All about LRF files

Video preview files from DJI drones and cameras

LRF stands for Low Resolution File and is a proprietary video format developed by drone and camera manufacturer DJI. When recording video with certain DJI cameras, such as the DJI Osmo Action, and some drones, an associated .lrf file is saved alongside the actual video file in MP4 format.

These LRF files serve as so-called proxy clips. These proxy clips are a compressed preview with lower resolution (960×720 or 1280×720 pixels and 30 fps), which enable smooth playback on the controller display or in the DJI app without the device having to decode the high-resolution file and adapt it to the screen resolution.

Technically, LRF files are MPEG-4 containers (ISO 14496-12) with H.264-encoded video streams—essentially standard MP4 files with a different file extension.

ffprobe example of an LRF file

Input #0, MOV,mp4,m4a,3gp,3g2,mj2, from 'sample.lrf':
  Metadata:
    major_brand     : isom
    minor_version   : 512
    compatible_brands: isomiso2avc1mp41
    creation_time   : 2026-03-22T10:22:52.000000Z
    encoder         : DJI OsmoPocket3
    timecode        : 08:13:27;02
  Duration: 00:00:16.09, start: 0.000000, bitrate: 7478 kb/s
  Stream #0:0[0x1](und): Video: H264 (High) (avc1 / 0x31637661), yuv420p(tv, bt709, progressive), 1280x720, 6543 kb/s, 29.97 fps, 29.97 tbr, 30k tbn (default)
    Metadata:
      creation_time   : 2026-03-22T10:22:52.000000Z
      handler_name    : VideoHandler
      vendor_id       : [0][0][0][0]
      timecode        : 08:13:27;02
  Stream #0:1[0x2](und): Audio: AAC (LC) (mp4a / 0x6134706D), 48000 Hz, stereo, fltp, 317 kb/s (default)
    Metadata:
      creation_time   : 2026-03-22T10:22:52.000000Z
      handler_name    : SoundHandler
      vendor_id       : [0][0][0][0]
  Stream #0:2[0x3](und): Data: none (djmd / 0x646D6A64), 11 kb/s
    Metadata:
      creation_time   : 2026-03-22T10:22:52.000000Z
      handler_name    : DJI meta
  Stream #0:3[0x5](und): Data: none (tmcd / 0x64636D74), 0 kb/s
    Metadata:
      creation_time   : 2026-03-22T10:22:52.000000Z
      handler_name    : TimeCodeHandler
      timecode        : 08:13:27;02
  Stream #0:4[0x0]: Video: mjpeg (Baseline), yuvj420p(pc, bt470bg/unknown/unknown), 1280x720 [SAR 1:1 DAR 16:9], 90k tbr, 90k tbn (attached pic)

Last updated on April 25, 2026 by Sören Ramspeck with the experience of more than 128,392,828 converted files since 2013.