Video Retention

Last updated
Save as PDF

Overview

Smart Retention

Enabling Smart Retention on eligible cameras is highly recommended. Click here to read more about Smart Retention.

Video retention expectations

In general, higher resolution settings, higher quality settings, and more motion in the camera's field of view lead to shorter video retention. Users can adjust resolution, quality, and the amount of motion in the field of view to increase retention. Motion-based retention and Cloud Archive, which are covered further in the article, can also increase retention.

It is important to note that not all motion affects video retention equally. Various factors, such as lighting, camera installation height and angle, distance between a camera and moving objects, the number and size of moving objects, and ambient motion in the background, can all affect video retention.

Typical amounts of motion for various deployments

As discussed in the previous section, a scene's motion affects estimated video retention. When choosing the right camera and video settings to meet retention needs, it is important to consider the expected amount of motion a camera observes when deployed. Here are some general guidelines for typical amounts of observed motion that can be expected for various deployments. For more information on motion detection, click here.

Deployment type	Typical motion (hours per day)
Busy retail locations	16-24
Busy roads, intersections	16-24
Building entrances, lobby areas	8-16
Office spaces and hallways	8-16
Elementary school, high school, and college/university spaces	0-8
Parking lots	0-8
Warehouses, manufacturing spaces	0-8
IT closets, storage closets	0-8

Smart Codec

Smart Codec was developed to significantly improve video retention through more efficient and dynamic encoding when recording. It is automatically enabled on cameras running firmware version MV4.15 or newer. Click here for more information.

Video retention estimates by camera model

The tables below display video retention statistics organized by camera model, video resolution and quality settings, and the amount of motion observed per day. This data was sourced from Meraki cameras in operation today running the latest firmware. Based on desired settings and estimated observed motion, this data can be used to estimate how much retention can be expected.

The "low" and "high" figures show the range of expected retention days in typical deployments. The "absolute minimum" figures show the absolute worst case for cameras that observe extremely high amounts of motion 100% of the time.

To optimize video retention, ensure that recommended physical installation guidelines are followed. Also make sure that the cameras are on the latest firmware. Remember that every deployment is unique and thus retention estimates can vary.

On MV13 and MV33, 4MP 24 FPS and 4K 15 FPS are enabled on MV6.0.2+

On MV63 and MV93, 4K resolutions are enabled on MV6.0.2+

The results below include the improvements gained from Smart Codec. The results do not include improvements from Motion-Based Retention and Cloud Archive (discussed later in this article). Enabling Motion-Based Retention and/or Cloud Archive can further improve retention estimates if desired.

MV12WE

MV12WE Retention Estimates (days)
			Motion (hrs/day)	0-8		8-16		16-24		Max Motion
Resolution	Video Quality	Frame Rate	Per Stream Bandwidth Usage (kbps)	Low (days)	High (days)	Low (days)	High (days)	Low (days)	High (days)	Absolute Min (days)
720p	Standard	8 fps	500	53	70	48	66	40	65	21
720p	Enhanced	15 fps	765	34	44	31	41	29	38	14
1080p	Standard	8 fps	1024	21	33	19	28	17	26	10
1080p	Enhanced	15 fps	1562	15	21	13	19	13	17	7
1080p	High	24 fps	3138	7	11	7	9	5	8	3

MV12W/N

MV12W/N Retention Estimates (days)
			Motion (hrs/day)	0-8		8-16		16-24		Max Motion
Resolution	Video Quality	Frame Rate	Per Stream Bandwidth Usage (kbps)	Low (days)	High (days)	Low (days)	High (days)	Low (days)	High (days)	Absolute Min (days)
720p	Standard	8 fps	500	110	142	106	140	99	137	43
720p	Enhanced	15 fps	765	70	88	63	82	49	73	28
1080p	Standard	8 fps	1024	43	66	39	58	37	54	21
1080p	Enhanced	15 fps	1562	28	42	24	38	22	33	14
1080p	High	24 fps	3138	14	21	13	18	11	17	7

MV22

MV22 Retention Estimates (days)
			Motion (hrs/day)	0-8		8-16		16-24		Max Motion
Resolution	Video Quality	Frame Rate	Per Stream Bandwidth Usage (kbps)	Low (days)	High (days)	Low (days)	High (days)	Low (days)	High (days)	Absolute Min (days)
720p	Standard	8 fps	500	102	142	92	135	86	135	44
720p	Enhanced	15 fps	765	68	86	63	82	51	75	29
1080p	Standard	8 fps	1024	42	65	39	57	34	52	21
1080p	Enhanced	15 fps	1562	27	42	26	37	22	35	14
1080p	High	24 fps	3138	13	21	12	18	11	16	7

MV22X

MV22X Retention Estimates (days)
			Motion (hrs/day)	0-8		8-16		16-24		Max Motion
Resolution	Video Quality	Frame Rate	Per Stream Bandwidth Usage (kbps)	Low (days)	High (days)	Low (days)	High (days)	Low (days)	High (days)	Absolute Min (days)
720p	Standard	8 fps	500	217	285	189	278	149	265	91
720p	Enhanced	15 fps	765	133	181	131	163	124	149	59
1080p	Standard	8 fps	1024	80	123	79	121	72	115	44
1080p	Enhanced	15 fps	1562	56	86	54	80	53	75	30
1080p	High	24 fps	3138	28	43	25	36	21	32	14
4MP	Standard	8 fps	3096	21	32	20	28	19	25	15
4MP	Enhanced	15 fps	8192	8	13	8	11	7	10	6

MV72

MV72 Retention Estimates (days)
			Motion (hrs/day)	0-8		8-16		16-24		Max Motion
Resolution	Video Quality	Frame Rate	Per Stream Bandwidth Usage (kbps)	Low (days)	High (days)	Low (days)	High (days)	Low (days)	High (days)	Absolute Min (days)
720p	Standard	8 fps	500	104	142	93	140	91	139	44
720p	Enhanced	15 fps	765	59	86	58	84	53	78	29
1080p	Standard	8 fps	1024	39	61	38	58	35	54	21
1080p	Enhanced	15 fps	1562	26	41	25	37	23	35	14
1080p	High	24 fps	3138	13	20	13	18	12	17	7

MV72X

MV72X Retention Estimates (days)
			Motion (hrs/day)	0-8		8-16		16-24		Max Motion
Resolution	Video Quality	Frame Rate	Per Stream Bandwidth Usage (kbps)	Low (days)	High (days)	Low (days)	High (days)	Low (days)	High (days)	Absolute Min (days)
720p	Standard	8 fps	500	220	291	202	289	189	282	91
720p	Enhanced	15 fps	765	130	176	123	174	122	172	59
1080p	Standard	8 fps	1024	79	119	75	112	72	111	44
1080p	Enhanced	15 fps	1562	57	83	52	77	47	71	30
1080p	High	24 fps	3138	25	39	24	36	23	34	14
4MP	Standard	8 fps	3096	20	31	20	28	18	27	15
4MP	Enhanced	15 fps	8192	7	11	7	11	7	11	6

MV52

MV52 Retention Estimates (days)
			Motion (hrs/day)	0-8		8-16		16-24		Max Motion
Resolution	Video Quality	Frame Rate	Per Stream Bandwidth Usage (kbps)	Low (days)	High (days)	Low (days)	High (days)	Low (days)	High (days)	Absolute Min (days)
720p	Standard	8 fps	500	563	585	524	577	523	570	181
720p	Enhanced	15 fps	765	338	369	326	367	269	366	119
1080p	Standard	8 fps	1024	183	274	182	267	160	251	89
1080p	Enhanced	15 fps	1562	123	180	121	169	117	161	58
1080p	High	20 fps	3138	64	83	61	82	55	75	29
4MP	Standard	8 fps	3096	49	85	45	84	43	71	29
4MP	Enhanced	15 fps	8192	18	28	18	27	17	26	11
4K (8MP)	Standard	8 fps	5000	28	47	27	45	27	39	18
4K (8MP)	Enhanced	15 fps	8000	19	28	17	27	16	24	11

MV32

MV32 Retention Estimates (days)
		Motion (hrs/day)		0-8		8-16		16-24		Max Motion
Resolution	Video Quality	Frame Rate	Per Stream Bandwidth Usage (kbps)	Low (days)	High (days)	Low (days)	High (days)	Low (days)	High (days)	Absolute Min (days)
1080 x 1080	Standard	8 fps	1024	41	61	40	59	36	53	21
1080 x 1080	Enhanced	8 fps	2048	20	31	19	30	19	28	11
2112 x 2112	Standard	8 fps	1024	29	42	27	40	26	36	21
2112 x 2112	Enhanced	8 fps	3096	9	14	9	13	9	12	7
2112 x 2112	High	15 fps	5120	5	8	5	8	5	7	4

MV63

MV63 Retention Estimates (days)
			Motion (hrs/day)	0-8		8-16		16-24		Max Motion
Resolution	Video Quality	Frame Rate	Per Stream Bandwidth Usage (kbps)	Low (days)	High (days)	Low (days)	High (days)	Low (days)	High (days)	Absolute Min (days)
1080p	Standard	8 fps	950	60	81	58	77	57	71	23
1080p	Enhanced	15 fps	1400	31	41	30	40	29	39	15
1080p	High	24 fps	2800	15	20	15	19	15	18	8
4MP	Standard	8 fps	2800	20	25	15	23	15	21	8
4MP	Enhanced	15 fps	6000	6	9	5	8	5	7	4
4MP	High	24 fps	9000	4	7	4	6	3	5	2
4K (8MP)	Standard	8 fps	4500	8	11	7	10	6	9	5
4K (8MP)	Enhanced	15 fps	8000	3	6	3	5	3	5	2

MV23M/MV63M/MV73M

MV23M/MV63M/MV73M Retention Estimates (days)
			Motion (hrs/day)	0-8		8-16		16-24		Max Motion
Resolution	Video Quality	Frame Rate	Per Stream Bandwidth Usage (kbps)	Low (days)	High (days)	Low (days)	High (days)	Low (days)	High (days)	Absolute Min (days)
1080p	Standard	8 fps	950	120	161	116	154	114	142	46
1080p	Enhanced	15 fps	1400	62	82	60	80	58	78	30
1080p	High	24 fps	2800	30	40	30	38	30	36	16
4MP	Standard	8 fps	2800	40	50	30	46	30	42	16
4MP	Enhanced	15 fps	6000	12	18	10	16	10	14	8
4MP	High	24 fps	9000	8	14	8	12	6	10	4
4K (8MP)	Standard	8 fps	4500	16	22	14	20	12	18	10
4K (8MP)	Enhanced	15 fps	8000	6	12	6	10	6	10	4

MV23X/MV63X/MV73X

MV23X/MV63X/MV73X Retention Estimates (days)
			Motion (hrs/day)	0-8		8-16		16-24		Max Motion
Resolution	Video Quality	Frame Rate	Per Stream Bandwidth Usage (kbps)	Low (days)	High (days)	Low (days)	High (days)	Low (days)	High (days)	Absolute Min (days)
1080p	Standard	8 fps	950	245	313	239	305	234	291	94
1080p	Enhanced	15 fps	1400	148	171	136	171	117	145	64
1080p	High	24 fps	2800	62	75	59	79	52	73	32
4MP	Standard	8 fps	2800	65	92	52	85	48	81	32
4MP	Enhanced	15 fps	6000	27	43	25	36	23	33	15
4MP	High	24 fps	9000	16	22	14	21	14	20	10
4K (8MP)	Standard	8 fps	4500	34	44	31	41	27	39	20
4K (8MP)	Enhanced	15 fps	8000	15	25	14	21	14	20	11

MV93

MV93 Retention Estimates (days)
Resolution	Video Quality	Frame Rate	Per Stream Bandwidth Usage (kbps)	Absolute Min (days)	Low (days)	High (days)
1080 x 1080	Standard	8 fps	950	23	59	70
1080 x 1080	Enhanced	15 fps	1400	16	30	43
1080 x 1080	High	24 fps	2800	8	13	22
2112 x 2112	Standard	8 fps	2800	8	16	23
2112 x 2112	Enhanced	15 fps	6000	3	6	9
2112 x 2112	High	24 fps	9000	2	4	6
2880 x 2880	Standard	8 fps	4500	5	9	12
2880 x 2880	Enhanced	15 fps	8000	2	4	7

MV93M

MV93M Retention Estimates (days)
Resolution	Video Quality	Frame Rate	Per Stream Bandwidth Usage (kbps)	Absolute Min (days)	Low (days)	High (days)
1080 x 1080	Standard	8 fps	950	47	118	140
1080 x 1080	Enhanced	15 fps	1400	32	61	86
1080 x 1080	High	24 fps	2800	16	27	44
2112 x 2112	Standard	8 fps	2800	16	33	46
2112 x 2112	Enhanced	15 fps	6000	7	13	19
2112 x 2112	High	24 fps	9000	5	9	13
2880 x 2880	Standard	8 fps	4500	10	18	25
2880 x 2880	Enhanced	15 fps	8000	5	8	14

MV93X

MV93X Retention Estimates (days)
Resolution	Video Quality	Frame Rate	Per Stream Bandwidth Usage (kbps)	Absolute Min (days)	Low (days)	High (days)
1080 x 1080	Standard	8 fps	950	94	237	281
1080 x 1080	Enhanced	15 fps	1400	64	122	173
1080 x 1080	High	24 fps	2800	32	55	88
2112 x 2112	Standard	8 fps	2800	32	67	93
2112 x 2112	Enhanced	15 fps	6000	15	26	39
2112 x 2112	High	24 fps	9000	10	18	27
2880 x 2880	Standard	8 fps	4500	20	36	51
2880 x 2880	Enhanced	15 fps	8000	11	17	28

MV13

MV13 Retention Estimates (days)
Resolution	Video Quality	Frame Rate	Per Stream Bandwidth Usage (kbps)	Absolute Min (days)	Low (days)	High (days)
1080p	Standard	8 fps	950	23	36	60
1080p	Enhanced	15 fps	1400	15	19	39
1080p	High	24 fps	2800	8	14	19
4MP	Standard	8 fps	2800	8	15	18
4MP	Enhanced	15 fps	6000	4	6	9
4MP	Enhanced	24 fps	9000	2	4	6
4K (8MP)	Standard	8 fps	4500	5	7	10
4K (8MP)	Standard	15 fps	8000	2	4	7

MV13M

MV13M Retention Estimates (days)
Resolution	Video Quality	Frame Rate	Per Stream Bandwidth Usage (kbps)	Absolute Min (days)	Low (days)	High (days)
1080p	Standard	8 fps	950	46	72	120
1080p	Enhanced	15 fps	1400	30	38	78
1080p	High	24 fps	2800	16	28	38
4MP	Standard	8 fps	2800	16	30	36
4MP	Enhanced	15 fps	6000	8	12	18
4MP	Enhanced	24 fps	9000	4	8	12
4K (8MP)	Standard	8 fps	4500	10	14	20
4K (8MP)	Standard	15 fps	8000	4	8	14

MV33

MV33 Retention Estimates (days)
Resolution	Video Quality	Frame Rate	Per Stream Bandwidth Usage (kbps)	Absolute Min (days)	Low (days)	High (days)
1080 x 1080	Standard	8 fps	950	23	40	76
1080 x 1080	Enhanced	15 fps	1400	15	33	40
1080 x 1080	High	24 fps	2800	8	14	17
2112 x 2112	Standard	8 fps	2800	8	18	23
2112 x 2112	Enhanced	15 fps	6000	4	7	10
2112 x 2112	Enhanced	15 fps	9000	2	4	6
2880 x 2880	Standard	8 fps	4500	5	10	13
2880 x 2880	Standard	8 fps	8000	2	4	7

MV33M

MV33M Retention Estimates (days)
Resolution	Video Quality	Frame Rate	Per Stream Bandwidth Usage (kbps)	Absolute Min (days)	Low (days)	High (days)
1080 x 1080	Standard	8 fps	950	46	80	152
1080 x 1080	Enhanced	15 fps	1400	30	66	80
1080 x 1080	High	24 fps	2800	16	28	34
2112 x 2112	Standard	8 fps	2800	16	36	46
2112 x 2112	Enhanced	15 fps	6000	8	14	20
2112 x 2112	Enhanced	15 fps	9000	4	8	12
2880 x 2880	Standard	8 fps	4500	10	20	26
2880 x 2880	Standard	8 fps	8000	4	8	14

Motion-based retention

Video retention can be further extended by enabling motion-based retention. By default, Meraki MV cameras record footage continuously, however in some situations it may be required to only record and store events triggered by motion. Motion-based retention addresses this requirement and can be used to increase video retention of the camera. Click here for more information.

Cloud Archive

Cloud Archive allows extension of video retention by backing up footage to the cloud in addition to storing footage on-camera. Click here for more information.

Checking estimated retention time

To check the estimated retention time of a specific camera, follow these steps:

In the Meraki Dashboard, navigate to Cameras > Monitor > Cameras. Select a camera.
Go to the Settings tab and navigate to Quality and Retention.
Scroll down to the bottom of the page to see the estimated retention time.

Suggestions for improving the retention time of footage are also listed alongside the estimated retention time.

Setting a maximum retention time

Some users may want to limit how much footage their cameras can retain (for example, to meet regulatory requirements). To address this, maximum retention limits can be enabled. Follow these steps:

Go to Camera > Monitor > Cameras. Select a camera.
Go to the Settings tab and select the Quality and Retention tab.
Select the dropdown menu under Maximum Retention Limit > When the footage is older than <option>

Footage will be recorded and deleted in the same way as before, on a first-in-first-out basis, until the maximum retention time is reached.
Screenshot 2023-05-23 at 2.24.35 PM.png

Disabling video retention with recording schedules (live video only)

Some users may want to disable video retention completely, such as to meet regulatory requirements. To enable "live video only" mode, apply a recording schedule that disables recording 24/7. Click here for more information.

This will disable the creation of motion metadata. Motion heatmaps will not generate for live video only cameras.

Editing setting for many cameras using profiles

In a large scale camera deployment, consider using quality and retention profiles and APIs to configure camera settings in bulk.

Deleting video from a camera

When a camera nears the full capacity of its internal storage, it will automatically start deleting the oldest video stored. To delete all footage, remove the camera from its network. This can be done by selecting the camera checkbox under Camera > Monitor > Cameras and clicking the move or remove option.

Screen Shot 2021-03-05 at 11.28.05 AM.png

Note: When changing Quality and retention settings, there is a brief interruption in the recorded video due to the cameras internal recording services applying the new settings.