About this calculator
How much storage do pictures, sound recordings or video need? For uncompressed data the size can be calculated exactly from the resolution, colour depth, sample rate and duration. For compressed files such as JPEG, MP3 or H.264 video the size depends on the encoder, so the best you can do is estimate it from the average bitrate. Use it to size SD cards, CCTV or machine-vision storage, or to check upload times.
Formula
Uncompressed image
Bits = width × height × bits per pixel × number of images Bytes = bits ÷ 8
Uncompressed audio (PCM)
Bit rate = sample rate × bit depth × channels Size = bit rate × duration ÷ 8 (bytes)
Uncompressed video
Bit rate = width × height × bits per pixel × frame rate Size = bit rate × duration ÷ 8 (bytes)
Chroma subsampling (4:2:0, 4:2:2) stores colour at lower resolution, reducing the bits per pixel.
From bitrate (compressed)
Size ≈ average bitrate × duration ÷ 8 (bytes)
1 Mbps for 1 hour = 3600 Mbit = 450 MB.
Worked example
- Image: 1920 × 1080 × 24 bits = 49 766 400 bits = 6 220 800 bytes (6.22 MB, 5.93 MiB).
- CD audio: 44 100 × 16 × 2 = 1 411 200 bit/s; 1 minute = 10 584 000 bytes (10.58 MB).
- Raw video: 1920 × 1080, 8-bit 4:2:0, 30 fps = 746.5 Mbps ≈ 336 GB per hour.
- Compressed: 5 Mbps for 1 hour ≈ 18 000 Mbit ÷ 8 = 2.25 GB (estimate).
Assumptions and limitations
- Uncompressed results are exact for the pixel or sample data only; file headers, metadata and padding are not included.
- Compressed sizes are estimates from an average bitrate; variable-bitrate files and different encoder settings can differ noticeably.
- Decimal units (MB, GB) use powers of 1000 and binary units (MiB, GiB) powers of 1024 — operating systems differ in which one they show.
References
- Size of uncompressed raster and PCM data from their definitions (pixels × bit depth; sample rate × bit depth × channels).