Have a video wallpaper for any version of Windows
Sure, you are not actually going to get Dreamscene for your PC but it doesn’t matter if you’re going to get the same effect right? This is exactly what VLC Player can do for you. You might or might not have heard of this program but it is a free video player that eliminates the need to download many different codecs as it already recognizes a large number of them. VLC has a built-in feature that allows you to play videos as your wallpaper.
Dreamscene is only available for Windows Vista Ultimate users, but with this method, it can be made available for anyone with a copy of Windows or MacOS X Tiger. If you have a Mac, scroll down to the bottom of the page. Before we begin, please note that VLC is still not fully compatible with Windows Vista. Although this tutorial has worked for the majority of users who have tried it, it may not work for you. But before giving up, I recommend you view the updates I have made at the bottom of the post regarding problems and some of the comments I have made. Hope you enjoy this tutorial.
1) Download the latest version of VLC Player here.
2) Open your video file, right click, and choose wallpaper. You can find some great videos to use here:
Winmatrix
SkyTimeLapse
Corbis Motion
Microsoft WMV HD
3) Next step
If you do not see the wallpaper option then proceed to:
Settings > Preferences > Video > Output Modules > Direct X.
Once you get here, check the Advanced Options box in the bottom right hand corner.
The advanced options will appear. Check Enable Wallpaper Mode. Now when you right click on your videos, you should be able to see a Wallpaper option.
If you want VideoLAN to behave like Dreamscene, you obviously do not want to see it in your taskbar since you will be running it for a long time. To get rid of its appearance in the taskbar:
4) Proceed to Settings > Preferences > Interface > Main Interfaces > wxWidgets
5) Then uncheck the box beside Taskbar
If you want to reach VLC, you can only get there by using Alt+Tab or Vista’s Flip3D. You can also choose to check the box beside systray so a VLC icon appears in your system tray.
6) Finally, you really wouldn’t want your background to disappear after a couple of seconds so we’d have to loop it. To do so, just click on Playlist in the navigation menu, and a list of settings will be provided. Thanks to Matt for reminding me that I have forgotten to include this.
VLC works on many other operating systems, so if you’ve tried this on another OS, please let me know if it worked, thanks.
The tutorial didn’t work for me!
Make sure you have the most updated version of everything: VLC, DirectX, and your Video Card Drivers. Most people can’t have the wallpaper displayed because of this.
I have a found a way to obtain the exact same feature on a version of MAC OS X Tiger. All you have to do is proceed to the following:
VLC > Preferences > Interface > Main Interface > Use as Desktop Background
Hope you guys enjoy this tutorial.
Known Issues:
There are a couple of known issues when trying to enable a video background with VLC. I have pasted here some of the comments I have made that answers most of the frequently asked questions regarding this tutorial.
Jay: After much research, it seems that VLC is still not fully-compatible with Windows Vista. Make sure you have the latest version of DirectX, VGA Card Driver, and VLC. After that, reset the Open GL, Direct 3D, and Overlay settings of your video card. If it still does not work, you either have to wait until the next release of VLC, or it just won’t work with your current video card because of the driver. The Vista wallpaper function does not work for me, but I have seen it in action on other PC.. I’ve repeated the steps in the tutorial and I’m pretty sure that I have not missed anything. Sorry this does not work for you.
Trevor: After using this for 15 minutes, at most, 14 MB of RAM was used. Although CPU usage does rise. I idle about 3-8 percent. With VLC, I would idle 5-14 percent. I wouldn’t say it’s too bad, but during gaming, it might not be a good idea to leave it on.
Marcus: Are you saying that it makes the video full screen, and when you move the window, it shows certain parts, but there’s absolutely nothing on your desktop? You can try repeating step 3, press Refresh List beside Name of Desired Display Device. Then open the drop down menu and select the appropriate device.
*This article may interest a few digg users.
Still need help? Check out our new forums where you can get an even faster and better response!
March 9th, 2007 at 12:56 am
ok I did every step but when I right click the file I don’t have the option to set it to a wallpaper, where can I choose to get VLC setup context menu integration? maybe is that
March 9th, 2007 at 1:18 am
You must open the video with VLC. Then read the part where it says, if you do not see wallpaper when you right click. Hope that helps
March 9th, 2007 at 11:39 am
So i did every step, and the background simply turns black. The wallpaper is checked so I know it is trying to load it as a wallpaper. Is my video card to OGL for this feature? When I close the VLC it turns back to my norm wallpaper (ESWC champions 2006 … me)
March 10th, 2007 at 2:00 pm
ok, heres a few things, mayb its only me but I MUST set the default video renderer as firectx or i get a blank screen (even in normal mode)… also the whole system changes to basic view and finally, the sidebar is not transparent over the video indicating that it does not use the technology that is included in vista.
March 11th, 2007 at 7:29 am
why can I not figure out how to get the videos to loop?
well this one needs some refinement, imo.
March 11th, 2007 at 8:54 am
Sorry matt. I’ve updated the guide with a step 6. Just click on playlists in the left navigation menu.
March 17th, 2007 at 8:10 am
Video Wallpapers for all Vista versions…
Vista Ultimate has a feature called Dreamscene that can be downloaded as a preview version including a Dreamscene content package which was released just a few days ago. Dreamscene makes it possible to use Videos as wallpapers in Windows Vista. The Dre…
March 26th, 2007 at 9:34 pm
Tenga un papel pintado video para cualquier versión de Windows…
¿Seguro, usted no va realmente a conseguir Dreamscene para su PC pero no importa si usted va a conseguir la misma derecha del efecto? Esto es exactamente lo que puede hacer el jugador de VLC para usted….
March 26th, 2007 at 10:42 pm
If we can find the wallpaper that’s used in the Beryl demonstration, with the blowing leaves, I’d be uber happy.
March 27th, 2007 at 2:35 pm
I think you meant to say windows OR Mac OSX, not windows AND Mac OSX…
March 27th, 2007 at 3:32 pm
what about us dedicated windows 3.11 users?
March 27th, 2007 at 3:57 pm
Or you could just use a HTML document with a video in as your background…
March 27th, 2007 at 4:02 pm
I think you get an animated 16 color gif for your windows 3.11 desktop. Enjoy!
March 27th, 2007 at 5:49 pm
How can I make this start up everytime I restart my computer without needing to do anything? How to make this automatic?
March 27th, 2007 at 6:09 pm
Well, whatever the problem was with my VLC install, it was rectified when I reset all my settings per the suggestion in a forum.
Just share’n tha wealth.
March 27th, 2007 at 6:09 pm
Using Windows Vista Business ed. after following your instructions exactly I am still unable to see the ‘Set As Wallpaper’ option when I right click a playing video. *grumbles* =(
March 27th, 2007 at 6:24 pm
[update] I did the exact same configuration on my Windows XP Home ed laptop. Worked perfectly.
March 27th, 2007 at 6:51 pm
Ok, so i did everything thing it said i went and enabled wallpaper mode but when i right click the playing video it still doesnt give me the wallpaper option? please help.
March 27th, 2007 at 7:08 pm
Robert: I am in the process of trying to figure that out
Jay: Are you using Windows Vista? If you are, is your video card capable of running Aero Glass, or is it running under a supported vista driver?
March 27th, 2007 at 7:20 pm
yea i am using Vista Premiem Home, and it runs aero glass fine. i really want this to work, thanks for helping
March 27th, 2007 at 7:56 pm
Jay: Sorry I did not ask the right question. Please make sure you have the most up to date video driver. You might also try setting the default renderer as directx, as Dipun had suggested
March 27th, 2007 at 9:51 pm
Why are all the external links framed via the proplox.com domain? It’s not needed for this to work and kills firefox, btw. I really don’t see teh need for it unless I missed some function it provides…….
March 27th, 2007 at 10:07 pm
Oh my goodness. It’s because I cannot access my site properly and must go through a proxy to do so. It must have added it in front of all the links. Oh dear. Thanks for the notice.
March 27th, 2007 at 11:56 pm
These things are pretty resource hungry though. There’s still issues with VLC and Vista sadly.
March 28th, 2007 at 12:10 am
im sorry but how do i check that?
March 28th, 2007 at 1:24 am
Open Start > type dxdiag in the search bar
Then click on the display tab, and on the right you can see the driver info. Check to see if the date is recent or if its the date of the most recent driver released.
March 28th, 2007 at 2:05 am
Whenever I select wallpaper it just makes the video full screen (but not the viewing window, I can move the window around and it shows me different parts of the video). Help please.
March 28th, 2007 at 2:58 am
12/08/06 all my drivers are good i believe
March 28th, 2007 at 8:31 am
Pon un video de fondo en tu escritorio de Windows o OS X…
Muchos saben que en Windows Vista es posible poner un video (en vez de una simple imagen) en el fondo de tu escritorio. Pues ahora salió una guÃa que te muestra paso a paso cómo hacer lo mismo tanto en Windows XP como en OS X, gracias al sorprendent…
March 28th, 2007 at 1:12 pm
I’m trying to get this to work with Windows XP Pro, did all the steps but I am not getting the “wallpaper” option when I click a video. Thanks in advance
March 28th, 2007 at 2:02 pm
Jay: After much research, it seems that VLC is still not fully-compatible with Vista. Make sure you have the latest version of DirectX, VGA Card Driver, and VLC. After that, reset the Open GL, Direct 3D, and Overlay settings of your video card. If it still does not work, you either have to wait until the next release of VLC, or it just won’t work with your current video card because of the driver. The Vista wallpaper function does not work for me, but I have seen it in action on other PC.. I’ve repeated the steps in the tutorial and I’m pretty sure that I have not missed anything. Sorry this does not work for you.
Trevor: After using this for 15 minutes, at most, 14 MB of RAM was used. Although CPU usage does rise. I idle about 3-8 percent. With VLC, I would idle 5-14 percent.I wouldn’t say it’s too bad, but during gaming, it might not be a good idea to leave it on.
Marcus: Are you saying that it makes the video full screen, and when you move the window, it shows parts, but there’s absolutely nothing on your desktop? You can try repeating step 3, press Refresh List beside Name of Desired Display Device. Then open the drop down menu and select the appropriate device.
Kahedros: Are your drivers, DirectX, and VLC up to date?
If you guys still have problem, take a look at Dave’s comment at #14
March 28th, 2007 at 4:43 pm
I figured it out.
You have to have your desktop icon showing.
If not, it doesn’t work.
Which is stinky.
March 28th, 2007 at 7:48 pm
How can we have 2 VLC media players open at the same time? What if i want the background, but also want to watch an episode of Lost?
March 29th, 2007 at 9:08 am
Have a video wallpaper for any version of Windows…
Sure, you are not actually going to get Dreamscene for your PC but it doesn’t matter if you’re going to get the same effect right? This is exactly what VLC Player can do for you. You might or might not have heard of this program but it is a free vi…
March 29th, 2007 at 8:10 pm
The link to step 3 is broken… what’s the direct link?
TIA
March 29th, 2007 at 8:19 pm
Thanks for notifying. I will fix it. It just takes the people who do see the wallpaper section to step 4
March 30th, 2007 at 4:22 am
This hack is older than Vista itself! I remember blogging about it a few months back…
April 1st, 2007 at 6:33 am
Thanks Marcus! Now is working for me! =D
April 1st, 2007 at 4:32 pm
I tried it in Vista Ultimate but a balck screen appears as Windows background while it works well in XP , any suggestions to what i can do .
April 3rd, 2007 at 4:26 pm
Is there a fix for the Windows Vista Business Ed.?
April 4th, 2007 at 6:21 pm
Find Hundreds of unique Broadcast quality 3D generated Video Backgrounds and Loops at http://www.gmanvideo.com
April 7th, 2007 at 11:19 pm
Hi,I’m from China.I translate your article on my blog.
http://sz-iris.blogspot.com/2007/04/windowsdreamscene.html
After publish this article,bay comment that Kmplayer also have this function and work better than VLC.
Kmplayer can play all file types!
It’s wonderful than VLC and also is free.
April 7th, 2007 at 11:22 pm
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å¦‚æžœä½ æœ‰ï¼Œä½ å¯ä¸å¯ä»¥é—®ä»–们看看http://vistarewired.com/2007/03/30/translators-wanted-for-vista-rewired/
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April 8th, 2007 at 4:36 am
i tried it but when i put it the video only appears where the icons are(the background of the desktop icons’ text has the video but the video doesn’t appear in the rest of the screen why????
April 8th, 2007 at 8:58 am
Try removing your desktop icons: Right click on desktop > view > show desktop icons
April 8th, 2007 at 1:47 pm
[...] Have a video wallpaper for any version of Windows [vistarewired.com] [...]
April 9th, 2007 at 4:01 pm
[...] 3) If you do not see the wallpaper option then proceed to: Settings > Preferences > Video > Output Modules > Direct X. Once you get here, check the Advanced Options box in the bottom right hand corner. The advanced options will appear. Check Enable Wallpaper Mode. Now when you right click on your videos, you should be able to see a Wallpaper option. [...]
April 9th, 2007 at 8:32 pm
haha nice job Albert… keep it going..
i can see your site is becoming popular now
April 9th, 2007 at 9:27 pm
Thanks f4ze. You’re from DP right?
April 10th, 2007 at 1:27 pm
albert , ä½ çš„ä¸æ–‡è¿˜ä¸é”™
April 11th, 2007 at 4:57 am
Umm, the window wont minimize to icon view. It just mini on the desktop for some reason. and how can this start when windows starts?
April 11th, 2007 at 5:55 am
hi, i write from italy,
I do it like u said but when click with right mouse click, there no apear nothing (it should apaer weelpaper option)
What should i do???
IHAVE VISTA HOME PREMIUM
April 12th, 2007 at 5:04 am
hi nice site.
April 12th, 2007 at 1:53 pm
Tried and works on XP. thanks
i have dreamscene on vista, so i’m not gonna bother trying this technique since it’s uncertain anyway..
cheers
April 13th, 2007 at 7:39 pm
[...] Have a video wallpaper for any version of Windows | Vista Rewired. This is completely useless, but it’s pretty stinking cool. [...]
April 17th, 2007 at 10:21 am
[...] a well-received feature by many, it didn’t bring anything revolutionary to the experience - video wallpapers has been available for quite some time (although DreamScene is technically superior quality-wise). But today, my hopes are [...]
April 18th, 2007 at 7:38 pm
Hii..i have problem…whenever i refresh my desktop the wallpaper goes off….and i get a black screen..
April 18th, 2007 at 8:56 pm
Rock: VLC is not fully compatible with Vista. Problems like this might occur
April 20th, 2007 at 8:56 am
To Loop the video(s), let VLC start-up on Boot & save some System resources. First, Create a playlist of the video(s) you want to use and save the playlist. Then, create a batch file like this:
Start C:\Progra~1\VideoLAN\VLC\vlc.exe “(the place where you saved the playlist)†–no-audio –one-instance -L
Save it as a batch file and place it in the “startup†folder in the start menu.
April 20th, 2007 at 8:59 am
Now everytime you Boot windows, you will see you videos as Desktop wallpaper. And on my PC, an MPEG-1 File playing back took like 2% of my CPU and 8 to 12 MB of RAM.
April 20th, 2007 at 12:59 pm
also works in vista but takes a little stuffing around (No Aero or Sidebar) use directx as renderer and you may need to close and restart app for settings to take affect and remember dont use these “( when you make the batch file and if you want sound leave the -no-audio part out.
As for setting aspect ratio for those with 16:9 screens yet to figure that out.
April 20th, 2007 at 1:07 pm
Figured it out goto preferences/video scroll down to source aspect ratio and type 16:9, save and restart app.
Only for those with wide screen monitor
April 20th, 2007 at 9:10 pm
Awesome tip Paul, thanks =)
April 22nd, 2007 at 10:05 am
So the only video I can imagine most people playing is porn 24/7 and that’d be kind of tacky. I really can’t think of a video I’d like to have beneath my desktop, especially considering that I never see my desktop anyway.
April 23rd, 2007 at 5:08 am
I can get to the step of engaging the checkmark besides the running video. Yet it seems that the computer/operating system does not realize the video should be ‘wallpaper. This is not the same as say going to Display-Properties,and choosing a WallPaper. The computer seems ‘unaware of the control. With no effect at all taking place.
Note I have checked to ’show icons. I see a video running behind them,but I do not see it as the background for the desktop.
Usually (and this would be a nice addition) you would select a background wallpaper,within the Display on XP. I could for example create a Web Page,and along with its video have it run with an Active Desktop. Any other way,I can only choose .jps,.pngs,etc from the Display Interface.
The computers video(Display Interface) seems unaware of the settings shown here.For making the video a Wallpaper with VLC.
April 27th, 2007 at 4:21 pm
[...] You can find some great videos to use here: Winmatrix SkyTimeLapse Corbis Motion Microsoft WMV HD 3) Next step If you do not see the wallpaper option then proceed to: Settings > Preferences > Video > [...]
April 29th, 2007 at 6:35 pm
any one have vista home priemum and this vlc worked?
April 30th, 2007 at 9:09 pm
any one have vista home priemum and this vlc video wallpaper worked?
May 7th, 2007 at 11:15 am
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May 11th, 2007 at 2:19 am
http://depositfiles.com/files/846266
Hack to install Windows DreamScene in non-Ultimate Vista
1. Download the patched DreamScene dll files package NonUltimateDreamScene.zip
2. Unpack the archive content to a folder.
3. Right click on InstallDreamScene.bat and select “Run as Administrator†to install Windows DreamScene on your non-Ultimate version of Vista. Answer “Y†to continue. You can also open elevated command prompt with administrator rights and type InstallDreamScene.bat to execute the batch script.
4. Restart your computer.
May 11th, 2007 at 2:21 am
If you prefer to manually to install the patched DreamScene DLL files, here’s the step-by-step guide:
1. Download the patched DreamScene files as above and unpack to a folder.
2. Copy DreamScene.dll to %WinDir%\System32\ folder.
3. Copy DreamScene.dll.mui to %WinDir%\System32\en-US\ folder.
4. In Windows Explorer, navigate to %WinDir%\System32\ folder.
5. Right click on themecpl.dll file, and click on Properties on right click menu.
6. Select the Security tab, then click Advanced.
7. Subsequenly select the Owner tab, click Edit button. Press Continue (or log in if you’re not Administrator) on any User Access Control prompt.
8. Select your Vista logon user name, then click OK button. Then click OK in any dialog window that pops up, and press OK again at Advanced Security Settings window.
9. On Security tab, click the Edit button. Press Continue (or log in if you’re not already an Administrator) on User Access Control prompt.
10. Click Add button, and click on Advanced button. Next press Find Now button, and then select your logged on user name. Press OK when done.
11. Click OK again on Select Users or Groups dialog.
12. On Permissions for themecpl.dll window, highlight your user name, and check the box next to “Full Control†under “Allow†column. Hit OK when done, and confirm any message. Click OK twice to exit from ownership taking process.
13. Rename the file themecpl.dll in %WinDir%\System32 to themecpl.dll.original.
14. Copy the patched version of themecpl.dll to %WinDir%\System32\ folder.
15. Repeat step 4 - 12 on themecpl.dll.mui file located in %WinDir%\System32\en-US\ folder.
16. After taking ownership, rename the file %WinDir%\System32\en-US\themecpl.dll.mui to themecpl.dll.mui.original.
17. Copy the patched version of themecpl.dll.mui to %WinDir%\System32\en-US\ folder.
18. Create a new folder in %windir%\Web named “Windows DreamScene†(without quotes). This is the location to place all your videos want to set as DreamScene wallpaper, and can be easily configured via Control Panel Personalization applet.
19. Lastly, import and merge DreamScene.reg to registry.
20. Reboot computer.
Using DreamScene
After patching, right click on any blank space on Desktop, select “Personalizeâ€, then click on “Desktop Backgroundâ€. Under location, select “Windows DreamScene Contentâ€, and then select a animated video you want.
May 11th, 2007 at 4:55 pm
[...] 1) Download the latest version of VLC Player here. 2) Open your video file, right click, and choose wallpaper. You can find some great videos to use here: Winmatrix SkyTimeLapse Corbis Motion Microsoft WMV HD 3) Next step [...]
May 16th, 2007 at 5:42 pm
I have two monitors and I always have problems getting the video to show on both with ANY media player. Sometimes it does, but most of the time I have to enable the nVidia Keystone software on the PC, THEN start the video software, then disable the keystone and it will show on both. Unfortunately with VLC and the Wallpaper mode, if I try that trick, rather than showing on both screens, BOTH go black. If I just run it normally, it only shows the video on one screen and the other stays black. Any suggestions?
June 25th, 2007 at 7:58 pm
Hi every body, i m using XP and VLC works as well on it. I was looking (googling ^_^) for some free-to-download video wallpapers… i would find something cool, and not an ugly homemade video. Could you add some links where we can find them?
Are Vista’s video wallpapers mpeg/wmv? Can i use them with VLC? Where can i download them?
Thx in adv…
July 26th, 2007 at 2:09 pm
some really nice animated ones here:
http://mpan3.homeip.net/page?dreamscene
July 27th, 2007 at 4:55 pm
This is new to me. Is very exciting to my eyes, but nice to see video wallpaper like that.
This can be done with all Windows Yes?
Have you wrote more about this? More articles or is this at?
If so please follow up with URL.
Thank You Regardless
-Biran Nailee
July 27th, 2007 at 6:06 pm
hinayeficn…
nice post…
July 27th, 2007 at 9:01 pm
Hey im a Mac guy.. currently at work on this crapy pc… lol joking.
Im going to try this when i get home.
July 31st, 2007 at 8:21 pm
comarifacn…
nice post…
August 15th, 2007 at 4:09 am
Hi,
I’ve just joined vistarewired.com.
I don’t normally get into the whole forum, blog thingy but this website looks good to join. So I thought ‘Why not?’
So hi everybody!
September 7th, 2007 at 7:57 pm
On my computer, all i needed to do was enable the directX wallpaper setting, then go into the desktop preferences (Right click desktop or Run desk.cpl) and select none for wallpaper. VLC then plays any video as a wallpaper, no need to right click it. Hope this helps (XP Home, 512 Mb Ram, P4 2.5 gigahertz)
September 17th, 2007 at 3:26 pm
I have visited your site 052-times
September 21st, 2007 at 12:24 am
I got this all set up and it’s working pretty well, except when I use VLC there’s a little pause at the end of the video…so before the video loops back on itself, the video pauses for a second. It’s not very noticeable with long videos because it doesn’t happen very often, but for short videos like Bliss it’s really annoying, as it looks like it skips every 5 seconds or so.
Any ideas?
October 20th, 2007 at 6:11 pm
Thanks for the guide. Just what I was looking for.
October 23rd, 2007 at 10:18 am
Yo the SandLord you said
On my computer, all i needed to do was enable the directX wallpaper setting,
Isnt that dangerous?
November 12th, 2007 at 1:00 pm
I have a dual monitor setup and the video only plays on my main monitor in place of the wallpaper. I would prefer it to play as my 2nd monitor wallpaper. Is there a way to make that work?
December 3rd, 2007 at 3:12 pm
help!!! can somebody tell me how to do step 3!!!it says output and preferences and settng but where can i find setting and stuff!!!do i go to start and then run???help!!!
December 7th, 2007 at 7:24 am
Thanks a lot, I have been looking for such a guide for some time now. This saves a lot of head scratching.
January 28th, 2008 at 11:02 am
I was having issues, but i had either no directx or it was disabled.
January 31st, 2008 at 8:43 am
You can actually get Dreamscene in Vista Home Premium and Business just go to http://www.winmatrix.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=13105 and download the patch and voila Dreamscene on a non Ultimate OS. queue thanks
February 8th, 2008 at 3:55 pm
for Windows XP the freeware XPScene works fine for me. There is a nice tutorial on youtube how to use the tool: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7w3JapEYKj8
so i can use vlc to watch my videos at the same time
March 12th, 2008 at 3:01 pm
[...] 3) If you do not see the wallpaper option then proceed to: Settings > Preferences > Video > Output Modules > Direct X. Once you get here, check the Advanced Options box in the bottom right hand corner. The advanced options will appear. Check Enable Wallpaper Mode. Now when you right click on your videos, you should be able to see a Wallpaper option. [...]
March 21st, 2008 at 11:38 am
[...] Use the VLC player: VLC has a built-in feature that allows you to play videos as your wallpaper. Watch few examples of HD video you can use for your wallpapers! Read the full tutorial HERE! [...]
April 15th, 2008 at 12:44 pm
it works fine , but only till the player is minimized on the desktop. am using Windows XP.
Can you tell me how to get rid of that minimized player, leaving only the Wallpaper
Thanks anyways for the wonderful Sharing of the idea.
May 8th, 2008 at 5:51 am
same prob here like savio..working fine jaz that there’s minimized player..how to get rid of that?
oh ya,i’m using XP. so those who have directX, please change the Output modules in the preferences to DirectX…previously i can’t have mine run coz it was set to OpenGL.
n, the bad thing is..the desktop can’t be refresh. if u do, the wallpaper will gone.
thanks for the great tips anyway!
May 15th, 2008 at 10:25 am
I’m running Windows Vista Premium. I had tried everything listed but it wasn’t working.
I did this:
settings->preferences->Video->Output modules
clicked the advanced options tab and under video output module select ‘DirectX video output’
Wallpaper option showed up and working perfect
June 10th, 2008 at 10:40 am
does not work for me (vista home basic).VLC could not even play a HD video file properly.
June 10th, 2008 at 2:04 pm
I did everything as instructed and have the video running, but when i close the program it stops playing and dissapears!!…, how can I let it run as a permanent wallpaper with no other program running???…,
Please let me know if there is way to keep it that way…
June 20th, 2008 at 11:11 am
this really works, 100% successful.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tU-ew-hNf9Y&feature=related
Plus extra things i had to do were to search for the file nonultimatedreamscene.zip (since the link was dead); and deleted the file in /system32. The thing is vista does not allow you to modify system file even if you have full control as an administrator; so I had to boot up in Ubuntu linux(i use dual boot already) and delete the files. Enjoy.
June 23rd, 2008 at 2:44 pm
I use my own background loop creation software to make loops and motion backgrounds for dvd menus and website headers as well as creating loops to sell on stock video sites. It can also be used to make video wallpaper It’s very easy to use. Check it out at http://www.jellypie.co.uk
July 4th, 2008 at 12:56 am
Vista Ultimate running VLC 0.8.6 on an ATI X1550 - 256MB and the latest driver’s, absolutly no problem with this tutorial, it work great and play’s back all the electric sheep flocks that I have saved.
Most wonderfull part about this is that the electric sheep project allows for the most beautiful animated fractals, which are savedc as “flocks” in C:\Windows\SysWOW64\ElectricSheep\mpeg and still in the “jpeg” folder.
The mpeg files are literalloy compressed “.mpg” file’s, which VLC certainly does support and even though Vista Ultimate x64 does support DreamScene’s - I was never able to use any of them, just received scrambled blocks of encoding gibberish. Stardock have something which I installed which then overcame this minor limitation.
The one problem I am still experiencing is “looping playback” as I am having to add all the .mpg “flocks” to VLC as a playlist, which appears to keep loosing the location - as it is stated however VLC does have issues with Vista due to the SandBox security model.
Great Article Thanks!
July 8th, 2008 at 2:59 am
Hey, I figured out how to get the “lost” wallpaper context menu item! Ok, make sure you have (obviously) the wallpaper checkbox checked under Settings. Go back to the settings dialog. Click Videos, just click Output modules, don’t double click, then click Advanced Options at the bottom of the dialog, then under Video Output module select DirectX Video Output, NOT DirectX 3D Video Output. Then press save, if you have Windows Aero turned on, it should revert it to Vista Aero Basic or something, then the Wallpaper option is there!
July 14th, 2008 at 2:09 am
Fred Gennille Says:
“settings->preferences->Video->Output modules
clicked the advanced options tab and under video output module select ‘DirectX video output’
Wallpaper option showed up and working perfect”
FRED YOU ARE KING! THANK YOU
July 17th, 2008 at 1:51 am
JUSTIN I LOVE YOU! Finally it work! U ARE SIMPLY GREAT!
September 2nd, 2008 at 1:52 pm
dreamscene hack for non vista ultimate!
just install and restart pc
http://www.winmatrix.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=13105
only allows mpeg and wmv to be used as background but does not hog processor OR exit when minimized, forget VLC this is the REAL DEAL, enjoy
September 12th, 2008 at 5:29 pm
I just discovered something. I tried everything above but VLC still would not show the wallpaper option. What I did after that was download the ‘dreamrender’ software from http://www.dreamrender.com and installed it. The movie wallpaper played but with a horrible resolution. Well after that I played my VLC player and then it showed the wallpaper option!!
So if nothin is working for you i suggest try this. Download the latest VLC version. After that install dreamrender, AND THEN play VLC with the method mentioned in this thread. It just might work. It did for me. VLC play animated wallpaper better in fact!
September 25th, 2008 at 8:07 pm
Well, I’m having some problems. Whenever I go to the interface section or whatever it is, I can’t find the widget section. Help would be appreciated, thanks in advance.
October 2nd, 2008 at 2:50 pm
How can you keep the same video playing constantly?
October 12th, 2008 at 3:51 am
[...] Next step [...]
November 18th, 2008 at 12:35 am
Ok I did this…: Tools, preferences, video, then i checked the box that said “enable wallpaper mode” and clicked save, and it still isnt showing up. I couldent find the ‘Settings’ tab and i didnt see an ‘advanced options’ button on the bottom right hand corner. can i get some help here?
November 18th, 2008 at 8:39 pm
ok nevermind about my last question! sorry being a little stupid there lol ok i put the enable wallpaper/background thing on, but the option wont work! its not in the bold characters still and it wont let me click on it, it said something about being on overlay mode… not sure what that is, someone help?
November 18th, 2008 at 9:05 pm
yay more comments.. -.-; sorry just now i got it as my background, just when i close the program it disseappears :/