Free Tool · Field prep

Video File Size Calculator

How many gigabytes is a seven-hour deposition? Depends entirely on the codec. Pick your format, enter the duration, and find out before you pack the cards.

1 — What you're recording

Pick the format you actually shoot or deliver in. Bitrates are the nominal figures for each codec at the listed resolution; variable-bitrate formats will land within roughly 10% of these numbers on typical deposition content.

2 — How long, and how many streams

A two-camera deposition or a picture-in-picture remote feed records the same duration more than once. Count every stream you have to store.

Type 7:00:00, 420 minutes as 7:00:00, or just digits — 70000 reads as 7:00:00.

Cameras, ISO feeds, and screen-share captures you keep as separate files.

Estimated File Size
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Per Hour, Per Stream
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Per Stream, Full Session
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Archived 1-2-3 (×3)
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3 — Will it fit?

Using the format selected above. Card and drive capacities are decimal, the way manufacturers label them — a "128 GB" card holds 128 billion bytes, not 137.

Never plan to fill a card. Cameras stop cleanly at the limit; file systems do not always agree with them about where the limit is.

Recordable Time
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on one card, one stream
Cards Needed
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for this session, all streams
Capacity Used
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of one card at the chosen headroom
These are estimates, not guarantees. Constant-bitrate formats (ProRes, DNxHD, DV) are within a rounding error of these figures. Variable-bitrate formats (H.264, H.265, XAVC) fluctuate with motion and detail — a static conference-room two-shot compresses well below nominal, a hand-held site inspection can run above it. Plan cards and drives with the headroom setting engaged, and never let the math be the only thing standing between you and a full card mid-testimony.
Pairs well with
Archival Storage Planner Transfer Time Estimator Run Time Calculator The 1-2-3 archival rule
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