Free, feature-rich tool for creating dynamic, highly customizable wallpapers with videos, web content, and effects
Free, feature-rich tool for creating dynamic, highly customizable wallpapers with videos, web content, and effects
Pros
- Wide range of compatible formats for video, image, and shader files
- Free to use
- Great customization options
Cons
- Could use more premade designs to showcase various dynamic options
Personalized Dynamic Wallpapers for PC
Lively Wallpaper is a creative application that allows you to design custom desktop wallpapers for your PC. This free software by Dani John transforms the typical static and bland backgrounds into compelling themes that can incorporate video files, HTML, and games, among others.
Features and Options
While you can design wallpapers using your own media, Lively Wallpaper also includes a collection of premade creations you can browse. One of the advantages of this application is that you can create original web wallpapers and adjust their design in real time. The supported codecs include Kawaii Codec, LAV, and K-Lite, to name a few. Sharing is made simple with the addition of an available zip format within the application creation tools.
Many computer users utilize multiple monitors, which can present challenges when crafting a new wallpaper. However, Lively Wallpaper comes equipped with support for multiple screens and options to show different designs on each monitor or expand one design across all. If you’ve ever wanted to animate your desktop background, the tools in Lively Wallpaper allow for several types of video formats, such as AVI, MP4, and MOV, among others. Not only video but also audio is available; however, sound will mute whenever you step away from your PC. If you’re familiar with shaders (programs responsible for graphical effects), you can also incorporate them. Both browser-based shaders and video games built with the Unity and Godot engine can run within Lively Wallpaper.
Fortunately, given all the design tools and effects available, Lively Wallpaper doesn’t continue to run once you open another full-screen application. You may also configure performance to suit your PC, set personal preferences, and decide when your dynamic wallpaper should be active.
Free and Feature Rich
Sometimes open-source, free applications don’t provide the most stable performance. However, with Lively Wallpaper, there are few drawbacks, if any, and consistent reliability. You can configure performance and wallpaper playback behavior with several rules for greater personalization. With deep customization options, a library of premade content, and simple sharing options, Lively Wallpaper edges out the competition. For those looking to spruce up their drab PC desktops with a dynamic new wallpaper, this application is a great place to start.
Pros
- Wide range of compatible formats for video, image, and shader files
- Free to use
- Great customization options
Cons
- Could use more premade designs to showcase various dynamic options
Lively Wallpaper is a desktop customization utility that enables users of modern Microsoft Windows operating systems to adorn their backgrounds with animated images and scenes. This app was initially released in late 2019 as a Free and Open-Source Software (FOSS) project by Dani John, a respected developer in the GitHub FOSS community. Lively Wallpaper can be used to turn desktop backgrounds from static images to full dynamic animations, and it runs on Windows 10 as well as later versions.
How Lively Wallpaper Works
This software application is unique in the sense that it provides more than just a way to pick and choose animated background images for the Windows desktop. Lively Wallpaper is also a design platform you can use to apply animation effects compatible with the Microsoft DirectShow framework. Unlike other utilities that are simply collections of animated backgrounds to install on Windows machines, Lively Wallpaper is packed with features that let you bring websites, YouTube videos, animated GIFs, and even executable files to the desktop.
Lively Wallpaper fills a void that users of the old Windows Vista operating system will remember. For some reason, Vista is the only Windows version that Microsoft released with native support for animated backgrounds, and the options were limited. This feature has not been included in subsequent versions of Windows, thus paving the way for developers to create utilities to this effect. Whereas most third-party utilities come with pre-configured animations, Lively Wallpaper lets you design your backgrounds and apply complex video editing effects. In other words, Lively Wallpaper doubles as a Windows desktop personalization utility and a digital design studio.
The ability to load websites, YouTube videos, and executable files to the desktop of Microsoft Windows using the DirectShow architecture is something you do not see with other animated wallpaper apps on the market. This tool is packed with advanced features, and one of the most interesting is how it manages processor and RAM resources to smoothly deliver high-resolution animations without compromising OS performance. When you use this software application to customize the Windows desktop background, you do not need to worry about your computer slowing down, but only if it meets or exceeds the requirements below:
* Windows 10 with DirectX 10 installed.
* Intel I3 running at 3.6Hz and 2 GB of RAM.
* HD graphics card with hardware acceleration.
* At least 1 GB of storage.
The latter requirement on the list above should not be interpreted as the download size of Lively Wallpaper. In and of itself, the size of the app is 187 MB, but the memory buffer it may need to run complex HD animations at high resolutions may take up several hundred MB. On the other hand, if the background is a simple scalable vector graphics file, the hardware acceleration of the graphics card would easily take care of it.
A couple of other requirements to run Lively Wallpaper are the Visual C++ Redistributable and .NET Core 6 x86 Desktop Runtime environments, which the app installer will handle in case they are not present in your Windows 10 or Windows 11 device.
Lively Wallpaper stands out as being the only desktop customization utility for Windows that takes advantage of hardware acceleration for video playback or to animate images at the highest resolution. The main functions of the app are:
* Custom video wallpaper.
* Application background.
* Web page wallpaper.
* Animated themes.
* GIF backgrounds.
* Streaming audio and video desktops.
* Performance panel.
Of all the functions in this utility, the application wallpaper is one of the most impressive. Let's see you are a fan of racing games such as the Forza Horizon series; you can set the game to spectator mode or load one of your saved races and set them as the background. In this fashion, the game's real-time audio and video will play on the desktop as the wallpaper, and you can launch windowed apps at the same time. Some users of Lively Wallpaper set dynamic open-world games such as GTA V as the background because they enjoy seeing the non-playable characters go about their daily business in the fictional city of Los Santos, and they can still use apps such as text editors, instant messaging clients, graphic design tools, and even other games right on the desktop.
Lively Wallpaper on Multiple Monitors
If you use dual monitors, Lively Wallpaper can scale animated backgrounds to stretch from one screen to the other. This feature can either follow or override the multiple monitor behavior you have set from the Windows control panel. You also have the option to duplicate a main wallpaper on external monitors or even display different backgrounds on each screen. Utilities that enable the use of multiple virtual desktops will not interfere with Lively Wallpaper; in fact, the software will detect this situation and allow you to set separate backgrounds on each virtual desktop.
Setting Wallpaper Rules
The default setting of Lively Wallpaper when it comes to reacting to full-screen programs is to pause all dynamic features at once; this is done for the purpose of providing the most efficient management of system resources, and it is not limited to detecting when applications are launched. Let's say you are running Google Chrome in one window and would like to browse in full-screen mode; once you press F11, Lively Wallpaper will stop playback, and it will automatically resume when you toggle back with F11 or exit the application.
There are advanced settings to let you control how the app reacts to different settings. You can control the program's behavior or run it at low priority. You can even set it to load without taking control of the computer; the settings for both priority and running are simple to set in the Lively Wallpaper Settings window.
Customizable Backgrounds
The background of the Lively Wallpaper app, as well as the Windows desktop, can be modified according to your preferences. As is the case with most customizable settings, the default is a live wallpaper that you can save and use as a solid color to change the theme. Other options you may want to consider adding are:
* Solid color backgrounds.
* Solid color backgrounds in the dark theme.
* Vivid colors with warm lighting.
* The option to set custom shapes.
* Custom gradients.
You need to follow a few steps to get started with this utility; once you launch the software, you will be presented with the main app interface and options to load an image file or a web page as the background. Once you open the main window, you will notice that Lively Wallpaper is a combination of several Windows and menus of various types. The program's interface follows an aesthetic that fits its nature as an animated wallpaper app. The basics are simple enough to follow, but you will surely notice that some functions nestled within the various menus are for developers. For the most part, average users of Lively Wallpaper will not need to mess with advanced settings unless they want to get into setting live video streaming or interactive web pages.
While you should not have any problems with the basics of this utility, some of the advanced features will require to negotiate a slight learning curve, but everything is explained in the Help Guide. All in all, Lively Wallpaper is one of the most comprehensive FOSS utilities specifically developed for modern Windows machines. When you are ready to add some pizzazz to your desktop, Lively Wallpaper will not let you down.
Lively Wallpaper Pros
- Free to download and install.
- Efficient management of computer resources.
- Ultimate control over wallpaper and screensaver functions.
Lively Wallpaper Cons
- Some advanced features seem complicated.
- Could include more sample wallpapers.
