Related tools
Once you know the camera bitrate, use it to calculate total network bandwidth, recording storage, or recording time. Planning view geometry too? Estimate field of view or pixels per meter.
Related guide: IP Camera Bandwidth Guide →
How Camera Bitrate Is Estimated
Estimated bitrate = width x height x fps x bits-per-pixel / 1,000,000. BPP is an adjustable planning factor for rough camera bandwidth estimates, not a codec standard.
What Changes Camera Bitrate?
Resolution, FPS, compression, scene movement, lighting noise, GOP settings, CBR/VBR mode, and codec implementation can all change the real stream bitrate.
Example Camera Bitrate Estimates
| Resolution | FPS | BPP | Estimated Bitrate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1920 x 1080 | 15 | 0.10 | 3.1104 Mbps |
| 3840 x 2160 | 20 | 0.08 | 13.271 Mbps |
| 1280 x 720 | 10 | 0.10 | 0.9216 Mbps |
Camera Bitrate vs Bandwidth
Bitrate is the approximate stream rate for one camera. Bandwidth is the combined network demand from one or more streams. Use the IP Camera Bandwidth Calculator to combine camera streams.
Camera Bitrate vs Storage
Bitrate directly affects recording storage requirements because higher Mbps records more data per second. Use the CCTV Storage Calculator to estimate retention from bitrate, camera count, recording hours, and days.
FAQ
What bitrate should I use for a CCTV camera?
Use the actual configured or measured bitrate when available. This calculator provides only a planning estimate.
How is camera bitrate calculated?
Here it is width x height x fps x BPP divided by 1,000,000. BPP is a user-selected planning coefficient.
What bitrate does a 1080p security camera use?
For 1920 x 1080 at 15 FPS with BPP 0.10, this planning estimate is 3.1104 Mbps. Real camera settings can be higher or lower.
Does 4K always require more bitrate?
4K has more pixels than 1080p, but configured bitrate, frame rate, compression, scene motion, and quality targets still determine the actual stream rate.
Does FPS affect bitrate?
Higher FPS generally means more frames to encode, but compression behavior and bitrate controls still matter.
Does H.265 always save the same amount of bandwidth?
No. H.265 may improve efficiency, but there is no fixed universal saving percentage.
What is CBR vs VBR?
CBR targets a configured rate, while VBR can vary with scene complexity, motion, and encoder settings.
How does bitrate affect CCTV storage?
Higher bitrate records more data per second, so storage requirements increase when bitrate, recording hours, or retention days increase.