Getting new IMac M4 can not decide what storage to get

Given you’re (somewhat unusually) using only roughly a fifth of your current terabyte, yes, a terabyte (in aggregate) will work fine.

I wouldn’t go smaller (in aggregate) given you’re presently working with video and those files can get big, and planning to keep it for probably another eight years.

Video is quite fond of storage. As an example of how big things video can get, here’s how to calculate video bitrates into file sizes: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/8931200/video-bitrate-and-file-size-calculation#8931280

What do I mean by “in aggregate”? Given the Apple storage prices, I’d consider and price 512 GB internal and with adding larger external SSD storage for the video and for any related editing.

You’ll also want separate external storage for use with Time Machine, as well.

If you’ve got the budget and don’t want stuff directly wired to the iMac, go for the internal terabyte, and/or go for network-attached storage for external storage. NAS works well for backups, but isn’t the best choice for video editing or such.

I can't believe you only used 177GB on the old iMac. Please do the following and then we can get idea of how much storage you need. Also, rather than an iMac I'd consider looking at the Mac mini, it's probably a much better fit for your needs.

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No, a MM would be much less money than a similarly configured iMac. You don't need a new keyboard or mouse, you can use the old iMac's keyboard and mouse. Also a very high quality display would be about $300. Here are the numbers side by side:

iMac

16GB RAM and a 1TB SSD = $1,699.00

M4 Mac mini

• 16 GB RAM and a 1TB SSD = $999.00
• LG 27US500-W Ultrafine Monitor 27-Inch 4K UHD (3840x2160) HDR10 IPS Borderless Design from Amazon = $249.00

Total = $1248

So the MM with better specs than the iMac (a 27" display vs a 24" display) is $451 less expensive!!!!!! That is a huge savings. If you decide to get a new keyboard and mouse from Apple it's still less money than an iMac.

By the way, I am a long time iMac owner and my next Mac is not that far off, my next solution will be the MM.

With whichever solution you decide on to migrate from the old computer to the new one, follow the steps in Setup Assistant and Migration Assistant

If you want it all off your desk, then a NAS is an option.

These days, I’d usually look at 2.5 gigabit Ethernet (GbE), 5 GbE, or 10 GbE wired, and at a NAS with speeds to match, but 1 GbE wired and a 1 GbE NAS works fine for Time Machine, and for casual video work. Put differently, maybe add a 10 GbE connection on the iMac, as room to grow.

Considering what you use it for I think 16GB is fine. However if you want 24 to be safe it does not hurt.