Storage: SD Card, NVR or Cloud?

What matters in practice:

• SD card for a home, NVR for a business or farm, cloud as backup — the mix matters more than the brand.
• Footage inside the camera leaves with the camera — hide the recorder, or keep an off-site copy.
• Size storage from resolution, cameras and days — motion-only recording uses far less than continuous.

A camera is only useful if it kept the footage you need. Where it stores that footage decides whether you can find the clip after a break-in, whether a thief can take the evidence with the camera, and how much you pay each month.

The short answer

Home with one or two cameras: use an SD card. A shop or farm with several cameras: use an NVR, or a mix. Cloud: use as a backup for key cameras, if you accept the ongoing cost.

Compared

SD card

• Easy and cheap, with no monthly fee
• If a thief takes the camera, the footage goes with it
• Use a high-endurance card designed for constant recording, and replace it periodically
• Format it in the camera, and check regularly that it is recording

NVR

• Central recording from several cameras onto a hard drive
• Footage stays safe even if one camera is stolen
• Best for businesses and larger properties
• Needs a secure place to sit, reliable power and a network connection
• Use a hard drive designed for surveillance, not an ordinary desktop drive

Cloud

• Footage is stored off-site, safe from theft and fire
• Ongoing fees, and depends on your internet
• Good as a backup for your most important cameras
• Check how long footage is kept, and what happens if you stop paying

How much storage do you need?

This depends on resolution, number of cameras, frame rate, compression and whether you record all the time or only on motion. As a rough guide, one 2MP camera recording continuously may use somewhere around 20 to 50 gigabytes per day, and 4MP uses more, depending on settings. Motion-only recording uses far less. Multiply by the number of cameras and the number of days you want to keep, then add a margin.

These are estimates. Your recorder or camera app can show the recording time for a given storage size.

Protect the recorder

1. Hide it, or lock it away from the cameras it records
2. Put it on backup power
3. Back up important clips to another place
4. Check it regularly, and test that footage can be played back

Common mistakes

• Never checking that the SD card is recording
• Using a cheap ordinary SD card that fails
• Keeping the recorder right next to the door a thief will use
• Relying only on cloud when your internet is unreliable

Frequently asked questions

How long should footage be kept? Long enough to review incidents, often two to four weeks, subject to local rules.

Can I use both an SD card and cloud? Yes. Many cameras support local plus cloud backup.

What happens when storage is full? Most systems overwrite the oldest footage.

Our advice

For a home, use an SD card. For a business or farm, use an NVR and keep it hidden and powered securely. Add cloud for your most important cameras if you want an off-site copy.

Related reading

• Wireless Camera Kits vs Single Cameras: Which Should You Buy?
• Wireless Cameras for Shops and Small Businesses
• Security Cameras and the Law: Privacy Basics for Homes, Farms and Businesses

Next steps

Backspace Business Solutions sizes NVR storage pools for the days of footage you actually need, and hides the recorder somewhere a thief will not find it.

Message us on WhatsApp or request a free site assessment if you would like your storage sized properly before you buy drives or cards.