I had some of the Microsoft Vista Dream Scenes that I wanted to convert to screen savers but I couldn’t figure out a good way to do this in Windows Vista without installing a third party application. I went through a lot of shareware applications that were trying to suck me in to spend money and finally found Video2ScreenSaver which was completely free and works perfect. Below I describe where to download Video2ScreenSaver and how to use it.

First off I was able to get videos working in Windows Vista Ultimate by creating a folder, adding the video I wanted to show as a screen saver, and then pointing the Photos screen saver to that folder. If you decide to do this then make sure to select “Pan and Zoom” under “Use this Theme”. The issue with doing this though is the transition to restart the movie. It fades out for a second and then back to the start of the movie. I wanted a way for the video to loop without knowing it was repeating and that is what I accomplished using the method below.

Works with all video files extensions: MOV, AVI, WMV, MP4, etc.

To create a screensaver out of a .wmv, .avi, .mov, etc. file follow the steps below.

1. Download and Install Video2ScreenSaver: This application is 100% free and can be downloaded here. Once downloaded double click on the .exe file to run the installer. Follow the on screen instructions which are short and to the point.
2. Launch Video2ScreenSaver: Now launch the application by locating it in All Programs from the start menu, clicking on the Video 2 Screensaver Convertor folder, and clicking on the ”Video 2 Screensaver Converter” application.
3. Convert Video File: Now click the “Open Video” button, browse to the video file on your hard drive, click on the video, and then click the Convert button. Your video file is now converted to a screen saver for Windows Vista.
4. Configure Screen Saver: Right click on the Vista desktop and select Personalize from the pop up configuration window. This will open the Personalization configuration window where you will click on the Screen Saver link. Select the newly converted video from the drop down menu and click the Preview button to test it out. If the video has sound you can turn the sound up or down by clicking the Settings button once the video has been selected. Please note that the Screen Saver will be named whatever the video was named minus the ending such as .avi or .wmv. So if you converted sreensaver.wmv the new Screen Saver will be called screen saver.

In Windows Vista you can really have some cool Screen Savers now by using the Dream Scenes from Wincustomize.

Apple iPod touch 16 GB (2nd Generation) OLD MODEL

Apple Computer, Electronics, $232.01

Windows Vista Annoyances

David A. Karp. O’Reilly Media 2008, Paperback, 641 pages, $21.28

This entry was posted on Monday, June 29th, 2009 at 11:55 PM and is filed under Insights. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.