Windows DreamScene Content Pack: Vista Video Wallpapers and Today’s Alternatives

Windows DreamScene was one of the best perks of Windows Vista Ultimate: it played a video as your desktop background. In 2007 Microsoft released a DreamScene Content Pack with four new video backgrounds. This article covers what DreamScene was, what happened to it, and how to get animated wallpapers on Windows 11 today.

Quick answer: DreamScene was a Windows Ultimate Extra for Windows Vista Ultimate that let you use videos as desktop wallpaper. Windows 7 replaced it with a desktop slideshow, and it has not returned in later versions. To get live wallpapers on Windows 10 or 11 today, use an app such as the free Lively Wallpaper or the paid Wallpaper Engine.

What was Windows DreamScene?

Vista Ultimate users got extra downloads called Ultimate Extras through Windows Update, and DreamScene was the most enchanting of them. As I wrote in my first look at DreamScene video backgrounds, it placed a moving video on your desktop behind your icons. You could also use your own MPEG or WMV video files.

DreamScene started as a preview in early 2007, and the final version was released in September 2007.

The DreamScene Content Pack

Because DreamScene was so popular, Microsoft released a Content Pack of four video backgrounds through Windows Update, offered as an Ultimate Extra to users who had installed the DreamScene Preview. The four backgrounds were:

• A field of thistle, with a bee gathering pollen
• The rushing water of a forest stream
• A streetlamp reflected in a puddle, with softly falling rain
• Orange wisps flowing in a computer-generated scene

To get it, you clicked Check for updates in Windows Update. The preview was an unsupported release, but the Content Pack stayed available when the final version of DreamScene came out.

What happened to Windows DreamScene

DreamScene never left Vista Ultimate. Windows 7 replaced it with a desktop slideshow feature that changes still pictures but does not play video, and later versions of Windows have no built-in video wallpaper either. Vista itself reached end of support in 2017, so the Ultimate Extras are long gone.

How to get animated wallpapers on Windows 11

You can get the same effect with these apps:

• Lively Wallpaper: free and open source. It can use videos, GIFs and web pages as wallpaper, and is also available from the Microsoft Store.
• Wallpaper Engine: a one-time paid app sold on Steam, with a huge library of free wallpapers from the Steam Workshop.

Tips for using video wallpapers

• Animated wallpapers use some CPU, GPU and battery. Most apps can pause the wallpaper when a full-screen app or game is running, or when a laptop is on battery.
• Pick short, looping videos that match your screen resolution for the smoothest result.
• If you prefer still images, Windows can show a fresh daily picture. See how to download Bing wallpapers daily.

For more free tools for Windows, see our list of free Windows software alternatives.

FAQ

Does Windows 11 have DreamScene?

No. Windows 11 has no built-in video wallpaper feature. Use an app like Lively Wallpaper or Wallpaper Engine instead.

Which Windows versions had DreamScene?

Only Windows Vista Ultimate, where it was offered as an Ultimate Extra through Windows Update.

Can I use my own videos as wallpaper?

Yes. DreamScene accepted MPEG and WMV files, and today Lively Wallpaper and Wallpaper Engine both let you use your own videos.

Do live wallpapers slow down my PC?

They use some resources. On older PCs or laptops on battery, set the app to pause the wallpaper when you are using other programs.