Insta360 X5 Gaussian Splatting: Settings, Export and Capture Route

What to record on an Insta360 X5 for a Gaussian splat, when to upload the raw .insv file and when to export from Insta360 Studio, and how the footage becomes a tour you can hand to a client.

The short answer

Yes, an Insta360 X5 can produce a usable Gaussian splat of a room, a home or a small venue. It records 360 video at up to 8K, and every frame sees the whole room, which gives the reconstruction plenty to match between frames.

In Spatial Studio the simplest path is to upload the original .insv file from the camera, untrimmed, with no export. If you need to trim the clip, export a 2:1 360 video from Insta360 Studio instead. The settings are below.

What decides the result is the walk: an invisible selfie stick held steady in front of you, a slow route along the room edges and through the middle, then the same route back.

Insta360 also has its own in-app Spatial Capture feature. Its X6 product page says Spatial Capture supports X6, X5 and X4 Air in select modes, with some regions excluded. That is a quick way to see a model in the Insta360 app. When the job is a branded link a client opens on a phone, with stops, hotspots and a contact button, you need a tour on top of the splat. Our X6 guide compares the two paths.

What the X5 records

From Insta360's X5 spec sheet and product page:

• 360 video at 8K (7680x3840) at 30, 25 or 24 fps, 5.7K at up to 60 fps, and 4K at up to 120 fps.
• A PureVideo mode for low light, also available at 8K 360.
• Dual 1/1.28-inch sensors.
• Vivid, Standard and Flat colour profiles, plus I-Log. H.264 or H.265, up to 180 Mbps.
• White balance from 2000K to 10000K, ISO 100 to 6400, and ±4 EV exposure compensation.
• 360 video saved as INSV files.
• Invisible Selfie Stick support and replaceable lenses.

Specs set the ceiling. Motion blur, a tilted stick, exposure jumps and gaps in the route can throw most of that detail away.

What to record

Spatial Studio samples about 90 frames per minute of video, so a higher frame rate does not give it more frames to work with. Detail per frame matters more, which is why 8K is the starting point.

Raw .insv or Insta360 Studio export?

If you export, these are the settings Spatial Studio's own export checklist asks for:

• FlowState stabilization and Direction Lock on.
• A 2:1 360 project with no reframing.
• Export as 360 Video, not a flat video.
• The highest 2:1 resolution available (7680x3840 for 8K footage).
• 24 fps.
• High bitrate.
• H.265 for 8K.

Check the size before you upload. Paid plans accept files up to 25 GB. The Free plan takes up to 2 GB and 10 minutes, and 8K files reach that quickly. Every video needs to be at least 30 seconds long.

The capture route

This follows the 360 handheld guide inside Spatial Studio.

1. Fully extend an invisible selfie stick and hold it in front of you, inclined forward so the camera stays clear of your head.
2. Set the camera angle before you start walking. Move by walking, not by swinging or tilting the stick.
3. Start at the doorway and walk slowly along the room perimeter, then make a pass through the middle.
4. Walk the whole route forwards and then back once. You get a second pass of coverage, and you stay fully visible, which helps the automatic operator masking.
5. Slow down at doorways and go through them squarely. Repeat the hardest transition before you leave.
6. Clear the room first: people, pets, moving fans and screens left on.

The common failures are standing in one spot and spinning, changing the stick angle mid-walk, and rushing through doorways. Rotation from one spot adds no depth.

When you upload, leave Auto Hide Operator on. It masks you and the stick area automatically, and you can add manual mask shapes for anything else that should not be in the scene.

From X5 footage to a client tour

1. Open Spatial Studio generation and choose 360 handheld.
2. Upload the .insv or the export. You see a credit quote before generation starts. As a reference, about three minutes of 360 video at High quality is around 50 credits.
3. Review the splat before you style anything. Walk through every doorway, look at the floor under your route, and check windows, mirrors and thin objects like chair legs and railings.
4. Set the opening view, then add hotspots: info notes for finishes, media such as photos or a video, and navigation hotspots between scenes. A larger property can be split into several splat scenes, with doorway portals and 360 panoramas in the same tour.
5. Draw a floor plan in the editor if layout matters, using the agent's plan image or PDF as a reference underneath. Splat scenes with a plan show a minimap with the visitor's position.
6. Add a contact button that opens your client's own form, plus share or custom link buttons.
7. Publish, then open the link on an ordinary phone. Use the embed code if the tour goes on a listing page.

After it goes live, tour analytics show views, unique views, view time, devices, traffic sources and CTA clicks.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to export X5 footage from Insta360 Studio?

No. Upload the original .insv from the camera. Export only when you have trimmed the clip or want to cut it down first.

8K or 5.7K at 60 fps?

Start with 8K at 24 or 30 fps. Spatial Studio samples about 90 frames per minute either way, so 60 fps adds little. If 8K files are too large for your plan, test 5.7K on the same route.

Should I use Insta360's Spatial Capture instead?

Use it if you want a quick look at a space in the Insta360 app. Use Spatial Studio when the client needs a link with stops, hotspots, a floor plan, a contact button and analytics.

Is the X5 good enough, or should I buy an X6?

We have not run a matched X5 versus X6 test. Process a short X5 route of a difficult room first. If the results already hold up, a better route will improve more jobs than a new camera. The X6 guide lists what changed.

Can visitors measure rooms in the tour?

In splat scenes you can turn on visitor measurements for distance, floor area and wall area. Accuracy depends on the scene's scale, so treat them as estimates, not survey figures.

Related guides

• Insta360 X6 Spatial Capture guide
• Insta360 X6 vs DJI Osmo 360 II for Gaussian splatting
• 360 camera to Gaussian splat workflow
• Ricoh Theta Gaussian splatting
• Indoor capture checklist