VideoToScreensaver Windows

This project is for Windows only.

VideoToScreensaver lets you turn your own video files into a real Windows screensaver with a simple UI. It supports one-click install, per-screen video fit modes (contain, cover, stretch) including multi-monitor playback, quick preview, and built-in management for removing old app-created screensavers.

What you get

• A GUI executable (VideoToScreensaver.exe).
• In-app video picker.
• One-click install as active screensaver.
• Built-in steps for what to do next in Windows settings.
• Fullscreen video playback in screensaver mode (/s).

Install or Update

New install

1. Download VideoToScreensaver-Setup.exe from the latest GitHub Release.
2. Run the installer.
3. Launch VideoToScreensaver from Start Menu.

Update existing app

1. Open VideoToScreensaver.
2. Click Update App.
3. Confirm the update prompt and let the app restart after update completes.

If in-app update cannot write to the install folder, run the app as administrator and try Update App again, or install the latest VideoToScreensaver-Setup.exe over your current install.

1) Setup in VS Code (for building from source)

python -m venv .venv
.venv\Scripts\activate
python -m pip install -r requirements.txt

2) Build the Windows app executable

python build_app.py

Output:

• release\VideoToScreensaver\VideoToScreensaver.exe

2b) Build a Windows installer (easy distribution)

Install Inno Setup 6, then run:

.\build_installer.ps1

Output:

• release\VideoToScreensaver-Setup.exe

3) Use the app

1. Run release\VideoToScreensaver\VideoToScreensaver.exe.
2. Click Browse and select your video.
3. Optionally adjust:
   • Mouse move threshold
   • Timeout seconds
   • Video fit (contain, cover, stretch)
   • Startup transition (none, fade, wipe_left, wipe_down, zoom_in)
4. Click Install as Screensaver.
5. Click Open Screen Saver Settings.
6. Confirm "<yourfilename>_vts.scr" is selected, set idle wait, click Apply.

The app also includes a Managed screensavers section where you can:

• list all .scr files created by this app
• delete selected old screensaver files (and auto-delete copied video when no other screensaver uses it)

If you used the installer, users can launch from Start Menu shortcut: VideoToScreensaver.

Notes

• The app stores files in %LOCALAPPDATA%\VideoToScreensaver.
• During install, the app copies itself to %LOCALAPPDATA%\VideoToScreensaver\<yourfilename>_vts.scr.
• Build now uses PyInstaller --onedir for faster startup compared to onefile extraction.
• H.264 .mp4 is the most compatible format.
• If it exits too fast, increase Mouse move threshold.
• contain keeps full frame with black bars, cover fills screen by cropping edges, stretch fills screen by distortion.
• Multi-monitor playback is supported. The same video is shown on each monitor, and fit/stretch is applied per monitor resolution.