All Collections
Video Security
Hardware Installation, Hardware Specifications and Maintenance
Bandwidth Consumption & Uplink Requirements for Video
Bandwidth Consumption & Uplink Requirements for Video

Learn how Verkada cameras record video locally, limiting consumption bandwidth

Updated in the last 15 minutes

Bandwidth consumption by Verkada camera model

Below is a breakdown of the expected streaming bandwidth consumption based on the Verkada camera model and streaming mode upload. Learn more about streaming modes.

Note: The local streaming mode is prioritized if a local connection can be established to reduce bandwidth consumption.

When accessed remotely, the video proxies through the cloud and is cached to speed retrieval times and playback. This approach enables large numbers of simultaneous viewers without negatively impacting the bandwidth of your local area network (LAN).

CD22, CD22-E

  • No View: 20–50 Kbps upload

  • SQ (Local or Cloud): 300 Kbps upload

  • HQ (Local or Cloud): 1.5 Mbps upload

  • Historical footage with no motion: 300 Kbps upload

  • Historical footage with motion: 1.5 Mbps upload

  • Historical footage with no motion at 3x speed: 900 Kbps upload

  • Historical footage with motion at 3x speed: 4.5 Mbps upload

CD31, CD41, CD42, CM41, CM41-S, CD51, CD52, CB51-E, CB51-TE, CB52-E, CB52-TE

  • No View: 20–50 Kbps upload

  • SQ (Local or Cloud): 600 Kbps upload

  • HQ (Local or Cloud): 1.5 Mbps upload

  • Historical footage with no motion: 300 Kbps upload

  • Historical footage with motion: 1.5 Mbps upload

  • Historical footage with no motion at 3x speed: 900 Kbps upload

  • Historical footage with motion at 3x speed: 4.5 Mbps upload

CD61, CD62, CB61-E, CB61-TE, CB62-E, CB62-TE

  • No View: 20–50 Kbps upload

  • SQ (Local or Cloud): 600 Kbps upload

  • 4K (Local or Cloud): 3 Mbps upload

  • Historical footage with no motion: 600 Kbps upload

  • Historical footage with motion: 3 Mbps upload

  • Historical footage with no motion at 3x speed: 1.8 Mbps upload

  • Historical footage with motion at 3x speed: 9 Mbps upload D30, D50

D30, D50

  • No View: 20–50Kbps upload

  • SQ (Local or Cloud): 300 Kbps upload

  • HQ (Local or Cloud): 1 Mbps upload

  • Historical footage with no motion: 300 Kbps upload

  • Historical footage with motion: 1 Mbps upload

  • Historical footage with no motion at 3x speed: 900 Kbps upload

  • Historical footage with motion at 3x speed: 3 Mbps upload

D40

D80

  • No View: 20–50 Kbps upload

  • SQ (Local or Cloud): 600 Kbps upload

  • HQ (Local or Cloud): 2 Mbps upload

  • Historical footage with no motion: 600 Kbps upload

  • Historical footage with motion: 2 Mbps upload

  • Historical footage with no motion at 3x speed: 1.8 Mbps upload

  • Historical footage with motion at 3x speed: 6 Mbps upload

CF81

  • No View: 20–50 Kbps upload

  • SQ (Local or Cloud): 600 Kbps upload

  • HQ (Local or Cloud): 3 Mbps upload

  • Historical footage with no motion: 600 Kbps upload

  • Historical footage with motion: 3 Mbps upload

  • Historical footage with no motion at 3x speed: 1.8 Mbps upload

  • Historical footage with motion at 3x speed: 9 Mbps upload

CM61

  • No View: 20–50 Kbps upload

  • SQ (Local or Cloud): 600 Kbps upload

  • 4K (Local or Cloud): 2 Mbps upload

  • Historical footage with no motion: 600 Kbps upload

  • Historical footage with motion: 2 Mbps upload

  • Historical footage with no motion at 3x speed: 1.8 Mbps upload

  • Historical footage with motion at 3x speed: 6 Mbps upload

CD31, CD41, CD42, CM41, CM41-S, CD51, CD52, CB51-E, CB51-TE

  • No View: 20-50 Kbps upload

  • SQ (Local or Cloud): 600 Kbps upload

  • HQ (Local or Cloud): 1.5 Mbps upload

  • Historical footage with no motion: 300 Kbps upload

  • Historical footage with motion: 1.5 Mbps upload

  • Historical footage with no motion at 3x speed: 900 Kbps upload

  • Historical footage with motion at 3x speed: 4.5 Mbps upload

CD61, CD62, CB61-E, CB61-TE

  • No View: 20-50 Kbps upload

  • SQ (Local or Cloud): 600 Kbps upload

  • 4K (Local or Cloud): 3 Mbps upload

  • Historical footage with no motion: 600 Kbps upload

  • Historical footage with motion: 3 Mbps upload

  • Historical footage with no motion at 3x speed: 1.8 Mbps upload

  • Historical footage with motion at 3x speed: 9 Mbps upload

CH52-E

  • No View: 80-200 Kbps upload

  • SQ (Local or Cloud): 600 Kbps upload per head

  • HQ (Local or Cloud): 1.5 Mbps upload per head

  • Historical footage with no motion: 300 Kbps upload per head

  • Historical footage with motion: 1.5 Mbps upload per head

  • Historical footage with no motion at 3x speed: 900 Kbps upload per head

  • Historical footage with motion at 3x speed: 4.5 Mbps upload per head

Streaming modes

The Verkada system operates in 3 different streaming modes, depending on your organization's viewing activity (No View, View Live Stream, and View Historical Footage).

No View

Cameras at rest (not being viewed) operate at a steady upload state of 20–50 Kbps. In this mode, cameras only send metadata and thumbnails to the cloud, conserving bandwidth for other business applications.

View Live Stream

When a user logs in to Command and begins to view live video, the cameras switch into a higher uplink consumption pattern.

  • SQ Stream: Verkada's default video stream is a standard quality (SQ) 800x600 stream. Upload bandwidth consumption: 300 Kbps or 600 Kbps, depending on the camera model.

  • HQ Stream: Verkada's high quality (HQ) stream varies by camera model and may be a 2MP, 3MP, 5MP, or 4K resolution. Upload bandwidth consumption: range of 1–3 Mbps, depending on the camera model.

  • Local: Verkada's local stream is SQ or HQ. The bandwidth consumption is the same as SQ or HQ stream, but is transferred directly from the camera to the viewing device. Learn more about local streaming.

View historical footage

When historical footage is viewed, the bandwidth consumption varies between the SQ and HQ streams, depending on whether motion was detected. Viewing historical footage at increased speeds increases the bandwidth linearly, so a camera that plays HQ video at 1 Mbps at 1x speed requires 2 Mbps at 2x speed and 3 Mbps at 3x speed. Historical footage can be streamed via the cloud or locally.

  • SQ is used when no motion is detected in the frame and is 300 Kbps or 600 Kbps, depending on the camera model

  • HQ is used when motion is detected in the frame and is in a range of 1–3 Mbps, depending on the camera model

  • SQ footage at 3x speed uses 900 Kbps–1.8 Mbps, depending on the camera model

  • HQ footage at 3x speed uses 3–9 Mbps, depending on the camera model

Variables that can impact bandwidth consumption

You can estimate bandwidth consumption for your Verkada system with these variables:

  • Number of cameras viewed per day

  • Number of SQ hours viewed per day

  • Number of HQ hours viewed per day

Expected network port speeds

All cameras negotiate at full-duplex. Network interface card (NIC) speeds for each camera model:

  • D30 10/100 Mbps

  • D50 10/100 Mbps

  • D40 10/100 Mbps

  • CM41 10/100 Mbps

  • CM61 10/100 Mbps

  • Dome Series 10/100 Mbps

  • Bullet Series 10/100 Mbps

  • Fisheye Series 10/100/1000 Mbps

  • CH52-E series 10/100 Mbps

Learn more

Local streaming

Verkada Dome Camera Series (overview)

Visit the Verkada Training Center for video tutorials on how to accomplish role-based tasks in Command.

Need more help? Contact Verkada Support

Did this answer your question?