to video data. For multi-channel production audio, add approximately 0.5 GB per channel per hour.
Q: How do I calculate for multiple cameras? A: Multiply the single-camera result by the number of cameras. If you are shooting with three cameras at 4K ProRes 422 HQ for 8 hours, calculate one camera and multiply the file size by three.
Q: What about variable bitrate codecs like H.264? A: This tool is designed for constant bitrate and uncompressed formats used in production. Variable bitrate delivery codecs like H.264 and H.265 produce much smaller files, but their size depends on scene complexity. Use a Video Bitrate Calculator for those formats.
Q: Should I plan for extra storage beyond the estimate? A: Yes. A good rule of thumb is to budget 20-30% more storage than your estimated total. This accounts for audio, metadata, camera overhead, and the need to keep drives below 90% capacity for performance.
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