Questions

What is an .insv file?

It is the video an Insta360 360° camera records: the pictures of both fisheye lenses, with the camera's gyroscope readings and lens calibration stored at the end of the file. INSV Player stitches them into one 360° picture and steadies it with the gyroscope data, without exporting anything first.

The .lrv file saved beside it is a low-resolution preview the camera makes for its phone app. Open the .insv file instead. Videos exported from Insta360 Studio are ordinary MP4 files that any video player opens.

How do I open an .insv file?

INSV Player is a free .insv viewer: drop the file on the player, or paste a link to it. It plays in your browser, stitched and steadied, with nothing to install. To edit a recording or export it, use Insta360 Studio on a computer or the Insta360 app on your phone, both free from Insta360.

An .insv file is an MP4 underneath, so an ordinary video player opens it, some only after you rename it to .mp4. It then shows the recording as the camera made it: usually one of the two fisheye lenses, not stitched and not steadied.

Can I look around by moving my phone?

Yes, on a phone or tablet. Choose Normal in the View menu, then tap the motion button next to it, a phone between two curves. Hold the phone up and turn it: the picture turns with it, its horizon level with yours. Drag sideways to turn the picture without turning around, and tap the motion button again to stop.

On an iPhone or iPad, Safari first asks to allow access to motion and orientation: tap Allow. The button shows only on a device with motion sensors.

Which cameras does it play?

The Insta360 X3, X4, X5, X6 and ONE RS, and the Antigravity A1, in their 360° video modes. Some modes of the X3 and X4 write each lens to its own file, with _00_ and _10_ in the names: drop or choose both files together. 360° photos (.insp) are not supported.

Can I play a recording from Google Drive?

Yes. Choose the Google Drive button beside Choose file, allow INSV Player to use the files you pick, and pick the .insv file in Google's picker. For a recording split into two files, pick both together. The recording streams from Google Drive into your browser, in parts, as it plays; nothing passes through insv-player.com.

Google's permission screen describes this access in its own words, as seeing, editing, creating and deleting the specific files you use with the app: it is the only Google permission limited to the files you pick. INSV Player only reads them.

INSV Player sees only the files you pick, never the rest of your Drive. Its access lasts an hour from each pick, and you can take it back in your Google Account at any time (see the privacy policy). A recording from Google Drive cannot be shared by the page's address: whoever opens it needs access to the file themselves.

Is my video uploaded?

No. A file you drop or choose is read by your browser, on your device, and never leaves it. A link, or a file in Google Drive, is read straight from the server that holds the file, in parts, as the video plays.

Why does a link not open?

The player reads a linked recording from its server in parts, so the server must:

• serve it over https://;
• let other websites read it (CORS): Access-Control-Allow-Origin, with Range among the allowed request headers;
• answer requests for parts of the file (HTTP range requests).

A link to a file-sharing page opens that page, not the file. When a link does not open, download the file and drop it on the player.

Which browsers work?

Chrome or Edge 111 or later, and Safari 16.4 or later on a Mac or 17.1 or later on an iPhone or iPad, on a device that decodes the recording's video in hardware. The player needs WebCodecs and WebGL 2. Firefox and Android browsers may work but are not tested.

On Linux, Chrome decodes HEVC (H.265) only through VA-API on Intel or AMD graphics: not with NVIDIA's driver, and not in a virtual machine. When it can, chrome://gpu lists "Decode hevc main" under Video Acceleration Information, and "Decode hevc main 10" for the X6's 10-bit HEVC. Recordings in H.264 play without it.

How do I share a video?

Put the .insv file on a server that allows it (see above), open its link in the player and copy the page's address: it opens the same recording for anyone. The recording stays where it is; nothing is stored on insv-player.com.