There are a few things to keep in mind when using a PC and a USB camera
for long-duration video recording.
1. About Compression
Video data files can be very large.
There are some free video recording software available, but in most cases,
they are uncompressed (AVI files, etc.).
For long time recording, it is necessary to compress the data in H.246 format
or other formats to record for long periods of time.
In the case of 1 hour of recording at 1280 x 1024 (1.3 million pixels) at 30 fps,
the file size is 430 x 430 x 430 pixels (1.3 million pixels) at 30 fps,
・430GB if uncompressed
・If compressed, it will be about 16.5GB.
2.About Playback
It is not a problem for about 24 hours, but be careful when the level reaches 3 days, 1 week, etc.
Even if recording can be done, it may not be possible to play it back with general-purpose playback software
such as Windows Multimedia Player.
For example, if you are recording for a week and each day has 8 hours of recording time,
do not batch record and create multiple files for one day (8 hours).
The compression will be 16.5 GB per hour (1.3 megapixels at 30 fps), which is 130 GB for 8 hours.
A week would be divided into 7 files. 130GB x 7 days = 910GB.
This means that 1TB of HDD can be used for recording. If a file is only 130 GB,
it can be played back with Windows multimedia player, etc.
