Your Mac already ships with some of the most beautiful screensavers ever made: slow-motion aerial videos of coastlines, cities, and landscapes that glide across the screen whenever the machine idles. They are gorgeous, but they are Apple’s videos, not yours. If you have a favorite clip of your own — a family vacation, a drone flight, a looping animation — you can make it your screensaver too. macOS does not offer a one-click “use my video” button, but between the built-in video options and one free tool, you can get there in minutes.
All you need is a video file in a common format (MP4 or MOV works best) and a few minutes in System Settings. Start with option one if you just want something new; jump to option two if you want your own footage on screen. Either way, the result pairs nicely with a tidy desktop — see our guide to hiding desktop icons on Mac if your screen is cluttered.
Start with Apple’s built-in video screensavers
Since macOS Sonoma, Apple includes cinematic slow-motion screensavers — aerials of highlands, cities at night, underwater scenes, and more. You cannot add your own video here, but it is worth knowing what is free and already installed. Apple’s Mac pages document the current screensaver collections:
- Open System Settings, then choose Screen Saver in the sidebar.
- Browse the video collections (Aerials, Cityscape, Landscape, Underwater) and click one to preview it full-screen.
- Use the options to shuffle between videos, and choose whether the same motion plays as your wallpaper.
- Set when the screensaver kicks in under Lock Screen settings, such as after 5 minutes of inactivity.
Turn any video file into a screensaver
For your own footage, the classic solution is SaveHollywood, a free and open-source screensaver plugin for Mac that plays any video file you point it at. 9to5Mac has covered video-screensaver tools for years, and SaveHollywood remains the simplest free option:
- Copy your video to a permanent spot, such as your Movies folder — the screensaver reads it from disk every time, so do not leave it on a temporary USB stick.
- Download SaveHollywood (free) and open the .saver file. macOS will ask whether to install it for just you or for all users.
- Open System Settings → Screen Saver and select SaveHollywood from the list.
- Click Screen Saver Options and choose your video file.
- Pick how it scales (fill the screen or fit the whole frame) and enable looping so it plays continuously.
- Set the idle delay under Lock Screen settings, then wait — or choose Screen Saver from the Apple menu to preview it now.
From now on, your clip plays whenever the Mac idles. While you are polishing the machine behind the pretty screen, you may also like our guide on showing folder sizes in macOS Finder.
If it still doesn’t work
If SaveHollywood does not appear in the Screen Saver list, the install may have been blocked: check System Settings → Privacy & Security for a notice about blocked software and allow it. Convert unusual formats to MP4 (H.264) first — a quick export from QuickTime Player does the job. And if the video stutters, use a lower-resolution copy; full 4K files can choke older Macs.
FAQ
Will a video screensaver drain my MacBook’s battery?
Yes, more than a static image. By default macOS only starts the screensaver after a delay, and on battery power your Mac sleeps sooner anyway — check the Battery settings if you want the screensaver to kick in while unplugged.
Can I use a video from YouTube or a streaming site?
Not directly — the screensaver needs a local file. YouTube has walkthroughs of the SaveHollywood setup if you want to watch the process, but for the video itself, use footage you own or that is licensed for reuse, exported as MP4.
Conclusion
Between Apple’s cinematic built-ins and a free plugin like SaveHollywood, there is no reason to stare at a static screen while your Mac idles. Pick a clip you love, set it to loop, and your desk setup gets a tiny cinema of its own.
