Windows 11 May Get Native Video Wallpapers Feature, A First Since Windows Vista

Those who touch up their desktops with a bit of flair will like this news – X/Twitter user ‘phantomofearth‘ has discovered a new feature in a Windows 11 dev build, where users can import a video file to be used as a desktop wallpaper. If fully launched, this will be the first time Microsoft introduces the video wallpaper feature since Windows Vista’s DreamScene.

Video Wallpaper Returns To Windows 11

The absence of DreamScene didn’t end up killing live wallpapers on Windows systems; third-party options like Steam’s popular Wallpaper Engine has emerged since then to replace the role of the old Windows feature. As a Wallpaper Engine user myself though, its interface can be intimidating for first-timers, and it’s also a paid software (although very cheap) – so having the native support from the OS developer themselves will be more convenient for users at large.

For Windows Insiders with Windows 11 26×20.6690 builds, they can enable the feature ID 57645315 and restart Windows Explorer (explorer.exe) to apply changes. Once down, head to Settings > Personalization > Background, select ‘Browse Photos’, and pick a video file to proceed. It supports most video formats, including MP4, M4V, MOV, WMV, AVI, MKV, and WebM. Of course, enabling video wallpapers mean higher power consumption, so laptop user who frequently unplugs should take extra care.

There is a limitation to this feature though: this only applies to desktop, not lock screens; as a matter of fact, no software that exists can customize lock screens, so you’re stuck with static images or the curated Windows Spotlight images at best. There’s also no guarantees on whether this feature will make it into public release, since this is still a dev build, though given the popularity of wallpaper customization, there’s very little reason for Microsoft to not implement it soon.

Pokdepinion: About time this feature returns.