How to recover deleted or lost Insta 360 videos
The Insta 360 camera is both popular and extremely interesting. The ability to record photos and video in all dimensions is uncanny when seen for the first time. Recovery wise, there can be problems as even a new video is recorded in fragments. This means that most video recovery programs will not recover a playable video, but GPR processes the fragments and will reconstruct playable videos. (Also see Hero Max 360)
Current development is to recover deleted videos as well as possible, but also to recover videos that are partial, often due to an accident while recording. Being an action camera, this can often happen, and GPR will recover all available video and reconstruct the met adata to make the video viewable.
Types of file.
The Insta360 camera record files in a standard MP4, or JPEG but this output is very different. It typcally shows two circles - one for each lens if you view it with an MP4/JPEG viewer
When the image is called an .insv and viewed with i360- software, then a much more conventional image is seen. With the valid metadata, the flat image can then be viewed through a full 360 degrees.
A .dng file is actually a TIF, but again viewed as a TIF it is two circles, as in the image above.
An .insp is a JPEG, but viewed as a JPEG is is two circles, as above.
The original file name for a Insta360 One X2 is as below
VID_yyyymmdd_hhmmss_00_xxx.insv Front camera (xxx is a file number)
VID_yyyymmdd_hhmmss_10_xxx.insv Back camera
LRV_yyyymmdd_hhmmss_11_xxx.insv Low res composite version
As from V4.31, the original file names will be created and metadata added. The data will be stored in
DCIM\Camera01 directory
NB The file number as shown by xxx above will not the origianl number, thought the date and time will be corrct
Current development is progressing well on unfinalised videos. This often happens after a serious accident or impact
Difference between 360 One and 360 One X2
Although both cameras are similar, the method of recording is different. With the X2 there are multiple files, as described above. Meta data is then included at the end of the LRV and one of the camera files. Wth the One camera, there is only a single file, with meta data at the end. The single file though is fragmented as the meta data is stored is clusters before being added to the end of the file later on.
GPR V4.32 and later supports this type of recovery.