GoPro LRV and THM files: what they are and what to delete

September 26, 2026 • VideoRecompress Studio Team

An .LRV file is a low-resolution copy of a clip that the camera and the GoPro Quik app use for fast previews. A .THM file is a small JPEG thumbnail. The full-quality video is only in the .MP4, so once the MP4s are on your computer, the LRV and THM files can go.

GOPR0142.MP4 Full-quality video The recording itself. Plays in any video player. Keep
GOPR0142.LRV Low-resolution preview A small copy of the same clip for previews on the camera and in the Quik app. Rename it to .MP4 to play it. Delete after import
GOPR0142.THM Thumbnail picture A JPEG picture of the clip for the camera's playback screen. Rename it to .JPG to view it. Delete after import

One recording on the card, three files with the same number. Newer models name the video GX or GH and the preview GL, for example GX010142.MP4 and GL010142.LRV.

When to delete LRV and THM files

Delete after import The MP4s are copied and backed up Delete the LRV and THM files. They hold nothing the MP4 does not have.
Keep for now You still browse the card in the Quik app Keep them until you are done. The app uses them for fast previews.

Want the thumbnails as pictures? A THM file is a JPEG. Our THM file guide shows how to convert a whole folder of them to JPG.

How much smaller the MP4s get

Frame from the original GoPro clip in H.264, cropped at full size
Original, H.264 · 31.3 MB
The same frame after VideoRecompress converted the clip to H.265, cropped at full size
VideoRecompress, H.265 · 21.6 MB
−31 %smaller file, same resolution and frame rate
2.7 sto convert the 20-second clip on an RTX 3080
92.3VMAF quality score against the original (100 = identical)

Measured on 26 September 2026 with VideoRecompress 2026.2.18 at its default settings (H.265, quality 23, NVIDIA NVENC) on a Ryzen 9 3900X with an RTX 3080. The clip is 20 seconds of 1080p30 GoPro footage, trimmed and saved as H.264 at 12.6 Mbps. Grainy, fast footage shrinks less than calm scenes, so your savings will differ.

On the CPU encoder, the same setting would have made this clip bigger. VideoRecompress checked the result, kept the original file and moved on, so no file on your card comes out larger.

Shrink a whole card in one pass

  1. Copy the card to your PCCopy the whole DCIM folder. Leave the card as it is until you have checked the results.
  2. Add the folderDrag the DCIM folder into VideoRecompress Studio. It looks inside 100GOPRO, 101GOPRO and every other subfolder and picks up the video files only. LRV and THM files are left alone.
  3. Keep H.265 selectedH.265 is the default. With an NVIDIA, Intel or AMD graphics card, the GPU does the encoding.
  4. Start the batchEvery finished file is checked against its original. If the new file is bigger, the original is kept.
  5. Check, then clean upPlay a few clips. Then delete the LRV and THM files, and the original MP4s once they are backed up.

The command line does the same in one line:

videorecompress batch "D:\GoPro\DCIM" -o "D:\GoPro\H265"

Tested on a copy of a card folder holding MP4, LRV and THM files: only the MP4 was converted. Subfolders are included by default.

Related guides

Compress GoPro videos Compress drone footage Compress new videos automatically with a watch folder HEVC vs H.264: how much space you really save

Questions

Can I delete GoPro LRV files?

Yes, once the MP4 files are copied to your computer and backed up. An LRV file is only a low-resolution preview; the full-quality video is in the MP4.

How do I open an LRV file?

Rename it from .LRV to .MP4. It then plays in any video player, at low resolution.

How do I open a THM file?

A THM file is a JPEG picture. Rename it to .JPG, or convert a whole folder of them with Contenta Converter.

Does VideoRecompress convert LRV files?

No. It converts the MP4 video files and leaves LRV and THM files where they are.

Should I convert GoPro video to H.265?

For storage, yes: our 1080p GoPro test clip came out 31 % smaller. Clips your camera already recorded in H.265 are skipped, and a file that would get bigger keeps its original.

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