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 4)

Excalpius

on Jan 11, 2007

bistro,

If you don't want to play something, don't download it.

I would love, for example, to be able to tie my MSN Messenger to DreamScene so that a video of my choosing plays in the background when I'm chatting with someone in Florida, or Australia, or Italy. Or have their webcam playing in the background instead of some tiny window.

I'd love to have youtube videos auto fullscreen to the desktop background on a secondary monitor, etc.

Jafo

on Jan 11, 2007

or the current market prices for baked panda poo in Tibet.

To wheelers and dealers in panda poo this could be a Godsend.....and I'm sure Tibetan market prices would be representational, world-wide, so the relevance would not be all that parochial...

bistro

on Jan 23, 2007

OK, OK....You guys know what I mean

I could go for some relaxing pastoral scenes (waterfalls, etc.), well-rendered aquarium fish and/or underwater scenes, a slow journey around the solar system (stopping by each planet for a couple of orbits maybe), slow-motion pastel color changes/ripples, etc. Anything faster would drive me nuts. I'm looking forward to well done submissions like those.

xgman

on Jan 31, 2007

uhh . . they left it out of the ultimate updates list at windows update.

markdall

on Jan 31, 2007

Has anybody been able to actually download this? I've had Windows Vista Ultimate for a while now, and I don't see this Ultimate Extra anywhere.

Sosiosh

on Feb 02, 2007

Interesing, I used Dream Renderer back in the day... it gets old, too

New caption: "Microsoft, still way behind but making last, look good!

misterME

on Feb 02, 2007

Has anybody been able to actually download this? I've had Windows Vista Ultimate for a while now, and I don't see this Ultimate Extra anywhere.

I've seen several references to it being available "at a later date", both at Microsoft and in some of the articles Brad has written. Your guess is as good as mine as to what "at a later date" actually means.

Both Brad and MS have mentioned that the Ultimate Extra itself will be available as a "technology preview" shortly after launch, with the final product being available later (I'm thinking June, though I don't remember why). Honestly, I don't know if that "technology preview" is something that is downloadable and usable, or if they just mean that they'll give us preview screens and video of what it will look like when it finally comes out.

Frankly, I'm a little miffed at laying down the extra cash for Ultimate, since this was the main reason I bought it (Texas Hold'em isn't worth the extra $100). I could have saved myself the dough and gotten the Home Premium version and done the Anytime Upgrade once this feature had been released.

Funny how there are a lot of references now to it being available "later", but I don't remember anything about a lag time between Vista launch and DreamScene availability ever being mentioned prior to the release of Vista. Seems like MS wanted DreamScene to be one of the things to put people over the hump on buying Ultimate, and figured that may not work unless no one knew that that feature wouldn't be available at launch. Certainly worked on me...

Yarlen

on Feb 02, 2007

"Technology preview" is basically Microsoft's fancy way of calling it a "beta."

max9

on Feb 10, 2007

thaaaaaaaaaaaaaaanks 4 u

dcyphure

on Feb 10, 2007

THEY STOLE THIS FROM DREAMRENDER!!

seriously, dreamrender was created earlier in xp's life, not only did it play movies as desktop background it also could add 3d stuff to wallpaper or add liquid motion to it, also could use webcam stuff as a desktop or weather radars even, add .3ds models..etc, near limitless unlike what these thieves have done.

users could upload the .dream files to share, dreamrender was once abandoned because the 2 creators split and was then handed over to the d.r. community where its now offered freely if you donate to the cause, however its site is sometimes down and i dunno if its out completely or not...however its a good program and works in vista if you can find it.

i'm not knocking dreamscenes and its deskcape additions, its nice to finally see another product thats so much like dreamrender even though its been 5 years but they seriously stole everything, not source code per say but the whole .dream file thing and everything else about it is an obvious knock off

Infinite SD

on Feb 13, 2007

Unfortunately, they'll need Windows Ultimate presently.

Incidentally, DeskScapes will be part of Object Desktop.

If its part of OD how can it be free?

Morpheous416

on Feb 13, 2007

Some of OD's packages are free...

I tried this, not bad....but it will not uninstall. Say's "Cannot read Install.log" and it's readable with notepad!!

Frogboy

on Feb 21, 2007

If its part of OD how can it be free?

The Object Desktop version comes with additional content.

Frogboy

on Feb 21, 2007

OS/2 had animated wallpaper back in 1992.

Animated wallpaper as a concept is nothing new. Being able to do it without bringing your system to a crawl or interfering with how you work is.

Bichur

on Feb 21, 2007

Has anybody been able to actually download this? I've had Windows Vista Ultimate for a while now, and I don't see this Ultimate Extra anywhere.

If you're referring to Dream Scapes and Dream Maker go to dream.wincustomize.com and click the 'more details'

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