Vista screensaver inspired WMP visualizations, “Psychedelia Visualization Pack”

Correct me if I’m wrong but I think it’s been at least two Windows releases since any new or updated Windows Media Player visualizations. Sure, what comes in the box are still visualizations by definition, but I couldn’t consider any of them eye-candy. Recently, a new visualization pack made by two Microsoft employees in their spare time is worth checking out.

Stephen Coy, the designer of the Windows Vista screensavers and Tim Cowley, a software engineer on the Office team have come together to release a visualizations pack for Windows Media Player called “Psychedelia” two years in the making. But don’t worry, no LSD drugs involved.

As a requirement to run these visualizations, you will need a graphics card that supports at least shader model 2.0 (most DirectX 9 graphics cards will), which might seem like a high requirement for visualizers, but how else are you suppose to create visual magic right?

Included in the single package are 7 visualizations with over 40 variations in total, including

• Album Art 3D - 3D cubes with the album art of the song you’re currently playing
• Bubbles - inspired by the Bubbles Vista screensavers also featuring the album art
• Distortion - distorts the album art in a 3D waveform
• Hypnobloom - hypnotic checkered purple rings
• Ribbons - inspired by the Mystify and Ribbons Vista screensavers (as seen above)
• Gigertron 3D - 3D layered visualizer bars
• up cuber - a pigment arrangement of 3D hexagon cubes

I’ve never been a big fan of visualizers before but I’m hooked onto “Ribbons”. If you’re looking for some awesome WMP visualizers or something to match your Vista screensavers, then give Psychedelia a try. It’s a reasonably light download at 5MB but best of all it’s free!

Popularity: 1%

Written by Long Zheng. Read more great feeds at is source WEBSITE
1 comment.
Read more articles on Microsoft and Windows.

• [+] Digg: Feature this article
• [+] Del.icio.us: Bookmark this article
• [+] Furl: Bookmark this article

Related articles

• Fishbowl for Facebook Using the Windows 7 Taskbar for Extra Spice (November 19th, 2009)
• New Windows API Code Pack Version (November 18th, 2009)
• Programming Windows 7 Using Visual Studio 2010 (November 17th, 2009)
• Reporting Live from the Windows 7 Seminar: Boot Camp (November 16th, 2009)
• Windows7 Trigger Start Services – Part 2: Building a Trigger Start Optimized Service (October 27th, 2009)