How do you calculate the required storage for video footage?

To calculate the required storage for video footage, it's important to consider several factors that directly impact the size of the stored data. The correct answer involves taking into account the resolution, frame rate, duration, and compression format.

Resolution refers to the amount of detail in the video image, typically measured in pixels. Higher resolution results in larger file sizes as more data is captured per frame. Frame rate indicates how many frames are captured per second; a higher frame rate means more frames and consequently more data, leading to increased storage needs. Duration is the total length of video footage that will be stored; naturally, longer footage requires more storage space. Finally, the compression format is crucial since it determines how efficiently the video data can be compressed. Different compression codecs will greatly affect the size of the video files, with some formats resulting in significant size reductions without a considerable loss of quality.

Considering all these aspects ensures a comprehensive calculation of the storage needed, making it possible to appropriately allocate resources for video surveillance systems.