Most Windows users aren’t familiar with the name DreamScene, but if you have used Vista Ultimate edition for any significant amount of time, chances are pretty good that you’re aware of what DreamScene is.
For those who never tried Vista Ultimate edition or those who haven’t heard the DreamScene word before, it’s an awesome feature available as one of the extras for the Ultimate edition of Vista to easily set a video file as your desktop background.
Microsoft dropped the feature from Windows 7 but there have been plenty of tools to enable DreamScene in Windows 7. Users who have upgraded to Windows 8 might already have discovered that none of the third-party tools designed to enable DreamScene in Windows 7 work with Windows 8.
Thankfully StarDock Corporation, the company that develops high-quality Windows customizations tools, a couple of months ago updated its DeskScapes program to add support for Windows 8. DeskScapes helps you enhance the look of desktop by adding special effects and setting animated picture or video file as your desktop background.
Ability to set a video file as your desktop background is the core feature of this program. Besides, it lets you add over 40 special effects to any desktop background and video background. Black and white, mirror, paper texture, sepia, rainbow, night vision, tile animated snow, and canvas texture are some of the cool special effects available in this version of DeskScapes.
By default, it comes with only one DreamScene video file and a couple dynamic and hybrid dreams. However, you can download more desktop backgrounds from WinCustomize website (click the circle icon located at the upper left to see an option to download new dreams). After downloading and extracting new backgrounds from WinCustomize website, simply double-click on .dream file to install it and add to DeskScapes program.
Another key feature of the software is that it ships a tool named DreamMaker to design your own creations. You can create your own dreams (DreamScene files) by including your video file and share with others.
Using this program is relativity easy. However, you can’t simply right-click on a supported video file and set it as your desktop background. To set a video file as your desktop background, you need to first add the folder containing your video file to DeskScapes program. To do that, run DeskScapes, click the gear icon located upper right corner of the window to open Settings dialog, switch to Folder tab, click Add button, browse to the folder containing your video file, and then click Ok button. You video file should now appear under added video files in DeskScapes.
The best thing about this program is that you can control the performance of DeskScapes on your machine, very useful if you’re running Windows on a low-end machine and don’t want to compromise on overall system performance. There is even an option to automatically detect the best setting for your computer. For users who like to enjoy the beauty of live wallpapers and videos without hiding icons on the desktop, there is an option to change the icon transparency as well.
Please note that DeskScapes is a paid software (available for $9.99). However, you can download the trial copy from the download link and try out the fully functional software free for 30-days. Note that you’ll be asked to provide your email address to receive the download link in your inbox.
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