How Sweet It Is

A Dream Come True For Screensaver Fanatics

I've heard of a program out there that includes everything you need to make screensavers professional looking. I've heard of a program that lets you give time limits and unlocking abilities to the screensavers you create. This same program also lets users change some settings after the screensaver has been built. I think this product's name is Stardust Screen Saver Toolkit. Let's see how it does in the review.

What's Inside Will Shock You to the Core!

Stardust Screen Saver Toolkit is one of the most professional looking screensaver builders I've seen. Yes you can do the same thing that other screensaver builder offer, but this one's just better. Let me tell you why.

The options that it offers far exceed your expectations. Yes, you've got the ability to add music and read most image formats, include video and flash… big whoop. But that's only the tip of the iceberg. Stardust Screen Saver Toolkit has set the bar far higher than its competition by having features other builders only wish they had.

With a typical build, you're able to add a whole lot more to a screensaver. I liked the fact that, just like any professional program, you get the opportunity to include a read-me file and license agreement to your build. You can make your saver time limited if you're offering a trial feature.

Whoever wants your product is also able to remove the time limit feature by entering the unlock code if you've included the 'Unlockable Try & By' feature.

Instead of having to go in and edit every picture to add a watermark, this program automatically lets you do that with a few clicks of a button. The features that Stardust Screen Saver Toolkit has far exceed the competition. Not only is it easy to use, but it supports BMP, PNG, GIF, JPG, JPEG2000 for image files, AVI, MPEG, WMV, ASX video file formats, animations (SWF) and audio file formats (WAV, MP3, MP2, OGG, MID, RMI, SGT, AIFF, WMA, ASF, MOD).

I liked Stardust Screen Saver Toolkit because it also lets users modify their own settings. Whenever you build wallpaper, you can build it with add-ons. One of those add-ons was 'wallpaper controls', a feature that allows users to play with and configure the wallpaper installed on their system. If users want the same configuration options, you can include this with the 'Screensaver Control' add-on.

The interface is by far the easiest GUI I've worked with so far when it comes to screensaver builds. You have three main windows where you can view and modify your projects. The interface is also adjustable if you don't want to constantly look at your preview or project tasks (all you have to do is un-tack them and they're gone).

Once you do get started, all you have to do is choose which options you want to implement (ex. Startup image, time limited, unlockable try & buy feature, etc.) and you're on your way. The whole build process is organized through a wizard so there's no way to really get lost.

The whole process is quite intuitive since one steps logically flows to the next. Once you've built your .EXE or CD build, you can also test it out to make sure it's exactly how you want it. For multi-monitor users who are a bit hesitant about Stardust S.S.T., don't be since it has multimonitor support.

The Good

This is everything you've ever wanted in a screensaver builder. It has great image and video format support, a good interface and just great features. It's Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows NT4, Windows 2000, Windows Me, Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 compatible.

The Bad

There's a reason why it's so good, it's because the cost is 139 $ to buy. Aside from that, I have no complaints with the product. It has no separate uninstall icon when installing the .EXE file you created, but you can easily get rid of any screensavers you've made by going into your Add/Remove folders.

The Truth

I wasn't able to test out the video and animation screensaver types since they weren't offered in the trial version so I can't comment on that, but what I did see managed to really impress me. This is one of the best screensaver builders the market hands down. If you're interested in making some sweet screensavers, definitely give Stardust Screen Saver Toolkit a try (10 day trial period).

Check out some screenshots below.