What is Security Camera Preroll, and Why Does It Matter?

Key takeaways:

• Preroll is a security camera feature that allows the camera to add several seconds of video to the beginning of a recording. That means your security camera footage provides the important context of what occurred before recording kicked in.
• High-quality preroll footage is possible with hardwired cameras. The continuous power supply allows for clear preroll without draining battery life.
• The Vivint Outdoor Camera Pro and Doorbell Camera Pro both have preroll. Vivint cameras have an impressive 8-10 seconds of preroll—practically double that of similar cameras.

When it comes to home security cameras, you probably think first about features like motion detection, facial recognition, or high quality 4K resolution video. But there’s another smart feature working behind the scenes to help keep you better protected—preroll.

Preroll may not be a typical consideration when buying a security camera, but once you know what it does, you’ll see how valuable a role it plays in capturing surveillance footage. Read on to find out what preroll is, how it works, and why it’s such a valuable feature in modern home security cameras.

All about preroll

Most home security system CCTV cameras don’t start recording until they detect movement. However, this detection doesn’t happen instantly. Instead, there is often a brief delay between when motion is first detected and when the camera starts recording and saving footage.

That’s where preroll comes in. When a camera recognizes an event, it adds several seconds of video to the beginning of the recording. That means your security camera footage provides the important context of what occurred before recording kicked in.

In simple terms, preroll gives you the beginning of the story, not just the middle.

How preroll works

So how does preroll work exactly? And how does it manage to capture cctv footage before the recording actually kicks in?

Your video camera is always capturing video surveillance in real time. However, that rolling loop of footage is only held for a small amount of time in the camera’s memory. After that it’s deleted, and the next few seconds get recorded. This happens over and over until motion is detected. At that point, the camera’s recording feature kicks in and it begins recording the footage to save.

With preroll, however, instead of only saving from that moment forward, the camera also grabs the few seconds before.

Here’s an example:

You get a notification on your phone from one of your security cameras that someone walked inside your camera’s detection zone. This triggers your camera to start recording, but it doesn’t start at this exact moment—it also saves several seconds before the person entered the zone (ie, the preroll), so you get the full picture of what happened.

To summarize, preroll works by constantly keeping a few seconds of video footage stored in temporary memory, then saving that footage whenever motion is detected. As a result, you can see what happened right before before the alert.

Why preroll matters

It may sound like just a technical feature, but preroll plays an important role in your smart home surveillance system for several reasons. Look at the role preroll footage plays in your camera system:

• You get the entire context of the situation. Preroll basically gives you the full story of what happened on your property instead of just the middle. Many people prefer their camera’s detection zone to cover their immediate property to minimize notifications about unimportant things, like a neighbor taking a walk. Without preroll, you may see a person leaving your property, a package notification but no package on your porch, or a car leaving your driveway. When you factor in preroll footage, you see what happened beyond the bounds of your detection zone: the direction the person came from, who approached your porch, and what direction they headed. With preroll, an otherwise short clip becomes a full story.
• It provides better evidence if needed. Security cameras (especially those with advanced functionality like color night vision or artificial intelligence features) have been a game changer when it comes to providing evidence needed for police reports, insurance claims, HOAs, and property managers. But sometimes, even these features aren’t enough when the camera doesn’t capture the full story. Preroll provides just enough extra footage to help ensure your camera view incudes the details that matter, such as timelines, behavior, entry and exit points, more accurate facial recognition, and more.
• Better confidence in your home security system. It can be frustrating when you don’t trust your security system to capture important details. When your cameras consistently capture events, you know that if something happens, you’ll have the moments leading up to the event, the incident itself, and at least some of the aftermath. This type of confidence is key in feeling truly safe and protected by your home security system.

Preroll lengths

When it comes to preroll, not all cameras are created equal. In fact, not even all cameras have preroll. Because preroll requires constant power to maintain a loop of the previous few seconds, only those that are hardwired (such as continuous-recording CCTV surveillance cameras or certain home security cameras) can support high quality, full-resolution preroll.

Battery-powered home security cameras typically don’t include preroll because it rapidly drains the battery life. Some newer model battery-powered cameras have started to incorporate it into their feature sets, but if often comes at the cost of significant battery usage or lower quality pre-roll footage.

Preroll length ranges from 2 seconds in standard hardwired cameras all the way up to 6 seconds in some higher-end cameras.

Vivint smart home cameras and preroll

The Vivint Outdoor Camera Pro and Doorbell Camera Pro both have preroll. But unlike most cameras, Vivint cameras have an impressive 8-10 seconds of preroll—practically double that of similar cameras.

The Outdoor Camera Pro and Doorbell Camera Pro are both hardwired, allowing them to capture far more preroll footage than battery-powered cameras. With an extra 8 seconds of high-quality footage, you can get an in-depth look at a lurker canvassing your house, get a better look at the license plate of the car that pulled into your driveway, or see if there were other people involved in an incident outside your home.

The Vivint difference: Longer preroll

Preroll isn’t the only thing that sets Vivint security cameras apart from the rest. They’re the only cameras with Smart Deter technology, which actively identifies lurkers on your property and deters them with a bright LED light ring and a loud noise to let them know they’ve been spotted.

For even more protection, you can pair the Outdoor Camera Pro with the Spotlight Pro. The Outdoor Camera Pro uses Vehicle Protection to detect and deter any stranger that approaches your car. Once your camera identifies a lurker on your property, the Spotlight Pro follows them with a spotlight. If they linger too long, it plays an intense lighting pattern that draws attention and encourages them to leave the property.

And if additional footage is important to you, you also have access to Vivint Playback. It records up to 10 days of continuous footage from multiple cameras, so you always have a record of what’s happening. You can view footage through the Vivint app, skip to important events or details, and save and share footage right from your phone.

Never miss a moment with Vivint

With Vivint, you not only have the industry’s most advanced AI-powered home security cameras, but you also have industry-leading preroll length, so you never miss a thing.

If you’re ready to start protecting your home around the clock, getting started with Vivint is simple. Visit us online or give us a call at 855.822.1220 for information about Vivint smart home features, pricing, and customizing your system today.

Preroll FAQs

Still have questions about preroll? Read the answers to some commonly asked questions below.

What is security camera pre-roll?

Security camera pre-roll is a feature that captures a few seconds of footage immediately before a motion event is triggered, providing context about what caused the alert.

Why is pre-roll useful for home security?

Pre-roll helps you see additional footage before the motion alert was triggered, such as a person approaching your property before the sensor detected them, reducing blind spots in your recordings.

Do all security cameras have pre-roll capability?

No, pre-roll is only available on select security camera models. For the highest quality preroll, look at hardwired security cameras.

Does pre-roll drain battery life on wireless cameras?

Pre-roll is a feature that is typically offered on hardwired cameras. Due to the high power needs of preroll footage, it may cause significant drain on battery life.