YouTube Selectively Removing Video Length Restrictions

Last week when I was uploading the unboxing video for the Nintendo 3DS to YouTube I noticed the following message up the top of my browser window:

“Congratulations! Your account is now enabled for uploads longer than 15 minutes. Click the Upload button below to select a video.”

YouTube - Video File Upload Message

YouTube - Video File Upload Message

In the past, I have run up against the fifteen minute limit (and previously, the ten minute limit) which has forced me to cut videos down either through editing or sacrificing some of the detail in the subject matter. Anyway, I tested this out yesterday and uploaded a twenty minute video which worked without a hitch. The only apparent limit appears to be a file size limit of 20GB (which would take far too long on my home connection at any rate). Previously, this ability was restricted to users who were invited by Google to join the elite partner ranks.

From what I have been able to find, most users who have found themselves in the same boat tend to create original content and have zero copyright infractions. Users have also had their accounts for a while (which means that you just can’t create a new YouTube account, whack up a whole stack of videos in a short period of time and expect to have the fifteen minute limit lifted). In my case, the account for Boydo’s Tech Talk has been up and running for four months with the twentieth video going up last night.

At any rate, this is good news for content creators who didn’t meet the criteria for becoming a YouTube partner (such as insufficient viewers or popularity). It’s also another incentive to play by the rules when uploading content so you don’t lose this privilege,

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