Understanding the Pre-Roll feature

Capture events more clearly by using the Pre-Roll feature. With Pre-Roll activated, you can get a more complete picture of what's happening outside your door. 

The Pre-Roll feature is available on the following devices:

• Video Doorbell 3 Plus, in black and white
• Video Doorbell 4, Battery Video Doorbell Pro, Spotlight Cam Pro and Stick Up Cam Pro Battery/Solar, in colour

Advanced Pre-Roll is available on certain wired and plug-in Ring devices.

View differences between Pre-Roll and Advanced Pre-Roll.

What is Pre-Roll?

The Pre-Roll feature enables you to view more complete motion events. Ring Video Doorbells equipped with Pre-Roll will capture motion four seconds before a motion event is triggered. After these critical seconds of activity are recorded they will be attached to the event clip.

When Pre-Roll is available, it's shown as a picture-in-picture when you enter the Live View screen. If you tap on the Pre-Roll picture-in-picture, it will expand to the full screen and show the Live View as the smaller image.  

How does Pre-Roll work?

Pre-Roll is made possible by a low-powered camera (Ring Video Doorbell 3 Plus) or low resolution recording (Ring Video Doorbell 4, Ring Battery Video Doorbell Pro, Ring Spotlight Cam Pro and Ring Stick Up Cam Pro). When the feature is enabled, the camera records up to four seconds of video in a rolling buffer on the camera’s local memory, which constantly overwrites itself automatically. When you answer a motion event or a doorbell push with Live View, the content in the buffer is made available as a picture-in-picture so you can see what preceded an event.

If you have a Ring plan, the Pre-Roll video is attached to your event video recordings. This is the only time Pre-Roll videos are stored in Ring's cloud.

Is a Ring subscription required to use Pre-Roll?

No. Pre-Roll on this device works for everyone, regardless if you are subscribed to a Ring plan or not. However, if you do not subscribe to a Ring plan, you will only be able to view Pre-Roll as a picture-in-picture in Live View.

Ring plan subscribers will be able to take full advantage of the Pre-Roll feature, including seeing Pre-Roll video previews in their Ring app timeline or event history, as well as for answered motion notifications.

Learn more about Ring subscriptions.

Is Pre-Roll always on?

No. Like most features of a Ring device, the Pre-Roll feature can be toggled on or off. 

Pre-Roll is enabled by default in the Ring app, but can be toggled on and off in the Video Settings screen within the app. 

The Pre-Roll videos for my Ring Video Doorbell 3 Plus are in black and white. Can those videos be in colour?

​In order to conserve power, the four seconds of Pre-Roll video for Video Doorbell 3 Plus is recorded in black and white and low resolution. 

Pre-Roll is in colour for Video Doorbell 4, Spotlight Cam Pro Battery and Stick Up Cam Pro Battery/Solar.

Does the Pre-Roll video have sound?

No. In order to preserve power, the four seconds of Pre-Roll video are silent.

Does Pre-Roll work at night?

Pre-Roll works in well-illuminated areas. Low light conditions may affect the Pre-Roll functionalities.