How much storage do I need for 4K video editing?
Pick your codec, resolution and how many hours you shot. See how much space your footage needs and when your disk runs out.
Storage fills up fast in 4K and 8K. A single day of ProRes footage can fill a drive before the edit is done.
This calculator estimates the weight of your footage from the codec bitrate, so you can size drives before a shoot instead of running out mid project.
With Sanbila your originals live in cloud storage and you edit from light proxies on your laptop, so your SSD stays free for the project you are cutting. At export, Sanbila streams the full resolution originals back only for the clips in your timeline.
Read more: How much storage for 4K and 8K editing · ProRes 422 HQ · Start free with Sanbila
4K storage by codec
| Codec | GB per hour at 4K |
|---|---|
| H.264 and HEVC | about 45 GB |
| ProRes 422 Proxy | about 80 GB |
| ProRes 422 LT | about 185 GB |
| ProRes 422 | about 265 GB |
| ProRes 422 HQ | about 400 GB |
| ProRes 4444 | about 600 GB |
| DNxHR LB | about 80 GB |
| DNxHR SQ | about 250 GB |
| DNxHR HQ and HQX | about 370 GB |
Estimates at 4K, 30 fps. Higher frame rates scale up in proportion, and 8K is about four times 4K.
How many hours of 4K a drive holds
| Drive | H.264 or HEVC 4K | ProRes 422 HQ |
|---|---|---|
| 500 GB | 11 h | 1.3 h |
| 1 TB | 22 h | 2.5 h |
| 2 TB | 44 h | 5 h |
| 4 TB | 89 h | 10 h |
ProRes 422 HQ fills a 1 TB drive in about 2.5 hours. With Sanbila the originals stay in cloud storage and you cut from light proxies, so your SSD stays free.
How long an SD card records in 4K
| SD card | 4K near 100 Mbps | 4K near 400 Mbps |
|---|---|---|
| 64 GB | 1.4 h | 21 min |
| 128 GB | 2.8 h | 43 min |
| 256 GB | 5.7 h | 1.4 h |
| 512 GB | 11 h | 2.8 h |
In camera 4K bitrate varies by model. These assume a steady 100 Mbps and 400 Mbps.
Frequently asked questions
How many GB is one hour of 4K footage?+
It depends on the codec. Compressed 4K in H.264 or HEVC is about 45 GB per hour. ProRes 422 HQ 4K is about 400 GB per hour. These are estimates and your camera settings can change them.
How much storage for a full shoot day?+
Multiply the per hour figure by your shoot hours. Eight hours of ProRes 422 HQ 4K is roughly 3.2 TB, before proxies or backups.
Does frame rate change storage?+
Yes. The bitrate rises in proportion, so 4K at 60 fps is about double 4K at 30 fps for the same codec. One hour of 4K 60 fps in H.264 is about 90 GB.
How many hours of 4K fit on 1 TB?+
About 22 hours of H.264 or HEVC 4K, or about 2.5 hours of ProRes 422 HQ, at 30 fps. A 4 TB drive holds roughly 89 hours of H.264 4K, or about 10 hours of ProRes 422 HQ.
How much space does ProRes 4K use?+
Per hour at 4K: ProRes 422 Proxy about 80 GB, LT about 185 GB, 422 about 265 GB, 422 HQ about 400 GB, and 4444 about 600 GB. The calculator above switches between all of these.
How long can a 128 GB SD card record in 4K?+
At a typical 4K bitrate near 100 Mbps, roughly 2.8 hours. A high bitrate 4K mode near 400 Mbps drops that to about 40 minutes. Higher frame rates and bitrates shorten it further.
How much storage does 8K video need?+
About four times 4K for the same codec. One hour of 8K in H.264 is roughly 180 GB, and ProRes 422 HQ 8K is about 1.6 TB per hour.