macOS ships with a gallery of beautiful built-in screensavers, but none of them can play one of your own video files. If you want your vacation clips, a favorite animation, or even a looping slideshow of family footage drifting across the screen while your Mac idles, you need a little help. The free SaveHollywood screensaver extension from independent developer S. Sudre fills that gap perfectly.
One quick caveat before you start: SaveHollywood is a community-made extension, not an Apple product. Check the developer’s notes for compatibility with your macOS version, since support can differ between Intel and Apple Silicon Macs.
How to play any video as your screensaver
The whole setup takes just a few minutes. Here is the process:
- Download the SaveHollywood extension. Visit the SaveHollywood page on the developer’s website and grab the latest release.
- Install it on your Mac. Open the downloaded disk image, run the screensaver installer, and confirm when macOS asks whether to install it for the current user or for all users.
- Open your screensaver settings. On recent macOS versions, go to System Settings and click Screen Saver. On older versions, open System Preferences, then Desktop & Screen Saver, then the Screen Saver tab.
- Select SaveHollywood. Find it in the screensaver list on the left, select it, and click its Settings or Options button.
- Point it at your videos. Choose the folder that contains the videos you want to play, adjust any display options (stretch, fit, playback behavior), and save.
- Let your Mac go idle. The next time your Mac would normally show a screensaver, the videos from your chosen folder play instead.
Want more Mac customization ideas? Learn how to open a list of every installed app quickly, try face lighting during video calls, or add emoji to your Finder folders. For official background, Apple’s guide to screen saver settings covers the built-in options, and this video walkthrough on YouTube shows a custom video screensaver in action.
If it still doesn’t work
If macOS refuses to install the extension, Gatekeeper is probably blocking it because it comes from outside the App Store. Right-click the installer and choose Open, or head to System Settings, then Privacy & Security, and allow it there. Also make sure your videos are in a widely supported format — H.264 MP4 is the safest choice. If you have an Apple Silicon Mac, check the developer’s site for a compatible build or run the Intel version through Rosetta.
Frequently asked questions
Is SaveHollywood free?
Yes, it is completely free to download and use. The developer offers it as a personal project, so it is worth bookmarking the site in case future macOS updates need a new version.
Will it work on the latest macOS?
Compatibility varies by macOS release and chip type (Intel versus Apple Silicon), so always check the developer’s notes for the current status before installing. If your system isn’t supported, the built-in macOS screensavers described in Apple’s guide still look great.
Conclusion
macOS may not support video screensavers out of the box, but SaveHollywood makes the feature a five-minute job: download, install, pick a folder, and enjoy your own footage every time your Mac idles.
