prores calculator

What this ProRes calculator does

When you are planning a shoot, edit, or archive strategy, one of the first questions is: How much storage do I need? ProRes is visually robust and editing-friendly, but it can consume storage very quickly at high resolutions and frame rates. This calculator gives you a practical estimate before you hit record.

The tool scales expected ProRes bitrate using three core factors:

• Codec family (Proxy to 4444 XQ)
• Image size (resolution in pixels)
• Frame rate (frames per second)

It then adds optional audio and a storage overhead percentage so you can plan cards, SSDs, and RAID capacity with better confidence.

Reference data rates used in this calculator

These baseline values are common working references at approximately 1920×1080 and 29.97 fps. Real-world files vary by encoder implementation and scene complexity.

Codec	Baseline MB/s (1080p29.97)	Typical Use
ProRes 422 Proxy	5.6 MB/s	Offline editing, proxies
ProRes 422 LT	11.3 MB/s	Lightweight acquisition/editing
ProRes 422	16.9 MB/s	General broadcast and production
ProRes 422 HQ	25.4 MB/s	High-quality mastering/intermediate
ProRes 4444	33.8 MB/s	VFX, graphics, alpha workflows
ProRes 4444 XQ	50.7 MB/s	Highest-quality finishing pipelines

How to use the calculator effectively

1) Start with your delivery goal

If your final output is web video or social cutdowns, you may not need 4444 XQ for every stage. For acquisition and editing, 422 or 422 HQ is often a balanced choice between quality and storage.

2) Enter real frame rates and durations

Frame rate has a direct effect on data rate. A jump from 24 fps to 60 fps can more than double storage needs. Include total expected roll time, not just final edited runtime.

3) Add overhead for real-world planning

Using 5% to 15% overhead helps cover filesystem formatting, fragmented cards, extra takes, and safety margin. For documentary shoots, many teams intentionally budget higher.

Storage planning examples

• Interview day: 4K UHD, ProRes 422, 24 fps, 90 minutes total recording. Expect hundreds of GB, not tens.
• Commercial VFX plate: 4K DCI, ProRes 4444 with alpha, short takes but high codec weight. Fast NVMe and larger cache drives are recommended.
• Long-form event: ProRes LT can substantially reduce card swaps while preserving edit-friendly quality.

Tips to reduce ProRes storage pressure

• Use Proxy or LT for offline phases, then relink to high-quality masters.
• Record only necessary frame rates and avoid accidental high-fps capture.
• Segment shoots with disciplined ingest and checksum workflows.
• Keep a clear archive policy: camera masters, mezzanine masters, and distribution exports.

Important note on accuracy

This is an estimation tool. Actual files can vary due to implementation details, alpha usage, metadata, audio configuration, and content characteristics. For mission-critical jobs, run a short test recording with your exact camera and compare measured file sizes against the estimate.