Audio Storage Calculator
How much a multitrack sound day actually weighs. The calculator above takes tracks, bit depth, sample rate and hours and returns GB total and per-track size — computed in your browser, with no sign-up and nothing leaving your device.
Audio Storage Calculator
- GB per hour
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- Total
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Runs entirely in your browser — no sign-up, nothing transmitted.
What the number actually depends on
Eight tracks at 24 bit / 48 kHz run about 4.1 GB per hour — small next to picture, but easy to forget in the card budget.
96 kHz doubles the file size and is only worth it when heavy pitch work is planned.
The gap between a number that goes into a quote and one that holds on the day is rarely the formula — it is whether the constraints were entered honestly. That is why the inputs are spelled out below.
Common mistakes
The places where the arithmetic is right and the day still falls over:
- Sizing the sound card for camera hours instead of recorder hours
- Forgetting timecode-jam backups in the folder count
In day-to-day production
Sound rolls run continuously through setups, so audio hours often exceed camera hours by 40 %.
The number belongs in production planning — the point where a decision is still free to change. Working it out on the shoot day is no longer calculating; it is finding out.
In TillyGen this is not a separate step: the result sits inside the plan itself, alongside the shot list, schedule and call sheet. Change a constraint and the dependent values move with it — the affected parts of the plan are flagged rather than quietly left behind.
Frequently asked
How accurate is the Audio Storage Calculator?
The maths is exact; the inputs rarely are. Treat the result as a solid floor and add your buffer deliberately rather than smuggling it into the inputs — a flattered input hides the buffer from everyone who plans with it later.
Is the calculator free?
No. It runs entirely in your browser, with no sign-up and nothing transmitted. There is no usage limit and no account.
Where does this fit in production planning?
In production planning. There it is a basis for deciding; later it is only a finding.
Can I export the result?
The calculator itself only displays the value. In TillyGen it lands directly in the shot list, schedule and call sheet, and goes out as PDF, CSV or through the API to everyone working from it.
What does the calculator return?
GB total and per-track size. The first value is the one you carry into the plan; the rest show how sensitively it reacts to the inputs.
What should I watch for in the result?
Mainly this: sizing the sound card for camera hours instead of recorder hours. That is the mistake that most often turns a correctly calculated number into one that does not hold.