Insta360 File Types Explained: INSV, INSP, LRV and DNG (and How to Open Them)

An .insv file is an Insta360 360 video, and an .insp is an Insta360 360 photo. Both hold the raw, unstitched image from the camera's lenses, so ordinary apps show two circles or nothing at all. Insta360 Studio on a computer, or the Insta360 app on a phone, stitches them into a normal video or photo. The .lrv next to each video is a low-resolution preview copy. Keep the INSV and LRV together until your project is finished.

Every file type on the card

Source: Insta360's online manuals for the X4 and X5, checked October 2026.

Under the hood, INSV and INSP are standard containers with Insta360's own extensions. That is why some photo managers, Immich for example, list .insv as an MP4 type and .insp as a JPEG type. Opening them that way shows the raw lens images, not a viewable 360 scene.

Reading the file name

Insta360's manual gives the pattern as prefix, shooting date and time, lens, master or proxy, and a sequence number:

VID_20261010_093015_00_001.insv
 |     |       |    ||  |
 |     |       |    ||  sequence number
 |     |       |    |master (0) or proxy (1)
 |     |       |    lens: 0 back lens, 1 screen-side lens
 |     |       time 09:30:15
 |     date 10 October 2026
 prefix

So _00_ is the back lens, master file. The matching preview is LRV_20261010_093015_01_001.lrv: same date and time, proxy flag set. The date and time come from the camera's clock, so set it before a trip, especially across time zones.

One file or two per video

Older Insta360 X cameras recorded each lens to its own file, so one recording was a _00_ and a _10_ pair that must stay together. Insta360 says the X4, X4 Air, X5 and X6 write one file containing both lenses.

Specs from the makers' published data, checked October 2026.

If you have an older model and see _00_ and _10_ files with the same time, never separate them. Insta360 Studio needs both to stitch the video.

The X6 also has internal storage. If you record to it, footage has to be offloaded from the camera itself, not just from a card. Check both before you assume a trip is backed up.

The LRV proxy: keep it or delete it?

Insta360 describes the LRV as a low-resolution proxy. The phone app uses it to preview and edit quickly without pulling the full file over Wi-Fi. Insta360's manual says LRVs are not generated in some modes, including Bullet Time, TimeShift, Timelapse and high frame rates, so do not worry if some videos have none.

Our advice: copy the LRVs with everything else and keep them alongside the INSV while you are still editing in the Insta360 app or Studio. Once a project is exported and archived, the INSV is the file that matters. LRVs are small, so most people keep them rather than risk deleting the wrong thing.

How to open and export

• Insta360 Studio (free, Mac and Windows, from Insta360's download page): drag in the INSV or INSP and export as a 360 video, a reframed flat video, or a photo.
• Insta360 app on a phone: transfer from the camera, edit, export.
• Video editors: some editors support Insta360 files through Insta360's plugins; others need a stitched export from Studio first.

For RAW photos, Insta360's manual says DNG output is handled through Studio or the app. Its manual also notes the X series does not export 360 photos as .hdr or .exr.

Copying Insta360 files to a computer

The phone app is fine for a few clips, but it is slow for a day of 360 video and you end up with exports, not originals. For an archive, take the originals off the card:

1. Put the microSD card in a reader, or connect the camera to the computer by USB.
2. Copy the whole DCIM folder, LRVs included, into a new folder for that day and camera.
3. Check the copy, then format the card in the camera.

Do not rename Insta360 originals

Insta360 names already contain the date and time, so there is little to gain from renaming, and something to lose: the VID and LRV of one recording share the same date, time and sequence number, which is how you can tell they belong together. On older two-file models, the _00_ and _10_ halves pair the same way. Rename them independently and that link is gone. If you want a camera tag, put it in the folder name instead.

What exported 360 files run into elsewhere

Once stitched, a 360 photo is an equirectangular JPG, an image twice as wide as it is tall. Not every service handles it. Amazon Photos, for example, lists equirectangular panoramic photos as unsupported (see Amazon Photos limits). Keep the original INSV and INSP files on a drive regardless of where the exports go: they are the only way to reframe the shot differently later.

Keeping Insta360 files organised

• Copy the whole card, including the LRVs, into its own folder per day and camera. See a folder structure for several cameras.
• Insta360 names include the date and time to the second, so clashes between cards are rare. They can still happen when two Insta360 cameras record at the same moment, so keep each camera in its own folder.
• Verify the copy before you format the card: verified copy vs drag and drop.

Choosing between Insta360 models? See Insta360 X6 vs X5 and which 360 camera to buy.

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