Bandwidth Calculator
Plan network capacity with recording streams and headroom.
Free to use · Live results · Transparent formulasA practical answer, with clear assumptions
Estimate simultaneous video traffic from your recording and viewing streams. This helps size the relevant network link; the NVR’s incoming-video limit should be checked against recording traffic separately.
How to use this calculator
- Use the actual main-stream bitrate of each camera, or a representative average.
- Enter the additional viewing bitrate and number of simultaneous all-camera viewers.
- Set network headroom for your environment.
- Check the busiest link, NVR input bandwidth and switching capacity separately.
The calculation
Recording Mbps = cameras × main stream Mbps Viewing Mbps = cameras × viewing stream Mbps × viewers Planned link Mbps = (recording + viewing) × (1 + headroom/100)
What the result includes
- Each viewer is assumed to watch all selected cameras simultaneously using the additional viewing stream.
- This is a conservative sum for a shared link. Traffic direction and topology can mean a particular link carries less.
- Headroom is a user-selected allowance, not a measured protocol-overhead factor.
- Audio, remote playback, backups and additional streams must be allowed for separately.
Common questions
Is planned network capacity the same as NVR incoming bandwidth?
No. Recording traffic is the camera-to-NVR load. Additional viewing may leave the NVR or travel directly from cameras, depending on the system.
Should I use a 100 Mbps link for 100 Mbps of video?
Allow room for overhead and bursts. Compare the planned capacity with actual usable link throughput, and measure the busiest period.
Keep planning
Visualize camera coverage, compare camera specifications or check recorder requirements.
Formulas are documented on this page and implemented directly. These planning estimates should be checked against actual system measurements. Sources & methodology →