YouTube is a great way to get a message out. It’s also a great way to make a name for yourself as a filmmaker. And soon, through a new deal YouTube is offering its partners, filmmakers will be allowed to publish long form videos through the site, up to two hours long each.
This is big news for the online video world. As YouTube branches out from its Web-based roots to devices like the iPhone or Apple TV, the idea of being able to watch a real film on demand is very obvious. While you likely won’t see the latest from Hollywood right away, you’d be able to discover new indie and low-budget productions you might have missed otherwise.
Right now uploads are limited to one gigabyte, which for a decently compressed Quicktime movie is more than enough allowance. We’d expect the next move to be an upgrade to HD, again for content partners only, but that, coupled with an Apple TV, could really put the devices into living rooms.