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For one continuously recorded stream over 30 days, plan on about 316 GB per Mbps of average bitrate before adding reserve space. At 4 Mbps, for example, the estimate is about 1.27 TB; at 8 Mbps, it is about 2.53 TB. The title alone does not reveal the bitrate, so check your OBS settings or measure a representative recording before choosing a drive.
Estimate storage for 24/7 recording over 30 days
NVIDIA’s documented formula is Storage (GB) = (Bitrate (Mbps) × Duration (seconds)) / 8 / 1024. For a 24-hour day, that works out to 10.546875 GB per Mbps per day; for 30 days, multiply by 30. These are calculated estimates for one continuous stream, not measurements of your PC or of children’s videos in particular.
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| Average bitrate | Estimated storage for 30 days |
|---|---|
| 1 Mbps | About 316 GB |
| 2 Mbps | About 633 GB (0.63 TB) |
| 4 Mbps | About 1.27 TB |
| 6 Mbps | About 1.90 TB |
| 8 Mbps | About 2.53 TB |
At 8 Mbps, NVIDIA’s version 3.0.0 documentation gives an illustrative estimate of 84.375 GB per stream per day, or 2,531.25 GB over 30 days before a buffer. The estimates use the stated formula and a 30-day period. A calendar month can have 28, 29, 30, or 31 days; use the actual duration if you need a more exact figure. NVIDIA’s Video IO & Storage documentation.
Find the bitrate your recording actually uses
Bitrate is the key missing input. Children’s content does not imply a particular bitrate: the amount depends on your OBS output and recording choices, as well as the video and encoder behavior. Check the configured bitrate or record a representative segment and calculate its average file size per second. For variable-bitrate or quality-based encoding, a sample is more reliable than treating one configured target as a guaranteed constant.
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- Recording encoder and quality: Check whether OBS records using “Same as stream” or a separate recording encoder or quality setting. OBS says “Same as stream” uses the streaming video encoder’s settings; other presets can create larger files, and some choices can affect performance.
- Resolution: Confirm the recording output resolution. OBS allows recording output to be rescaled relative to the canvas, which can change the resulting files.
- Audio tracks: Count every track selected for recording in OBS Advanced output. Multiple recorded tracks take additional space.
- Number of recordings: If OBS or another part of the workflow creates multiple simultaneous files, include each one in your capacity estimate.
OBS’s guides explain the available recording output and encoder preset choices: Standard Recording Output Guide and Recording Encoder Presets Guide.
Add a reserve instead of filling the drive to the estimate
Use the calculated total as a baseline, then leave additional usable capacity for variation in encoding and variable-bitrate behavior, filesystem overhead, other recorded tracks or files, and ordinary operating needs. NVIDIA advises a 10–20% planning buffer. A drive should therefore have more free usable space than the estimate, not exactly the estimated amount.
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Choose a drive by comparing its usable capacity with your measured or configured 30-day total plus that reserve. Whether an internal or external drive suits your PC depends on its available connections and your recording workflow; no particular drive model or capacity is necessary for every setup.
Lossless recording is a very different storage case
Do not apply the compressed-stream examples above to OBS’s Lossless preset. OBS describes its lossless recording as using the CPU encoder and consuming around 7 GB per minute. Sustained continuously for 30 days, that approximate rate totals about 302,400 GB, or roughly 302 TB in decimal units. That is OBS’s published approximation, not a measurement of your setup. See the OBS Recording Encoder Presets Guide.
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Protect recordings from an interrupted session
When an unexpected shutdown is a concern, OBS recommends recording to MKV: an ungraceful stop will not corrupt the entire recording. OBS also provides a remux function to convert a finished recording to MP4. See the OBS Standard Recording Output Guide for its recording-output guidance.
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