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Security NVR and DVR Hard Drive Calculator

​ Looking to upgrade the storage on your Lorex NVR or DVR? Since security recorders are programmed to overwrite the oldest footage with the newest footage, upgrading your hard drive will greatly prolong the number of days that data will be preserved for.

Select your camera resolution, frame rate, number of cameras, recording hours per day, and storage capacity to determine the number of recording days.

Calculated using H.265 HVEC encoding.

*With Motion Recording enabled, you can expect approximately 120 events (30 seconds each) for each hour of recording. Estimate provided is approximate and must be used for reference only when planning storage needs.

Extend Your Recordings​

Recorder and camera settings have a direct impact on the size of data. Configure your DVR / NVR to maximize storage space by modifying the following:

Motions or Events

Record only when motion is detected.

Scheduled

Record only during selected times during the day.

Frames Per Second

A lower FPS will decrease video smoothness but reduce file sizes.

Resolution

A lower recording resolution will decrease file size.

Encoding

Reduce data size by 25% to 50% without affecting video quality. Learn More

Maximize Your Storage ​

Due to the high workload rate of 24/7 monitoring, it is strongly recommended to only use Surveillance Grade Hard Drives in Lorex recorders. Note the total supported capacity of your recorder to maximize recording space and your peace-of mind.

Please take note of the following points before purchasing additional storage for your recorder:

  • Number of hard drive bays of your recorder
  • Maximum capacity of each recorder bay

How To Replace Your Hard Drive