Streaming video as screensaver...

[Jabberwock]

Hello,

I wanted to please my kid and show the streaming video of the panda cub from the Atlanta Zoo, found here:
http://afczoo-pandac...40d7b732de6049586894

as a screensaver... However, much to my surprise, there is no working software that could do that?

I've found one program, Active Player Screensaver, but it refuses to play that video link (complaining about a decompressor). What's funny, it does not play even the sample feed it has configured...

Microsoft has a plugin for Windows Media Player, but this one only plays files, not Internet streaming video (beats me why, as it uses the same WMP functionality).

I know I can fake it by starting WMP after scheduled idle time, but I hoped for a more elegant solution...

[Curt]

- a gentle voice told me, the link is not valid.

[Jabberwock]

Yeah, got that, too.

You can get there from:
http://www.zooatlant...imals_panda_cam.php4

It's Windows Movie 9, I think.

[Curt]

I was lucky with the timing, the thing was actually MOVING when I watched! 

 

---

To my (lack of) understanding you only have a choice to save&use the playlist - but I haven't tried to do so with this particular stream. In the end the visible picture may be too small to use as a screensaver? Rather use it as a widget 'on the side' if you have a widescreen monitor.

Edit:
url to test: http://afczoo-pandac...191300be4557d3f2d5fb

[Jabberwock]

I have no problem actually running it with Media Player (even in fullscreen, with the proper command line option). I am using this with one of the screensaver "fakers", which launch Media Player after specific idle time. However, this has all the disadvantages of not running proper screesaver, i.e. I have to close the window manually when I get back to work, some events from other applications get on top, etc.

Therefore, I hoped there might be an actual screensaver that would display streaming video. That is, there is one I mentioned at the top, but it is not working...

[Deozaan]

In Windows XP you can get the Windows XP Video Screensaver PowerToy that uses Windows Media Player as the screensaver.

I think that you should be able to select a playlist to play, from the options. If you can get the stream saved as a playlist file, it should work.

[Jabberwock]

Unfortunately, this does not work... It crashes when I put URL or a playlist with the URL in the specified directory. Regular movies work just fine.

[Curt]

I have no problems playing the video with Active Media Player - just use the url I provided: http://afczoo-pandac...191300be4557d3f2d5fb

[Jabberwock]

Well, it does not work for me, as I wrote before.

[Deozaan]

I've found one program, Active Player Screensaver, but it refuses to play that video link (complaining about a decompressor). What's funny, it does not play even the sample feed it has configured...

-Jabberwock (October 13, 2008, 02:35 PM)

Maybe it's a codec problem. You could try installing the K-Lite Codec Pack.

[Curt]

- as it is Windows Media 9, it shouldn't have to do with the codecs

[lanux128]

KMplayer has a 'desktop' mode where the video is played on the desktop itself.

[y0himba]

So do many other players, but thats not a screensaver.  This is a very valid question.  I wonder if some amazing Donation Coder could cook one of these up?