CIF and 4CIF Resolution Comparison

CIF has been the Industry Standard Recording Resolution for year, it represents 320x240 (76,800 Pixels). Most Banks are still recording at CIF and 5 FPS. Two CIF is twice as many Pixels. In Comparison, Broadcast Television is shown at 640x480. 4CIF (704x480) is the equivalent of a DVD Movie on playback. You should note, that most storage requirements are measured against CIF. Therefore, whatever your requirement is at CIF, you must double it for 2 CIF, and quadruple it for 4 CIF. Likewise, your storage needs increase as you increase the FPS (Frames per second) recording rate.

CIF Resolution

4CIF Resolution

In addition, I found a graph that displays the different rate of resolution quality that exists within our industry. You will see these units on every spec sheet of cameras and DVR's.