Hidden Features On DVD


	The World Of Easter Eggs On DVD


	by Guido Henkel

No, this is not about the latest cuisine from California, but an excursion into the world of hidden features on DVD discs. I have recently written this article for industry trade magazine “Replication News”, but I believe most of you will also enjoy this read. The first question that certainly pops into everyone’s mind is “Why would anyone want to hide features on a DVD when you could use it as a bullet point on sell sheets?”

Lovingly called “Easter Eggs”, hidden features have a long tradition and originated in computer games in the early 80s. It all started quite practical. Programmers used to leave cheat codes in their final programs that would allow them to access certain areas of their games without having to play for hours at any given time. This was helpful to solve and track down technical problems that could arise once the programs were in the market. Eventually, people learned about these cheat codes and used

them for their own purposes. When cheat codes became increasingly popular, programmers took the approach one step further and actually added content that was accessible only through certain cheat codes. It was fun to do, and that way they also gave people some kind of gratification for their efforts trying to find them. Quickly these hidden features snowballed and today “Easter Eggs” can be found in literally every computer application, including Windows, and your ever so trusty word processor. It was only a matter of time until DVD authors started placing their Easter Eggs in the releases, and in looking back I have to admit, it didn’t take very long. Especially the earlier ones seem to be more relicts of proposed content that got deleted or added in the last minute, rather than real Easter Eggs.

In September 1997 Warner Home Video released “Mars Attacks!” and there was a menu entry on the disc that allowed people to switch to a hilarious Martian soundtrack. Embedded in plain text in the actual onscreen menus it was rather easy to find, but since this feature had not been advertised on the packaging, it ranks as one of the first Easter Eggs on DVD. MGM soon followed with real hidden features that were not as openly placed in the disc’s menu structure. All of their James Bond releases contained hidden features that were accessible only through pressing the correct key combinations in specific menus to highlight an unsuspecting area of the screen. These hidden features presented fans with Martini recipes (Dr. No), actor biographies (The Spy Who Loved Me) or background information from the movie (From Russia With Love). Over time DVD publishers came up with all sorts of different hidden features and the content got increasingly elaborate.

As soon as the first hidden features appeared, we started a dedicated section here at “DVD Review” to give people the chance to learn about this exciting feature and the material they can discover on their discs. Quickly the section grew and now consists of more than 80 hidden features - the most complete list of Easter Eggs on the Internet. The obviousness of some of the features raised another issue however, that of when a feature should be considered hidden and when it should not. Certainly anything that is not part of the general menu screen and has to be accessed in a special way is a hidden feature. Sometimes however unadvertised content is simply placed very deep within sub-menus so that it is unlikely many user would find it there without knowledge, which qualifies them as hidden features as well.


	Let me take you onto a quick journey through some of the most exciting Easter Eggs. Hidden features have the biggest impact when they are really hidden and require the viewer to go to a certain menu, select a certain entry and then press a certain key to bring it up, maybe even doing so in a certain sequence. Most studios use trailers for other DVD releases from their catalogs and hide them on their releases. While this works quite well, Trimark Home Video regularly hides trailers to upcoming DVD releases on their discs, which greatly increases anticipation, and gives people a highly appreciated outlook in their future plans. Hidden trailers can be easily spotted on releases from Warner, Universal, Trimark and other publishers, while MGM oftentimes hides background information and additional clips in its releases. The “Pink Panther” releases for example contained some very nice poster art and screen savers, hidden in the main menu.

New Line Home Video usually takes the most elaborate route to hidden features, and creates whole games that, when correctly solved, unveil hidden features on the disc.

The award for the coolest feature of them all has to go to New Line’s “Rush Hour” however hands down, which features director Brett Ratner’s early home video “Evil Luke Lee” concealed on the disc. The video is so campy, it will have you rolling on the floor and it was so well hidden that it took months to be uncovered. It can not be accessed from the disc’s menus and requires viewers to directly access a certain title and chapter with their remote control!

But whether it is a behind-the-scenes snippet, an interview excerpt or menus that respond to people’s inactivity, all DVD Easter Eggs have one thing in common. They increase the product’s value and exposure, and are always a welcome enrichment in the eyes of the customers. Because news about the latest hidden features is constantly spread on the Internet through newsgroups and websites such as DVD Review, these titles enjoy increased word of mouth publicity, which directly translates into increased awareness and sales. The better the feature and the longer it takes to crack it, the more exposure you can get out of it. I remember that the Internet was buzzing with anticipation when Universal first released “Mercury Rising”, including a very cryptic game in the theme of the movie. For weeks people were trying to solve the puzzle and get access to the hidden feature it supposedly concealed.

But also simply unexpected features on release can be categorized as good hidden features, because without according advertisement hardly anyone would expect the commentary track on Artisan’s “The Fabulous Baker Boys” or the isolated music score on releases like “Apollo 13” or “The Thing”.

It doesn’t really matter what the Easter Eggs look like, because there simply is no such thing as a bad hidden feature. Easter Eggs have become a really nice addition to DVD; one that keeps people religiously scouting through every one of the discs’ menu screens, hitting all possible and impossible key combinations until their eyes are all square. Now isn’t that what it’s all about?


	This article has originally been published in “Replication News” and is reprinted here by permission.


		August 12, 1998


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