Video
How many hours of 4K video fit on 1 TB?
55.6hours
as 4K, 30 fps (H.264, 40 Mbps), 18 GB per hour
4K footage straight off a camera is big. A terabyte drive that holds a lifetime of photos holds a long weekend of 4K video at 60 fps.
The arithmetic
- 1,000 GB = 1,000,000,000,000 bytes (drives and phones are sold in decimal units)
- 40 Mbps × 3,600 s ÷ 8 = 18 GB per hour
- 1,000 GB ÷ 18 GB per hour = 55.6 hours
| Format | Per hour | On 1,000 GB |
|---|---|---|
| 4K, 30 fps (H.264, 40 Mbps) published | 18 GB | 2 days 8 h |
| 4K, 60 fps (H.264, 60 Mbps) published | 27 GB | 37 h 2 min |
| iPhone 4K, 30 fps (HEVC) estimate | 10.2 GB | 4 days 2 h |
| iPhone 4K, 60 fps (HEVC) estimate | 24 GB | 41 h 40 min |
| Capacity | Hours |
|---|---|
| 64 GB | 3 h 33 min |
| 128 GB | 7 h 7 min |
| 256 GB | 14 h 13 min |
| 512 GB | 28 h 27 min |
| 2 TB | 4 days 15 h |
Sources and assumptions
- 4K, 30 fps (H.264, 40 Mbps): YouTube Help, 'Recommended upload encoding settings': 35–45 Mbps for 2160p at 24–30 fps (we use the middle, 40).
- 4K, 60 fps (H.264, 60 Mbps): YouTube Help, 'Recommended upload encoding settings': 53–68 Mbps for 2160p at 48–60 fps (we use 60).
- iPhone 4K, 30 fps (HEVC) (estimate): The per-minute size iPhone shows under Settings › Camera › Record Video (as widely reported; check your own phone).
- iPhone 4K, 60 fps (HEVC) (estimate): The per-minute size iPhone shows under Settings › Camera › Record Video (as widely reported; check your own phone).