No DreamScene in Windows 7?

Sean Higgins | Aug 03, 2009 | Comments

Tip: Click here to run a free scan for common PC errors

I have been running a copy of Windows 7 RTM 7600.16385 x64 for little over a week now. It has been a good experience to get a look at the final version of Windows 7, which by the way is really good. But there is one slight problem: Windows 7 Ultimate does not ship with the Dreamscene feature.

DreamScene allows you to play videos as desktop wallpapers. The feature supports either wmv or mpeg file formats and even avi if the file format is modified before. Users get a moving wallpaper instead of a static wallpaper with Dreamscene which was probably the most popular Windows Vista Ultimate extra.

Dreamscene Desktop

Here is my desktop as I write this article. That is 720p Planet Earth “Shallow Seas” as the desktop background.

It was one of the best features in Windows Vista in my opinion. It was different and not many people had seen videos as their desktop backgrounds before. Well now I can’t live without it. I had to use a hack to make it work in Windows 7. Thanks Microsoft.

So I decided to do a little research as to why Microsoft left out this great feature. The only thing I found was this: “In Windows 7, Vista’s successor, DreamScene has been replaced by a “Desktop Slideshow” feature which produces slideshow background wallpapers, but does not support videos unless modified.”

I searched high and low for the reason DreamScene was left out of Windows 7. I even contacted Microsoft about it. I am waiting on a reply from them as you read this. But I could not find a good reason why the feature was left out completely. Other than to showcase the new Desktop Slideshow feature; which is not really all that cool. At the very least Microsoft could have included the option to turn DreamScene on.

Bottom line. At least you can make Dreamscene work in Windows 7. I would be one unhappy camper if there was not a hack available. That is more than enough of me ranting about Microsoft. As always, comments welcome!

Subscribe To RSS Feed Updates

('DiggThis’)

Leave A Comment: Comments

Filed Under: Misc • windows 7 themes

Tags: • • • • •

Need Windows 7 Help? Click Here
Next Post: »»
Prev Post: »»

About the Author: I love Windows 7. Building computers, and anything tech related. I live and work in Bowling Green, Kentucky. I am currently enrolled in the Computer Information Technology program at Western Kentucky University. I have two great kids and a wonderful wife. Also I can't wait for Windows 8! Computer Specs : 2.2 GHZ AMD Phenom, 8 GB Kingston Hyper X DDR2, XFX Nvidia Geforce GTX 285 Black Edition, 2 360 GB Seagate 7200, 1 1TB Seagate 7200, 950 watt power supply.

  • No DreamScene in Windows 7? http://is.gd/20S8E


    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

  • Brian
    I loved it too! Microsoft has this way of leaving out everybody's favorite thing.

    Bummer.
  • Lightwood
    Microsoft wanted to make Windows 7 as fast as possible, light on resources. Playing video in the background all the time would decrease performance and drain battery life on notebooks. That's just my thinking.
  • Yes i agree, but it would have at least been a choice if they had included it. instead of leaving it out all together.... : (
  • Moe
    well they could ahve atleast left the option there to use or not, not everyones pc is a shitter..

  • No DreamScene in Windows 7?: I have been running a copy of Windows 7 RTM 7600.16385 x64 for little over a week n.. http://bit.ly/6zLvX


    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

  • http://www.stardock.com/products/deskscapes/ hopefully they will make it work with windows 7 like they did with vista ? Currently working for xp & vista only. Btw look this : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQ3-3o4nDY0 nice desktop ^^


    This comment was originally posted on FriendFeed

  • http://www.stardock.com/products/deskscapes/ hopefully they will make it work with windows 7 like they did with vista ? Currently working for xp & vista only.


    This comment was originally posted on FriendFeed

  • rush2112
    it is really easy to get dreamscene. u can just easly download a dreamscene activator. they are usually .bat files and they work
  • 911
    Just to point out that Vista was never shipped with Dreamscene, it was only after a few months that it was available as an optional download. this may be what will happen with windows 7 ultimate, if not then Micro$oft has made a critical error.
blog comments powered by Disqus