Back when it first launched, Instagram pegged IGTV as a new way to enjoy long-form videos in a vertical format. Users adopted to the format, but for content creators, it was just another pain in the neck to get their content on as many platforms as possible. YouTubers shoot video horizontally, so having to convert them to a vertical format can become time-consuming and not worth it in the end if their video doesn’t perform well.
Luckily, Instagram is changing that starting today. In a press release, the social network announced that it’s adding landscape video support to IGTV. This will allow users to upload videos shot horizontally right to IGTV without having to convert them to a vertical format first. There’s still a 10-minute limit, but at least you don’t have to produce an entirely different video if you want to cross-post to both YouTube and IGTV.
Instagram acknowledges this is a pretty huge departure from the original intentions of IGTV. To justify the change, the company compares it to when it began supporting rectangular images and video, not just squares.
We realize this is an evolution from where IGTV started – we believe it’s the right change for viewers and creators. In many ways, opening IGTV to more than just vertical videos is similar to when we opened Instagram to more than just square photos in 2015. It enabled creativity to flourish and engagement to rise – and we believe the same will happen again with IGTV.
The company says the new feature is rolling out starting today to both iOS and Android users.
