Windows Vista Ultimate users have Dreamscene which brings video screensavers to their operating systems. Several hacked versions of Dreamscene have been published that can be installed on other Vista editions as well but not on Windows XP. Microsoft however released a video screensaver for XP in 2005 which makes me wonder why they limited Dreamscene to Vista Ultimate only.
The Microsoft Video Screensaver should work on all versions of Windows XP and includes one video from Microsoft. You can choose to use one or more of the videos located on your computer instead. You do this by pointing to a folder that contains at least one video.
The video screensaver seems to support more than just wmv files. I was able to successfully load avi videos for instance.
If more than one video is found they will be played in sequential order with the option to randomize playback order if you like. It takes a few seconds to load larger video files but small ones play instantly. Microsoft Video Screensaver offers two more options. One is to play the video in full screen mode and the other is to mute the sound.
The download requires a check if the operating system is a genuine one. An alternate download location would be from Softpedia. This one seems to ship without the default video from Microsoft and does not check the validation during download. I’m not sure if checks are made during installation as well.
Related posts:
- Video Wallpapers for all Vista versions
- Video Wallpapers for all Vista Editions
- DreamRender is an alternative to DreamScene
- Run Screensaver As Desktop Background
- Create a Multimedia XP Screensaver
- Run Dreamscene in any version of Windows Vista
- Microsoft Live Video Search
- Use Dreamscene On Windows XP