LRV is basically a low-resolution video companion file generated for preview purposes. Renaming the extension to .mp4 can make some software open it like an ordinary video file, but that does not magically link it to the high-resolution original.

So yes, it can be useful as a manual proxy, but you need a reliable naming/matching workflow. The dangerous part is exactly what you mentioned: if the editor thinks the LRV is the source rather than a proxy, you can end up exporting from the low-resolution file.

For a small project I have manually matched LRV files to originals, but once you have dozens of chaptered GoPro clips it becomes annoying. I now prefer letting the NLE generate and manage proxies because relinking is automatic.

The LRV trick is still useful on a laptop in the field, especially if you only want to review and mark clips before you get back to the main machine.

VSDC's current proxy system is the safer route if your goal is a full edit rather than just field review. Import the original GoPro files, create proxies from the editor, and keep the originals as the master media. The timeline works with the lightweight copies, while export goes back to the source quality.

That removes the manual rename/relink step. You can still keep the GoPro-generated LRV files for quick browsing, but I would not build a large project around them unless you are very disciplined about file names.

I tried both methods today. Renaming the LRV works and is amazingly fast for viewing, but I agree that the file matching gets messy as soon as GoPro splits a long recording into multiple chapters.

For the actual edit I am using generated proxies now. I will keep the LRV files only as “contact sheets in motion” when I am sorting clips.