Optimize visual experience for Remote Desktop Service Sessions: registry value VisualExperiencePolicyComputerHKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows NT\Terminal Services

Policy ID: TS_SERVER_VISEXP
Scope: Computer Configuration
Supported on: Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2 (and their subsequent Service Packs) only
Source: Administrative Templates (.admx) for Windows 11 2026 Update (26H2) (version 1.0)
Category: Windows Components › Remote Desktop Services › Remote Desktop Session Host › Remote Session Environment › RemoteFX for Windows Server 2008 R2

Registry

VisualExperiencePolicy

REG_DWORDComputer

HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows NT\Terminal Services Current key

Enabled value: Depends on the option value
Element: Visual experience:

Options
Item	Stored value
Rich multimedia	1
Text	2

Apply with .reg · CMD · PowerShell

.reg

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows NT\Terminal Services]

; Options (use only one)
; Rich multimedia
"VisualExperiencePolicy"=dword:00000001
; Text
"VisualExperiencePolicy"=dword:00000002

CMD

:: Options (use only one)

:: Rich multimedia
reg add "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows NT\Terminal Services" /v "VisualExperiencePolicy" /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f
:: Text
reg add "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows NT\Terminal Services" /v "VisualExperiencePolicy" /t REG_DWORD /d 2 /f

PowerShell

# Common: create the key
New-Item -Path 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows NT\Terminal Services' -Force | Out-Null

# Options (use only one)
# Rich multimedia
New-ItemProperty -Path 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows NT\Terminal Services' -Name 'VisualExperiencePolicy' -PropertyType DWord -Value 1 -Force | Out-Null
# Text
New-ItemProperty -Path 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows NT\Terminal Services' -Name 'VisualExperiencePolicy' -PropertyType DWord -Value 2 -Force | Out-Null