Insta360 X4 to Instagram Reels/YouTube Shorts Converter

Convert Insta360 X4 .insv dual-fisheye videos into 9:16 vertical shorts for Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts, with automatic splitting, lens selection, yaw control, and adjustable FOV.

Features

• Proper fisheye-to-rectilinear reprojection using ffmpeg's v360 filter
• Dual lens support (front and back camera streams from a single .insv file)
• Horizontal pan control (yaw) within each lens
• Adjustable field of view (zoom in/out)
• Automatic splitting of long videos into 2-minute segments
• Batch processing of multiple .insv files
• Three quality presets (high/medium/low)
• Fast-start enabled for web playback
• Preserves audio (192kbps AAC, 48kHz)

Requirements

• Python 3.6+
• ffmpeg (with v360 filter support)

Installation

1. Install ffmpeg

macOS:

brew install ffmpeg

Ubuntu/Debian:

sudo apt-get install ffmpeg

Windows: Download from ffmpeg.org and add to PATH.

2. Download the script

git clone https://github.com/JimWas/JimWas-Insta360-INSV-to-Shorts.git
cd JimWas-Insta360-INSV-to-Shorts

Usage

Basic (convert all .insv files in current directory)

python JimWas-INSTA360-INSV-TO-SHORTS.PY

Select lens

The Insta360 X4 stores both lenses as separate video streams in a single .insv file.

# Front lens (screen side) - default
python JimWas-INSTA360-INSV-TO-SHORTS.PY --lens front

# Back lens (opposite side)
python JimWas-INSTA360-INSV-TO-SHORTS.PY --lens back

Pan the view (yaw)

Control which direction the camera faces within the fisheye. 0 = straight ahead, negative = left, positive = right.

# Pan left
python JimWas-INSTA360-INSV-TO-SHORTS.PY --yaw -40

# Pan right
python JimWas-INSTA360-INSV-TO-SHORTS.PY --yaw 40

Usable range is roughly -80 to 80 degrees per lens. Beyond that you'll see black (edge of fisheye).

Adjust field of view

Lower FOV = zoomed in, higher FOV = wider angle.

# Zoomed in
python JimWas-INSTA360-INSV-TO-SHORTS.PY --fov 50

# Default
python JimWas-INSTA360-INSV-TO-SHORTS.PY --fov 80

# Wide angle
python JimWas-INSTA360-INSV-TO-SHORTS.PY --fov 110

Other options

# Custom segment duration (60 seconds for YouTube Shorts)
python JimWas-INSTA360-INSV-TO-SHORTS.PY -d 60

# Medium quality for faster processing
python JimWas-INSTA360-INSV-TO-SHORTS.PY -q medium

# Specify output directory
python JimWas-INSTA360-INSV-TO-SHORTS.PY -o ./output

# Convert a specific file
python JimWas-INSTA360-INSV-TO-SHORTS.PY video.insv

# Combine options
python JimWas-INSTA360-INSV-TO-SHORTS.PY --lens back --yaw -20 --fov 90 -q medium -d 60

Command-Line Reference

Option	Default	Description
input	.	Input .insv file or directory
-o, --output	same as input	Output directory
-d, --duration	120	Max segment duration in seconds
-q, --quality	high	Quality preset: high, medium, low
--lens	front	Lens to use: front (screen side) or back
--yaw	0	Horizontal pan angle in degrees
--fov	80	Horizontal field of view (30-120)

How It Works

1. The script reads the .insv file which contains two fisheye video streams (front and back lens)
2. Selects the chosen lens stream using -map
3. Applies ffmpeg's v360 filter to reproject from fisheye to rectilinear (flat) perspective
4. Outputs 1080x1920 portrait video with the specified yaw and FOV
5. Automatically splits videos longer than the segment duration

Automatic splitting

• 10-minute video -> 5 segments (2 min each)
• 5-minute video -> 3 segments (2 min, 2 min, 1 min)
• 90-second video -> 1 segment

Segments are named: video_shorts_part1.mp4, video_shorts_part2.mp4, etc.

Quality Settings

Quality	CRF	Preset	File Size	Speed
high	18	slow	Largest	Slowest
medium	23	medium	Medium	Medium
low	28	fast	Smallest	Fastest

Output Specifications

• Resolution: 1080x1920 (9:16)
• Video Codec: H.264
• Audio Codec: AAC, 192kbps, 48kHz
• Container: MP4 with fast-start

Troubleshooting

"ffmpeg is not installed" - Install ffmpeg using the instructions above.

Black areas in output - Your yaw value is past the edge of the fisheye. Keep yaw between -80 and 80.

Wrong camera angle - Try --lens back to switch to the other lens, or adjust --yaw.

Video looks too zoomed in/out - Adjust --fov. Lower values zoom in, higher values zoom out.

Audio/video out of sync - Try -q high for better quality processing.

Changelog

v2.0.0

• Replaced simple crop method with proper v360 fisheye-to-rectilinear reprojection
• Added dual lens support (--lens front/back) by reading both video streams from .insv file
• Added horizontal pan control (--yaw)
• Added adjustable field of view (--fov)
• Output now has correct flat perspective instead of distorted fisheye crop

v1.0.0

• Initial release with basic crop-and-scale conversion
• Automatic video splitting into 2-minute segments
• Batch processing support
• Quality presets (high/medium/low)

License

Free to use and modify as needed.