How much storage do you need to edit 4K and 8K video
Real gigabyte-per-hour figures by codec and resolution, the multipliers most people forget, and how to size your storage without buying endless drives.
The single biggest surprise for editors moving to 4K and 8K is not the computer, it is the storage. Camera files that used to fit on one drive now fill several in a week. This guide gives you real numbers per hour by codec, the multipliers that quietly triple a project, and a way to size storage without stacking drives you will outgrow next month.
The short answer
As a rough guide at 30 fps, plan for about 45 GB per hour of 4K H.264 from a camera, about 400 GB per hour of 4K ProRes 422 HQ, and roughly 1.5 TB per hour of 8K ProRes 422 HQ. Compressed raw like BRAW or R3D lands in between and swings with the compression ratio you pick. Then multiply the total by two to three once you add proxies, backups and versions.
How to turn a bitrate into gigabytes
Every codec has a data rate in megabits per second. To get gigabytes per hour, the quick formula is: GB per hour is roughly the bitrate in Mbps multiplied by 0.45. So a 100 Mbps 4K H.264 clip is about 45 GB per hour, and an 880 Mbps 4K ProRes 422 HQ clip is about 400 GB per hour. Double the figure at 60 fps, because the bitrate roughly doubles.
Storage per hour by codec and resolution
These are approximate figures at 30 fps. Frame rate, exact codec tier and compression ratio move them, so treat them as orders of magnitude, not exact quotes.
| Format (approx, 30 fps) | Per hour | Per 8-hour shoot day |
|---|---|---|
| H.264 or HEVC 4K (camera) | ~45 GB | ~360 GB |
| ProRes 422 HQ 1080p | ~100 GB | ~800 GB |
| ProRes 422 HQ 4K | ~400 GB | ~3.2 TB |
| ProRes 422 HQ 8K | ~1.5 TB | ~12 TB |
| DNxHR HQ 4K | ~350 GB | ~2.8 TB |
| BRAW 6K or 8K (compressed raw) | ~100 to 300 GB | ~1 to 2.4 TB |
| R3D 8K (REDCODE raw) | ~150 to 400 GB | ~1.2 to 3.2 TB |
The jump from 4K to 8K is not double, it is roughly four times the pixels, so an 8K mastering codec eats storage fast. This is exactly why proxies exist for the edit itself.
The hidden multipliers most people forget
The camera total is only the start. Four things quietly multiply it.
- Proxies: a light copy of each clip adds a few percent per file, and a full project of them adds up.
- Backups: a real 3-2-1 backup means at least two extra copies of everything, so multiply by two or three.
- Renders and versions: exports, graded masters and client revisions each duplicate parts of the timeline.
- Multicam: three cameras is three times the footage before you cut a single frame.
Two concrete examples
- A one-day 4K shoot on three cameras in ProRes 422 HQ is roughly 3 to 4 TB of originals, or 8 to 10 TB once you add proxies and a backup copy.
- A five-day 8K documentary in compressed raw can pass 20 to 30 TB of originals alone, well beyond a single SSD.
Local drives versus the cloud
A fast external SSD is great for the shoot you are cutting right now, but a 4 TB SSD barely holds one ProRes 4K shoot day, and a NAS means buying and maintaining hardware you size for your biggest project, not your average one. The other option is to keep the originals in the cloud and only keep light proxies on your machine. You edit against small files locally and pull the full resolution back only for export.
How Sanbila handles this
Sanbila is desktop software built around this split. Your original footage lives in cloud storage (Cloudflare R2 with an automatic Backblaze B2 backup), so your SSD stays free. For each clip you either generate a light proxy on Sanbila's cloud to edit offline, or stream the full resolution original on demand with nothing downloaded. Both can live in the same project, and at export you relink to the originals. You size your local disk for proxies, not for terabytes of raw.
Keep 4K and 8K originals in the cloud, edit on light proxies, and stop buying drives you outgrow.
Try Sanbila freeFAQ
How much storage does one hour of 4K video need?
It depends on the codec. About 45 GB per hour for 4K H.264 from a camera, and about 400 GB per hour for 4K ProRes 422 HQ at 30 fps. Raw formats and 60 fps push those numbers higher.
Does ProRes need more storage than H.264?
Yes, far more. ProRes 422 HQ is a light mastering codec, not a delivery codec, so a 4K hour is roughly 400 GB versus about 45 GB for camera H.264. It trades size for frame accurate editing quality.
Is cloud storage cheaper than a NAS for video?
It depends on volume and access pattern, but the cloud removes the upfront hardware cost and the need to size for your biggest project. Watch for egress fees on some providers; storage built for media (like Cloudflare R2) avoids egress charges.
Do proxies save disk space?
Proxies are small, so editing on them keeps your working drive light, but they are extra files added next to the originals. The real space saving comes from not keeping the full resolution originals on your local disk at all.
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