In case you are wondering, you have read the title correctly. You can use VLC to set a video (even an entire movie) as your wallpaper. Although this is not exactly a “useful” feature, it is still very cool so we thought we would share it with you. Note that older computers might not be able to handle the load, especially if you are using multiple applications while also running a movie in the background. Having said that, the load is also not as high as you would expect from something like this so you probably should not worry about breaking anything.
To continue with the guide, you will need the VLC player that you can download through the link provided above. Run VLC, click on the Tools menu and choose Preferences or simply use the keyboard shortcut of Ctrl + P. Once you are there, go to the Video options from the left sidebar. Find the Output dropdown menu and select “DirectX (DirectDraw) video output” from the list. Click on Save and then restart VLC.
Now, play your desired video with VLC, right click on the screen and select Video > Set as Wallpaper. You can also select the same option from the Video menu on the top if you prefer that. Note that if you are using Aero, you will be switched to a basic theme and the video will begin playing in the background. You can now minimize VLC and enjoy your video on your desktop background! To stop the video from playing, select the “Set as Wallpaper” option again. Your theme should revert back to normal on its own but sometimes it will bug and you will have to do it manually.
