You can finally set .mp4 or other video formats as your desktop background on Windows 11, and it will automatically play in a loop. This new feature could soon begin rolling out to Windows 11 24H2 or 25H2.
Windows 11’s native video wallpaper feature could be similar to a third-party app called WallpaperEngine, which allows you to set a video as a desktop background. However, Microsoft’s implementation is going to be a lot simpler.
Right now, Windows 11’s leaked video wallpaper feature is tied to the upcoming optional updates, but we’re not expecting it to hit the preview channels until at least October. As pointed out by Phantom on X, this feature works in newer preview builds, so if you’ve Windows 11 Build 26220 or newer, you’ll eventually get access to it.
To set a video as your desktop background, you need to open Settings > Personalization > Background. In our tests, Windows Latest observed that Microsoft hasn’t updated Personalization settings page to reflect that videos can now be added as a background too, but that’s expected given it’s an unannounced feature.
When I selected “browse photos,” Windows File Picker showed additional options beyond the typical image file formats. The video-related file formats available are .mp4, .m4v, .mov, .wmv, .avi, .mkv, and .webm.
I don’t think the list of supported files will expand, as these are all widely used formats for storing video streams.
Next, I selected an .mp4 of Windows Bloom animation, restarted explorer.exe, and I could finally see the desktop play the Bloom video.
It’s a short clip, and Windows plays it in a loop, even when I’ve opened apps or features like the Start menu. I did not notice any meaningful increase in power consumption, so it’s possible Microsoft has optimised how Windows renders a video when it’s used as the background.
Microsoft will not allow large and long videos as a desktop background.
This is a comeback of Windows Vista’s DreamScene
For those unaware, Windows Vista also had a similar feature called “DreamScene,” which was built into the Desktop Window Manager (DWM). On the other hand, third-party apps like WallpaperEngine create a borderless DirectX window to render videos and use a concept called “WorkerW.”
Like Windows Vista, it’s possible Windows 11’s upcoming video desktop background also relies on Desktop Window Manager (DWM) and likely streams video using Media Foundation (GPU-accelerated). But that would mean it’ll be less powerful than the third-party apps, which offer dozens of file formats as an option.
Windows 11’s video wallpapers will be non-interactive, but at the same time, it also means less power and resource consumption.