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Insta360 360° Photos and Videos

Insta360 cameras record through two fisheye lenses. Depending on the model and resolution, a capture is saved either as a single file or as several related files, which PhotoPrism groups by their original filenames. Keep the names assigned by the camera: renamed files cannot be matched to the rest of their capture.

Photos

Insta360 photos use the .insp extension. An .insp file is a JPEG that contains the images from both lenses in one 2:1 frame, so each file is a complete photo and is indexed on its own:

IMG_20220701_170732_00_018.insp
IMG_20220701_170732_00_018.dng

A RAW .dng file saved alongside it shares its base name and is stacked with it, just like any other RAW/JPEG pair.

An .insp file with both lenses side by side has a frame of exactly 2:1 and is shown in the 360° viewer. An .insp file whose frame has another shape is shown as a regular picture.

PhotoPrism does not pair .insp files, because photos are never split across lens files. Insta360's MediaSDK accepts one source file for a regular 360° photo or three or more for an HDR bracket, but never exactly two. The files of an HDR bracket share the timestamp in their names and each have their own sequence number. PhotoPrism does not merge them into one HDR image.

Videos

Insta360 videos use the .insv extension, an MP4 container with additional camera metadata. How a capture is stored depends on the camera:

Layout Cameras and Modes Files
One file per lens Models before the X4, at 5.7K and above VID_…_00_….insv and VID_…_10_….insv, optionally LRV_…_11_….insv
Both lenses in one frame Models before the X4, below 5.7K one VID_…_00_….insv, optionally LRV_…_11_….insv
Two video tracks in one file X4, X4 Air, X5, X6 one VID_…_00_….insv, optionally LRV_…_01_….lrv

Lens Pairs

When a camera stores one file per lens, the filenames differ only in the lens code:

File Lens Code Role
VID_20231218_150323_00_022.insv 00 first lens, the main file of the stack
VID_20231218_150323_10_022.insv 10 second lens
LRV_20231218_150323_11_022.insv 11 low-resolution proxy (optional)

Files in the same folder whose names match in date, time, and sequence number belong to the same capture, and PhotoPrism stacks them under the name of the _00 file. The two lenses are combined into a single equirectangular video, which can be viewed in the 360° viewer, if both lens files are present and match:

  • Both have square frames of identical resolution.
  • Their frame rates differ by no more than 0.1 fps.
  • Their durations differ by no more than one second.

The combined preview is the cover of the capture, regardless of the order in which its files were indexed, and no separate preview is created for the second lens or the proxy. If your sidecar folder is inside the originals folder, the preview created first remains the cover until you choose another one.

If the lens files have been indexed as separate items, a complete rescan combines them. The combined item keeps the archive state of the item that was indexed first, so archiving one of the other items does not archive the capture. Since both lenses are needed to view the video, the lens and proxy files of a capture stay together, and Unstack is not available for them.

Single-File Videos

Videos that store both lenses side by side in one 2:1 frame are converted directly. For cameras that store the two lenses as separate video tracks in a single file, both tracks are combined into one equirectangular video, as described for lens pairs above.

The low-resolution proxy these cameras write, for example LRV_20240415_213145_01_035.lrv next to VID_20240415_213145_00_035.insv, is stacked with its video once both files are present. It is not converted, so it never becomes the cover, and like the lens files of a capture, it cannot be unstacked. .lrv files that don't follow this naming, for example from other cameras, are not indexed. Web uploads don't accept .lrv files, since uploaded files are imported under new names; add a proxy to the originals folder next to its video instead.

Imported Captures

When files are imported, they get new names based on their date and checksum, which no longer contain the lens codes. PhotoPrism still recognizes the files of a capture that were imported together, using their original file names, and shows the combined 360° preview. Files of one capture that were imported separately are not combined.

If a 360° original cannot be dewarped, a warning naming the file is logged, and its preview shows the unprocessed lens images.

References

Title URL
Insta360: How to Edit and Reframe 360 Videos (File Naming) https://www.insta360.com/blog/tips/how-to-edit-and-reframe-360.html
Insta360 MediaSDK: Stitching Input Files https://github.com/Insta360Develop/Insta360-Developer_Docs/blob/master/docs/en/sdk/x-ace-go/desktop/media.md
Insta360 Desktop MediaSDK for C++ Insta360Develop/Desktop-MediaSDK-Cpp