Video Frame Size Calculator - Resolution and Color Depth
Use this video frame size calculator to convert resolution, color depth, frame rate, and duration into the per-frame byte total and the total uncompressed video size in MB, GB, and TB.
Video Frame Size Calculator
Results
What Is the Video Frame Size Calculator?
A video frame size calculator turns resolution, color depth, frame rate, and duration into the exact byte total a single uncompressed frame uses on disk, plus the total uncompressed storage the whole clip needs. Enter a width and height, pick a color depth, set a frame rate, and enter a duration. The result shows per-frame KB and MB totals, total uncompressed video size in MB, GB, and TB, plus per-second and per-minute storage readouts.
- • Size a single-frame buffer for editing or streaming: decide whether a 4K 10-bit frame fits a GPU texture buffer or a capture-card pipeline before committing hardware
- • Plan storage for an uncompressed recording: estimate how many TB a one-hour 4K or 8K master will use so you can buy the right SSD or RAID array
- • Compare resolution and color depth presets: see the per-frame size jump from 720p to 1080p to 4K UHD and from 8-bit to 10-bit HDR side by side
- • Convert per-frame math into bandwidth budgets: use the MB-per-second readout to feed the same number into an upload-time or bandwidth calculator
The math behind an uncompressed video frame is the same math a render farm and a broadcast technician use when planning storage. Color depth describes the bits per pixel, resolution describes the pixel count, and the per-frame byte total is their product divided by 8.
Because still-image file size uses the same width times height times color depth math without the frame rate and duration, the Image File Size Calculator handles the single-image case so users can cross-check a video frame against the matching still.
How the Video Frame Size Calculation Works
The calculator multiplies three quantities, converts the product from bits into bytes, and then extends the single-frame byte total across the full duration using the frame rate.
- width: Horizontal pixel count. 1920 is Full HD, 3840 is 4K UHD, 7680 is 8K UHD.
- height: Vertical pixel count. 1080 is Full HD, 2160 is 4K UHD, 4320 is 8K UHD.
- colorDepth: Bits per pixel. 24-bit stores 16.7M colors, 32-bit adds alpha.
- fps: Frames per second. 24 is cinema, 25 is PAL, 30 is NTSC, 60 is UHD.
- durationSeconds: Total duration in seconds, converted from hours, minutes, and seconds.
The per-frame byte total is exact for uncompressed video. Container overhead and codec compression are not modeled, so the result is the upper-bound storage a master needs.
640 x 480 at 24-bit color, 30 fps, 1 second (Omni worked example)
width = 640, height = 480, colorDepth = 24, fps = 30, durationSeconds = 1
pixelCount = 640 x 480 = 307,200. frameSizeBytes = 307,200 x 24 / 8 = 921,600 bytes. videoSizeBytes = 921,600 x 30 x 1 = 27,648,000 bytes.
About 0.92 MB per frame and 27.65 MB total for a 1-second SD clip at 30 fps.
This matches the Omni Calculator worked example exactly. The 921.6 KB per-frame figure is the canonical SD master size used in older broadcast workflows.
1920 x 1080 at 24-bit color, 24 fps, 1 second
width = 1920, height = 1080, colorDepth = 24, fps = 24, durationSeconds = 1
pixelCount = 1920 x 1080 = 2,073,600. frameSizeBytes = 2,073,600 x 24 / 8 = 6,220,800 bytes. videoSizeBytes = 6,220,800 x 24 = 149,299,200 bytes.
About 6.22 MB per frame and 149.30 MB total for a 1-second Full HD cinema clip at 24 fps.
Doubling the resolution in both dimensions roughly quadruples the per-frame byte total, which is why moving from 720p to 1080p jumps storage by 4 times rather than 2 times.
According to Omni Calculator: Video Frame Size, Frame size equals vertical resolution times horizontal resolution times color depth, and total uncompressed video size equals frame size times frame rate times duration in seconds.
Once the frame rate and duration are known, the Frames to Timecode Calculator turns the total frame count into SMPTE HH:MM:SS:FF timecode so editors can spot-check the master against the NLE timeline.
Key Video Concepts Explained
Four foundational ideas drive the result. Once you understand them, the math behind a per-frame size stops feeling abstract and starts looking like a planning checklist.
Resolution (Width x Height)
The pixel count per frame. Doubling both width and height quadruples the per-frame byte total, which is why a 4K UHD frame uses 4 times the storage of a Full HD frame.
Color Depth (Bits per Pixel)
The bits used per pixel. 8-bit color stores 256 shades per channel, 10-bit HDR broadcast stores 1024 shades per channel, 24-bit true color stores 16.7M colors, and 32-bit adds an alpha channel.
Frame Rate (Frames per Second)
How many frames the video shows per second. 24 fps is cinema, 25 fps is PAL, 30 fps is NTSC, 50/60 fps is HD/UHD. Doubling the frame rate doubles the total video size.
Uncompressed vs Compressed Storage
The calculator returns the uncompressed master size. Real-world formats such as H.264, HEVC, ProRes, and DNxHR compress the bitstream by 10x to 100x depending on quality.
When the recording is meant for a specific display and the width and height need to be cross-checked against pixels per inch or DPI, the Screen Resolution Calculator uses the same pixel math to size the master for the target screen.
How to Use This Video Frame Size Calculator
Eight fields cover the typical case from picking a preset to reading the total storage. The preset selector auto-fills the resolution inputs so common formats take one click.
- 1 Pick a preset or set width and height manually: choose 640 x 480, 1280 x 720, 1920 x 1080, 3840 x 2160, or 7680 x 4320, or override the inputs for custom formats
- 2 Set the color depth that matches your recording: use 8-bit for consumer SD, 10-bit for HDR broadcast, 24-bit for true color editing, or 32-bit when an alpha channel is needed
- 3 Enter the frame rate for the project: match the capture rate: 24 fps cinema, 25 fps PAL, 30 fps NTSC, 50/60 fps HD/UHD, or 59.94 fps for NTSC HD
- 4 Enter the duration in hours, minutes, and seconds: use 0, 1, 30 for a one-minute 30-second clip or 1, 0, 0 for a one-hour master
- 5 Read the per-frame and total storage results: the primary number is the per-frame MB; the secondary rows add per-frame bytes and KB, total MB, GB, and TB
An indie filmmaker planning to record a 90-minute documentary at 4K UHD with 10-bit HDR color picks 3840 x 2160, 10-bit color depth, 24 fps cinema, and enters 1 hour, 30 minutes, 0 seconds. The per-frame size is about 10.37 MB, the per-second storage is about 248.83 MB, and the total uncompressed master is about 2.10 TB, which tells them to plan for a 4 TB SSD before they press record.
For long time-lapse shoots where the duration input runs into hours and the frame rate is much lower than broadcast rates, the Time Lapse Calculator shares the same minutes-to-seconds arithmetic and helps plan shooting interval and clip length.
Benefits of Using This Video Frame Size Calculator
A video frame size calculator turns resolution, color depth, frame rate, and duration into the byte total a single uncompressed frame uses on disk, plus the total uncompressed storage the clip needs.
- • Pick the right SSD or RAID before recording: estimate whether a one-hour 4K 10-bit HDR master fits a 4 TB SSD
- • Compare presets without re-entering numbers: swap 1080p 24-bit for 4K UHD 10-bit and read the storage jump in seconds
- • Translate per-frame storage into bandwidth budgets: feed the MB-per-second result into an upload-time or bandwidth calculator
- • Plan GPU texture and capture buffer headroom: check whether a 4K frame fits a GPU texture buffer before committing hardware
- • Decide between compressed and uncompressed masters: compare the uncompressed MB against a target ProRes, DNxHR, or H.265 size
When the total video size comes back in TB and the available SSD or RAID array is labelled in GB, the Data Storage Converter handles the same byte, kilobyte, megabyte, gigabyte, and terabyte scale conversions.
Factors That Affect Your Video Frame Size Result
Five variables change the per-frame and total video size result in practice. The math stays the same, but the practical impact varies by format and storage target.
Resolution preset (SD to 8K UHD)
640 x 480 at 24-bit is 0.92 MB; 1920 x 1080 is 6.22 MB; 3840 x 2160 is 24.88 MB; 7680 x 4320 is 99.53 MB per frame.
Color depth (8-bit to 32-bit alpha)
Switching from 8-bit to 24-bit multiplies the per-frame byte total by 3. Switching to 32-bit adds about 33 percent for the alpha channel.
Frame rate (24 cinema to 60 UHD)
Doubling the frame rate doubles the total video size. A one-hour 1920 x 1080 24-bit master at 24 fps is 537.48 GB; at 60 fps it is about 1.34 TB.
Duration scaling
Each additional minute at 4K UHD 24-bit 30 fps adds about 44.79 GB. A two-hour documentary needs roughly 5.37 TB uncompressed.
Compression versus uncompressed video
H.264 high profile compresses a 4K 24-bit stream by 50x to 100x, while ProRes 422 and DNxHR HQ compress by 5x to 10x.
- • The video frame size calculator returns the uncompressed per-frame and total video size only. Real-world formats such as H.264, HEVC, ProRes, and DNxHR compress the bitstream, so the on-disk file is almost always smaller than the calculator shows.
- • Container overhead, audio tracks, timecode, and metadata are not modelled. Real MOV, MP4, and MXF files include a small header and additional streams, usually well under 5 percent of the total file size.
According to Wikipedia: Display resolution, 1080p (Full HD) is 1920 x 1080 pixels, 4K UHD is 3840 x 2160 pixels, and 8K UHD is 7680 x 4320 pixels, all rendered at the common 16:9 aspect ratio.
According to Wikipedia: Color depth, 8-bit color encodes 256 shades per channel, 10-bit HDR encodes 1024 shades per channel, and 24-bit color encodes 8 bits per RGB channel for a total of 16.7 million colors.
Because most video masters bundle an audio track on top of the uncompressed video stream, the Audio File Size Calculator adds the WAV-style audio storage using the same bit depth, sample rate, and channel math so the combined master size is realistic.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: How do you calculate the size of a single video frame?
A: Multiply the horizontal resolution by the vertical resolution to get the pixel count, multiply by the color depth in bits per pixel, then divide by 8 to convert bits into bytes. A 1920 x 1080 frame at 24-bit color depth is 1920 times 1080 times 24 divided by 8, which equals 6,220,800 bytes (about 6.22 MB) uncompressed.
Q: How many bytes is a 1920 x 1080 frame at 24-bit color?
A: A 1920 x 1080 frame at 24-bit color is 6,220,800 bytes uncompressed, which is about 6.22 MB. The pixel count is 2,073,600 and the bit total is 49,766,400 bits (1920 times 1080 times 24), which divides by 8 to give the byte total.
Q: What is the frame size of 4K uncompressed video?
A: A 4K UHD frame (3840 x 2160) at 24-bit color is 24,883,200 bytes uncompressed, which is about 24.88 MB per frame. At 10-bit HDR the same frame drops to about 10.37 MB, and at 8-bit SDR it drops further to about 8.29 MB.
Q: How many MB is one minute of uncompressed 1080p video?
A: One minute of uncompressed 1920 x 1080 video at 30 fps and 24-bit color is about 11,196.45 MB, or roughly 10.93 GB. The math is 6,220,800 bytes per frame times 30 fps times 60 seconds, which gives 11,197,440,000 bytes per minute.
Q: Does color depth affect video frame size?
A: Yes. Color depth multiplies the per-frame bit total directly, so a 24-bit frame uses 3 times the storage of an 8-bit frame at the same resolution, a 10-bit HDR frame uses 1.25 times the storage of an 8-bit SDR frame, and a 32-bit frame with an alpha channel uses 4 times the storage of an 8-bit frame.
Q: What is the difference between frame size and video file size?
A: Frame size is the byte total of a single uncompressed image. Video file size is the per-frame byte total multiplied by the frame rate and the duration in seconds. A 6.22 MB Full HD 24-bit frame at 30 fps over one hour becomes 671.85 GB uncompressed, so frame size and video file size describe the same signal in two different units.