Frogboy Administrators Posted February 14, 2007 Administrators Share Posted February 14, 2007 If you are using Windows DreamScene to display animated wallpaper, here is what is involved in making your own: Note that Windows DreamScene plays .MPEG or .WMV files. .WMV files use substantially more CPU to run but are much smaller in file size and encoders are more readily available for them. .MPEG is what I would recommend if you want. The key to a good animated wallpaper for Windows DreamScene is that it's loopable. The specifications that Stardock Design worked from via Microsoft were: 1) Loops should be between 8 and 16 seconds but not longer as file size becomes problematic. 2) File size should be at least 720P (think 1024x768) for a 4X3 or 1280X900 for 16x9 3) Find a good encoder. This is easier said then done because good encoders cost money. A lot of money. But you can get a free one here: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsme...er/default.mspx Other notes: a) There are various tutorials on the net on how to render your own scenes using Maya, 3D Studio, or whatever. b) There are also tools that will help you animate a static scene. I.e. a scene with water that gives it wave effects and such. c) Strong recommendation: If you are serious about your work, use DreamMaker to turn your video into a .Dream file. The reasons for this are (1) You can insert your name and website into the file which is then displayed on the Windows wallpaper dialog and (2) Your creation will be much easier to find in searches -- .DREAM for wallpaper is a lot easier to find than .WMV for wallpaper. You can get tools, content, etc. at http://dream.wincustomize.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joomling Posted February 26, 2007 Share Posted February 26, 2007 "b) There are also tools that will help you animate a static scene. I.e. a scene with water that gives it wave effects and such." would you suggest the name of the tools. I'm interested in this. thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frogboy Administrators Posted March 9, 2007 Author Administrators Share Posted March 9, 2007 "b) There are also tools that will help you animate a static scene. I.e. a scene with water that gives it wave effects and such."would you suggest the name of the tools. I'm interested in this. thanks I'll see what I can find. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
null_ Posted March 9, 2007 Share Posted March 9, 2007 Thanks for the tips, Brad. I just migrated over to Windows Vista and am interested in trying my hand at creating some nice animated wallpapers. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Island Dog Posted March 9, 2007 Share Posted March 9, 2007 After talking with some people who have been creating some Dreams, I found that this is what many of them are using to create the water effects. Nature Illusion Studio Some are also using software such as After Effects, but this Nature Studio seems to be a simpler way. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dw2003 Posted March 15, 2007 Share Posted March 15, 2007 What are the specs for MPEG file encoding? Anyone have a recomended bitrate and other settings so the videos dont look really bad and dont use too much CPU? I'm using Media Coder to encode my MPEGs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Island Dog Posted May 31, 2007 Share Posted May 31, 2007 Here is a DreamMaker tutorial that shows you the basic steps of making a .dream. DreamMaker tutorial Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Breck Posted April 18, 2008 Share Posted April 18, 2008 What are the specs for MPEG file encoding? Anyone have a recomended bitrate and other settings so the videos dont look really bad and dont use too much CPU? yes, these are good settings for MPEG encoding (i have also added some good settings for WMV): - MPG-Format (MPEG2) Stream Format: Generic ISO MPEG Stream Stream Type: MPEG-2 Elementary Stream Width: 1280 Height: 720 Frame rate: 25 or 29.976 fps Interlacing: Non-Interlaced Aspect Ratio Code: 16:9 Quality/Speed: Mastering Quality Bitrate type: CBR Video Bitrate: 8-15 Mbps Profile/Level: HP@HL VBV Buffer Size: 1492 Max GOP Size: 15 Closed GOP: yes Chroma Format: 4:2:0 Intra DC Precision: 9 Strict GOP bitrate: No Insert one sequence header before each GOP - WMV-Format Width: 1280 Height: 720 Aspect Ratio: 16:9, Pixel [1:1] Format: Windows Media Video 9 Framerate: 25-30 fps Bitrate: 4-6 Mbps Bitrate type: CBR Number of passes: 1 Image quality: 98 Interlacing: Non-Interlaced Buffer: 3000 Video Codec: Complex Auto btw. to create 3D DreamScenes i normally use Blender (freeware, open source), for best quality i first render the scene to raw AVI and then i convert it with the settings written above. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orbitron Posted January 22, 2010 Share Posted January 22, 2010 The first link in the main post doesn't work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts