MicroSD Card Recording Capacity

When recording with your Mevo camera to a microSD card, the available recording time depends on your chosen quality setting and the bitrate you've configured. Since Mevo supports customizable bitrates, understanding how to calculate estimated recording time can help you plan ahead.

How to Calculate Estimated Recording Time

The calculation is simple:

Recording Time (in seconds) = (Card Size in megabytes × 8) ÷ Bitrate in megabits per second

For example, if you're using a 128GB card (which is ~128,000MB), and recording at 20Mbps:

  • 128,000MB × 8 = 1,024,000 megabits
  • 1,024,000 ÷ 20 = 51,200 seconds = 14.2 hours

This formula is helpful if you adjust your bitrate from the defaults in the Mevo app.

Standard Bitrate Reference

Resolution Typical Recording Bitrate Streaming Range
4K 40 Mbps Not supported for streaming
1080p 20 Mbps 1.2–6 Mbps
720p 10 Mbps 0.7–2 Mbps
480p 4.5 Mbps 0.4–1.5 Mbps
360p 2.5 Mbps 0.3–1 Mbps

If you are livestreaming while recording, your stream will continue uninterrupted even if your microSD card fills up. However, your local recording will stop once space runs out.

Estimated Recording Times by Card Size (Default Bitrates)

These estimates assume default recording bitrates and may vary slightly based on video complexity.

Quality 16GB 32GB 64GB 128GB 256GB
360p (2.5 Mbps) ~14 hrs ~28 hrs ~57 hrs ~114 hrs ~228 hrs
480p (4.5 Mbps) ~8 hrs ~16 hrs ~33 hrs ~66 hrs ~132 hrs
720p (10 Mbps) ~3.5 hrs ~7 hrs ~14 hrs ~28 hrs ~56 hrs
1080p (20 Mbps) ~1.75 hrs ~3.5 hrs ~7 hrs ~14 hrs ~28 hrs
4K (40 Mbps) ~50 min ~1.6 hrs ~3.2 hrs ~6.4 hrs ~12.8 hrs

Scene Complexity Affects Recording Time

  • High-motion scenes (e.g. sports) use more bitrate, resulting in shorter recordings.
  • Low-motion scenes (e.g. interviews) compress more easily and result in longer recordings.

Bitrate fluctuation is normal — Mevo automatically adjusts based on scene activity to balance quality and file size.

Troubleshooting

Still having issues?
Please open a support ticket so a Mevo Customer Experience Agent can help you directly.
Open Ticket
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