Windows DreamScene - Animated Wallpaper for an Ultimate Extra

Totally cool desktop customization

Published on January 7, 2007 By Frogboy In CES 2007

As Microsoft just announced, one of the first Ultimate Extras (extra features users of Windows Vista Ultimate can download) is a new animated wallpaper feature called "Windows DreamScene".

Windows DreamScene at a glance:

A Windows Vista Ultimate Extra
Run High-Definition Video as a Wallppaer
Uses .MPEG/.WMV as content

So what exactly is Windows DreamScene? And what are the extensions and enhancements coming out for it?

Windows DreamScene is an animated wallpaper technology developed by Microsoft that plays high-definition video content as your wallpaper. The key ability of it is that it can do so without using significant amounts of CPU (basically the decoding of the video is the only real CPU use involved). The animation itself is run through the hardware accelerated DWM.

Software developer Stardock, makers of popular desktop enhancement utilities such as WindowBlinds, DesktopX, ObjectDock, etc. worked with Microsoft on the creation of content and has developed a number of tools to extend the feature set of Windows DreamScene.

On the content side, Stardock Design created a number of 3D animated content for Microsoft including the default animated Aurora. Microsoft is holding back on releasing all the content they have until Spring 2007. Stardock also added support for animated wallpapers on its popular WinCustomize.com community site at Dream.WinCustomize.com.

With regards to the additonal tools and enhancements Stardock has released two of them.

The first enhancement is a new program called DeskScapes. DeskScapes extends DreamScenes to support dynamic content (i.e. videos are pre-rendered). With dynamic content, you could have your wallpaper change based on weather, time of day, or news. Or you could just have some cool Direct3D "stuff" that runs (like one of those fish aquariums running as your wallpaper).

Stardock DeskScapes at a glance:

Extends Windows DreamScene to support Dynamic/Live content
Adds support for the .Dream format
Displays author info/URL in the desktop background dialog
Supports triggers (change videos based on time, weather, etc.)
Is only available for Windows Vista Ultimate Users
Is free

The other key feature of DeskScapes is that it introduces the .DREAM format. This allows artists to protect their artwork. The .DREAM format supports triggers (changing what is playing based on specific triggers) and it allows creators to insert their author info and a link to their website which we think is crucial to encourage artists to spend the time to create good animated wallpapers.

The other tool Stardock is working on is tentatively called Dream Maker. What it does is make it easy for authors to create .Dream files. Its goal will be to help make it as easy as possible to create your own animated wallpapers.

To learn more about Windows Vista Ultimate, go to www.windowsultimate.com. To download content to personalize your Windows Vista experience, visit www.wincustomize.com.

Get More Dreams (animated wallpapers): Dream.WinCustomize.Com

Screenshots:

(1) Dyanmic content uses virtually no CPU, it's all on the video card. (2) DreamScene in action. (3) .Dream Files support author info.

Comments (Page 3)

ZubaZ

on Jan 09, 2007

Agreed

p4blo

on Jan 09, 2007

Urgh here we go:

1) "(1) Dyanmic content uses virtually no CPU"

Granted the screenshot shows a lot of open programs, but to have both CPU cores jumping around like that, averaging at what, 20% gives me the impression it does use a lot of CPU.

2) I dont know how many people have tried dynamic content as a wallpaper, natural desktop to a small extent I suppose, or to a much larger extent using Winamps Milkdrop visulisation as a background, its about the most annoying thing I have even seen on a desktop.

3) If it is designed to be subtle etc, why does it need to play HD video, when surely a much simpler application could be used, I dont know how exactly, but playing HD video seems so over the top.

4) I want a high resolution background, of course HD video is that, but even my 6600GT isnt going to decode 1080 video on the fly smoothly, and what resolution do i run my desktop at? 1650x1080, so thats ruled out straight away. Again, granted, hardware will develop over the years to support this kind of thing, it just doesnt seem feasible at the moment.

Again I'm VERY skeptical about Stardock's claims towards their new applications, or involvement thereof.

Neil Banfield

on Jan 09, 2007

The cpu spikes in brads screenshot are because the animation brad was using was loading up very high resolution jpgs from disk every couple of seconds. In normal use you would not use it like that, it is just running like that for testing purposes. We have other dynamic content which basically uses no cpu at all.

Decoding HD video will indeed use a fair amount of cpu and you are free to use low res video if you wish. Dynamic non video content will use less cpu than video content.

I am curious as to what you mean by your final line. If you are doubting Stardocks involvement with DreamScene then I would refer you to http://www.istartedsomething.com/20070108/windows-dreamscene/

SuperRob

on Jan 09, 2007

Neil,

So here's the scenario I envision. You'd have a pre-rendered desktop video that could change depending on the time. Then, you could handle weather effects through 3D elements. Could you do something like that, or would it be easier to have a complex chain of videos and transition videos? Could you pre-buffer video for the transitions?

God ... so many questions ...

Ryan Vincent

on Jan 09, 2007

Will this be able to be ported to Windows XP?

Jafo

on Jan 09, 2007

I am curious as to what you mean by your final line.

Ditto.

There's only two reasons why Dreamscenes is being reported here so avidly.

1. it's something that has always been aspired-to/dreamed-of [low-impacted animated walls] and that simply couldn't happen till Vista's GUI came along, [hence the current timing], as Vista renders the GUI differently to all Windows vers before it.

and

2. Stardock's involvement with its creation makes it doubly topical for Wincustomize.com members [for the new to the site...Stardock owns Wincustomize.com], and as a Microsoft Partner Stardock has no reason to be liberal with the truth and/or reality of its position or 'claims' [your word]...

Lantec

on Jan 09, 2007

Will this be able to be ported to Windows XP?

I believe it's Vista ULTIMATE only. There have already been similar attempts for XP such as Drempels the Aqua Real Desktop, etc
However this looks much more wide open as far as possible content. While I'll have to forgo updating office computers, I will probably upgrade to Ultimate at home.

Jafo

on Jan 09, 2007

I will probably upgrade to Ultimate at home.

That's a definite for me....though at this stage it looks like I'll have to upgrade my DSL modem as well....

Frogboy

on Jan 09, 2007

Can't help but notice that "Blissful" is shown in the third shot, but as a sunrise or sunset. Is that going to be one of the dynamic DeskScapes? Because that would be HOT.

As I understand DeskScapes, basically all you're doing is using some sort of XML feed or service to determine when to swap out video. So if you do it based on time, perhaps you're reading the time in the system, but for the weather, maybe you're reading it from the weather gadget or something.

That said, how does DeskScape handle the switch? Is there a noticeable "pop" as the new video loads? How do you handle transitions from one video to the next? God, I have so many questions!

DeskScapes will support two types of extra content:

1) Triggered based video content. That is, where a given condition is met and a different video is displayed (you got the idea from the Blissful one).

2) Dynamic content. This is where it's 3D rendered on the fly. Ever see those fancy aquarium screen savers? That's dynamic content in action (i.e. not a video loop).

ZubaZ

on Jan 10, 2007

This is a project Stardock has been involved in for some time both in terms content and making tools and enhancements to it.

Out of curiosity, I know that "Team Stardock" made this happen but can you tell us who the prime players were that brought this to fruition?

And one other thing, can you please email my wife and tell her why I need Vista Ultimate now and why that means I'll need a new video card . . AND why that means I really should have a new mobo and CPU?

Shoot . . please just send me all of the above and save time and effort.

Note: I am aware that this product will use VPU, not CPU. But . . a new video card will need a mobo to support it . . and a new mobo will need a new cpu.

Neil Banfield

on Jan 10, 2007

Zubaz: While you are at it you might as well get one of those large widescreen TFTs to show off the desktop a bit.

ZubaZ

on Jan 10, 2007

Zubaz: While you are at it you might as well get one of those large widescreen TFTs to show off the desktop a bit.

Good idea. Please forward me the tracking number when shipped.

bistro

on Jan 10, 2007

Congrats to Stardock for the collabaration on DreamScenes. But you guys are really gonna have your hands full checking the content of the user-submitted DreamScene vids.....I do not envy you.
Oh puh-leeze...don't let people submit crapola like:

1."My 3-year-old kid dancing around our coffee table with chocolate smeared on her face and her full diaper spilling effluent on the floor...ain't she just the cutest thing!?"
2. "My 43rd Birthday Surprise Party....Here's our Grandpa Fred asleep in the easy chair, cake on his chin....Aunt Martha wearing her birthday hat on her nose....hahaha....etc. etc. etc."
3. Any version/variation of vid games, cute penguins dancing on ice, ripped-off scenes from any action movie, etc.
4. "My cute [insert pet here] playing with [insert pet toy or other object here]. (It's YOUR pet....not mine....why do I want to see YOUR pet on MY desktop over and over again??).
5. Anime scenes of Martian-Afro-Transformer-Samurai Squirrels slicing and dicing their way through a horde of Scarface-Cocaine Addicted Hoods who are in league with Wookies.
6. Hackneyed animations of Bill Gates getting a pie in the face, cutesy cartoon animations of anything to do with Bush and all other politicians, etc. (animated cartoons that are funny only once....but not over and over again on a desktop).
7. "My Family Vacation to an Idaho Potato farm".
8. Desktop animated marquee in neon letters that show you the latest weather report for places like ØutÞweÏsteinmaklsé, Greenland, or the current market prices for baked panda poo in Tibet.

ZubaZ

on Jan 10, 2007

I don't think 1-7 would ever be accepted by the moderators here. #8 . . . that I could see and support. I'd hope it was implemented via rss so it was configurable of course.

Excalpius

on Jan 11, 2007

p4blo,

There are billions of people and trillions of possible things to play on those screens.

For example, I work with four monitors at the same time. While I wouldn't run a "high impact" animation like a Milkdrop visualisation (and some are subtler than others) on my main desktop (I run it on monitor 4/cpu 2, the one with winamp, widgets, messenger, etc. on it, 1600x1200), I can definitely see running a more relaxed subtle animation or video on my main machine. A waterfall, a flowing river, grass blowing, the ocean surf on the beach where I used to live...sigh...that would be nice for a guy who works 20 hours a day on those four monitors.

And while I wouldn't go disco ball crazy on my main machine, some subtler animations like the aurora-like Vista window effects or some of the classier soft fractal pieces might be very nice.

And CPU issues are not going to be a big deal for anyone with 2/4/nigh infinite CPU cores this summer. Graphics card issues are a big one, or were two years ago, but on my Vista beta machine, I am very happy with the Aero performance, so I look forward to giving it a shot.

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