On Windows, setting a custom wallpaper or wallpaper slideshow is nothing hard. It just takes a couple of clicks. However, if you are into customization and personalization of your PC, having static wallpapers can be boring. In that case, you can apply a video wallpaper on your desktop. A video wallpaper will be dynamic and bring in the much-needed flare to your desktop.
While Windows does not natively support video wallpapers (live wallpapers), we can get this effect using free and open-source software like Lively Wallpaper. The entire process is pretty simple and straightforward. Let us show you how to set up a video wallpaper on your Windows PC.
Before You Begin
To apply a video as wallpaper, you need the following:
- You need administrative rights to install the software.
- Have the video that you want to set as wallpaper ready.
Popular sources for video wallpapers: PixaBay, Pexels, Freepik.
Steps to Set Video Wallpaper on Windows
1. First, open the Lively Wallpaper’s page in the Microsoft Store. Click the Download button.
2. The above action will open the Store page on your PC. Click the Get button to install Lively Wallpaper.
3. Once it is installed, open the Start menu, search for Lively Wallpaper, and click on the top result to open the application.
4. In the program window, click the Add Wallpaper button on the top bar.
5. Now, drag and drop the video file into the Drag & Drop field and click OK.
(Optional) You can also set a YouTube video as wallpaper by pasting the video URL in the Enter URL field.
6. Fill in the Title, Description, Author, and Website fields, and click OK.
7. The above action will instantly set the selected video as your desktop wallpaper and add it to the Library.
Additional Features, Tips, & Customizations
After setting the wallpaper, there are a few settings you should enable or disable according to your preferences.
Multi-monitor Settings
If you have a multi-monitor setup, you can configure how the wallpaper appears across the monitors. Here’s how.
In the Lively Wallpaper window, click on the Active Wallpapers button.
Under the Placement Method section, choose the Select screen only, Span across screens, or Duplicate same wallpaper option.
For example, if you want to see the same wallpaper across all your screens, select the ‘Duplicate same wallpaper’ option.
Disable Video Wallpaper Sound
If your video has sound, Lively Wallpaper automatically plays the sound. If you don’t want that, follow the below steps to disable it.
Open Lively Wallpaper and click on the Settings icon in the top bar.
Go to the General tab, scroll down to the Audio section, and move the volume slider all the way to the left. This mutes the wallpaper sound.
Alternatively, rather than completely muting the wallpaper sound, you can select the “Play audio only when desktop is focused” checkbox. This option allows the video wallpaper to play the sound only when you are on the desktop. If you open any other window, the wallpaper sound is automatically muted.
Start Lively Wallpaper To Start With Windows
If you want to see the video wallpaper as soon as you log into Windows, you must allow Lively Wallpaper to start with Windows. Here’s how to do it.
Open Lively Wallpaper and click on the Settings icon in the top bar.
Go to the General tab and turn on the Start with Windows toggle. Click Yes when you see the UAC prompt.
Wallpaper Playback Settings
You can pause wallpaper playback when using applications or unfocused from the desktop. Here’s how.
Open Lively Wallpaper and click on the Settings icon in the top bar.
Go to the Performance tab. Under the Wallpaper Playback section, select Pause from the Applications Fullscreen dropdown menu.
(Optional) If you want to pause wallpaper playback when you unfocus the desktop or use applications in windowed mode, select Pause from the Applications Focused dropdown.
Configure Battery Power Settings
Laptop users can pause the video wallpaper when on battery power or when battery saver mode is turned on. Here’s how.
Open Lively Wallpaper and click on the Settings icon in the top bar.
Go to the Performance tab and select Pause from both When on Battery Power and When on Battery Saver dropdown menus.
Downsides of Video Wallpaper (Cons)
While video wallpapers are a great way to give life to your desktop, there are two major downsides you should keep in mind.
Performance Implications
Depending on your PC’s hardware, a live wallpaper can have very little to significant impact on your system. For example, if your PC or laptop has low to mid-range hardware, a video wallpaper can make your system significantly slower. To make sure it doesn’t hinder your usage, use short looped videos.
Power Consumption
Once you apply the video wallpaper, it increases the overall power consumption of your device. On desktops, this might not be an issue. However, on laptops, it can drain your battery a lot quicker. To avoid this, configure the battery power settings in the Lively Wallpaper application as shown above.
Wrapping Up – Setting Up Live Wallpaper on Windows
As you can see, while Windows doesn’t natively support it, we can set videos as wallpapers using Lively Wallpaper, a free and open-source program. The good thing is that even if you don’t have a custom wallpaper, there are several built-in wallpapers you can apply with just a single click. You can see those as soon as you open the application.
If you have any questions, comment below and we’ll answer.
