GoPro HERO9 Video Bitrate Chart

Not all video modes on the HERO9 Black use the maximum video bitrate of 100 Mbps. Here’s what bitrate is used with which settings.

GoPro HERO9 Black
Text & Photos By David Coleman
Last Revised & Updated:
Filed Under: Video

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Here are video bitrate charts for the GoPro HERO9 Black. The bitrate that the files are encoded with varies based on the combination of resolution, framerate (fps), and aspect ratio selected, as well as whether you’ve selected the Standard or High bitrate setting and when there’s a choice, which video codec method you use (H.264 or H.265).

These are all in Mbps. 1

ResolutionFramerate (FPS)H.264 StandardH.264 HighH.265 StandardH.265 High
5K30/25/2460100
4K60/50/2460100
30/256010060100
2.7K120/10060100
60/506010060100
2.7K (4:3)60/5060100
1440p120/1006078
60/50/30/25/244560
1080p240/2006078
120/10060784560
60/5045604560
30/25/244560

Looping Video

All looping modes use a bitrate of 55.5 Mbps (H.264) or 45 Mbps (H.265) except the 1080p60 and 1080p50 modes which use 30 Mbps (H.264) or 24 Mbps (H.265).

What Size SD Card to Get for the GoPro HERO9 Black?

The video bitrate is important for video image quality. And it’s also important with respect to the storage capacity of your recording media, in this case, the microSD card.

So I created this simple calculator to give a general idea of how much video footage from the HERO9 Black can fit on an SD card of a particular storage capacity. Choose the size of the memory card in the selector.

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Calculator Notes:
  • This is approximate and is obviously affected by any other data you have on the memory card (including the extra LRV files that the camera generates automatically).
  • I’m using the maximum bitrate here, but not every video mode uses the maximum bitrate. Some use lower bitrates, and if you’re shooting with one of those, the corresponding file sizes are smaller, which in turn means you can fit more video on the SD card.

SD Card Recommendations for the GoPro HERO9 Black

I have a more in-depth post on the best SD cards for the GoPro HERO9 Black, but here are some quick recommendations.

SanDisk Extreme V30 UHS-I
  • Type: microSDXC / microSDHC
  • Video Speed Class: V30
  • UHS-Speed Class: UHS-I
  • Write speed of at least 30 MB/s
Lexar Professional 1066x Silver V30 UHS-I
  • Type: microSDXC / microSDHC
  • Video Speed Class: V30
  • UHS-Speed Class: UHS-I
  • Write speed of at least 30 MB/s
Samsung EVO Select V30 UHS-I
  • Type: microSDXC / microSDHC
  • Video Speed Class: V30
  • UHS-Speed Class: UHS-I
  • Write speed of at least 30 MB/s
Delkin Devices V30 UHS-I
  • Type: microSDXC / microSDHC
  • Video Speed Class: V30
  • UHS-Speed Class: UHS-I
  • Write speed of at least 30 MB/s
PNY Elite-X V30 UHS-I
  • Type: microSDXC / microSDHC
  • Video Speed Class: V30
  • UHS-Speed Class: UHS-I
  • Write speed of at least 30 MB/s

Things Worth Knowing

If you’re not seeing all of these video resolution/framerate combinations available, make sure your camera’s firmware is up to date.

In high-bitrate modes, you’ll need a fast SD card to avoid problems such as the video recording stopping unexpectedly, lost frames, or the camera freezing up. But, as you can see from the chart above, not every video mode uses the maximum bitrate. So if you’re stuck temporarily with an SD card that’s not fast enough, you can dial back the recording settings to a combination that uses a lower bitrate (which will also save on battery and reduce the risk of the camera overheating).

FAQs

What is the maximum video bitrate of the GoPro HERO9 Black?

The HERO9 Black has a maximum video bitrate of 100Mbps. That is only available in some shooting modes (5K, 4K, 2.7K).

Memory Card Tools

Here are a few other related tools I’ve put together that can be useful when working with memory cards and data rates.

Converting Mbps to MB/s & X Speed Rating to MB/s

Another related and common calculation that often needs to be done when working with memory cards is converting the convention for measuring video bitrate (Mbps, Mb/s, or megabits per second) to the convention for measuring the speed of memory cards (MBps, MB/s, or megabytes per second).

So I’ve put together a simple calculator for that separately. You can find it here:

Memory Card Size Calculators

If you’re trying to figure out what size memory card to buy, it can be useful to know how much video footage from the camera you can fit on a card. Here are a few tools that can be useful for that:

Working with Memory Cards

Here are some related posts for making sense of memory cards and working with them.

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Images and product information from Amazon PA-API were last updated on 2023-12-01 at 17:44. Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon Site at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.

Text & Photos by David Coleman

I'm a freelance travel photographer based in Washington DC. Seven continents, up mountains, underwater, and a bunch of places in between. My images have appeared in numerous publications, and you can check out some of my travel photography here.

I've been shooting with GoPros for years, starting with the HD HERO, and have owned and used just about every model since. More »

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