YouTube upgrade: Better uploader, 10x the file size

By Josh Lowensohn on 30 September 2008, 9:43am

Over the weekend YouTube quietly began testing a new uploading tool for users to publish their videos. The tool now allows users to begin plugging in information fields about the video while the upload is happening, much like Viddler, Vimeo and others have offered for years. The company is testing the new player with a small number of its users, although you can access it via this special link.

The company has also increased the size limit of uploaded video files from 100MB to 1GB. This should open things up dramatically for people who are shooting in high-quality VGA video mode on their digital cameras, something that can turn a one-minute video capture into files that would have exceeded the previous limits.

The updated uploader also now lets users upload multiple video files at once. You can either do this when selecting the file, or while any previous videos are in the process of being uploaded. The tool allows for up to ten videos a time, which means you can start up additional clips as soon as older ones have made it through. Doing so does not interrupt whatever file is currently uploading, which is a smart touch.

Two things that have not changed with the uploading process are the video time limits and long processing times, both of which are the same. Videos are still capped at 10 minutes, and you still have to wait longer than your video's length for the system to process your video for viewing. There's nothing you can do about the processing, but if you want to get longer-form videos on the service you can try your luck at becoming a YouTube partner, which lifts the cap. -Josh Lowensohn