How to convert 360° media from Samsung Gear 360 and Insta360 cameras

Click the links below to quickly jump to sections about:

• Samsung Gear 360
• Insta360 (mobile app)
• Insta360 (desktop)

ThingLink requires 360 images and videos to be equirectangular, or, in other words, have a 2:1 aspect ratio. Some 360 cameras, such as newer Samsung 360 Gear, produce dual-fisheye output instead of equirectangular media:

As a result, the images and videos must be converted prior to uploading them to ThingLink.

If your camera is not listed here or you are unable to get a compatible file, please submit a tech support request and we'll do our best to help you.

Samsung Gear 360

For images, we recommend using the Samsung Gear 360 app for Android and iOS.

1. Download the app from Google Play Market or Apple AppStore.
2. Follow the 'Connection guide' inside the app to connect the camera to your phone
3. Tap Gallery
4. On the 'Gear 360' tab, tap on a media you wish to convert
5. Tap 'Save', then open the 'Phone' tab
6. Open a photo or video, then use the 'Share' menu to export the file to your computer
7. Upload the file to ThingLink

Alternatively, you could use the Gear 360 ActionDirector app for converting videos:

1. Download and install the Gear 360 ActionDirector app from Samsung's support website
2. Follow the on-screen instructions to activate the app
3. Open the original file. This will automatically stitch it to the equirectangular version and save in the default folder
4. Upload the stitched file to ThingLink

Insta360 cameras (mobile app) 

1. Use your Insta360 smartphone app to stitch your 360° image/video.
2. Upload the image/video to the cloud (e.g. Google or Microsoft) or save it on your device.
3. Upload the image/video to ThingLink.

Insta360 cameras (desktop)

Insta360 uses proprietary file formats (.insp and .insv) which are not compatible with ThingLink. You'll need to convert these to JPG or MP4 formats using Insta's apps.

For images (.insp files):

1. Download Insta360 Studio desktop app from insta360's official website: https://www.insta360.com/download.
2. Open the app, then drag and drop the insp file that needs to be converted. Alternatively, you can click 'File' - 'Open' and select the file.
3. Click on the 'Projections' button below the image and select 'Flat' from the drop-down menu. By default, the button will read 'Fisheye'
4. Make sure that the image resolution is below 8192 x 4096 pixels. You can adjust the image resolution on the right-hand side.
5. Select the output directory in the bottom-right corner and click 'Export to'. 

 The output directory will contain a .jpg file that can be uploaded to ThingLink.

For videos (.insv files):

1. Download Insta360 Studio 2020 from Insta360's official website: https://www.insta360.com/download
2. Open your video either by right-clicking it or opening the app and going to File - Open
3. Click on the yellow 'Export' button in the upper-right corner
4. Adjust the Video export Settings and click 'OK'. Remember that the resolution must not exceed 3840x1920 pixels, and the maximum file size must be below 10 GB. You can adjust the bitrate to lower the file size or split your video in two parts.
5. Once the export is finished, upload the mp4 file to ThingLink.