DVDs hold hidden treasures

Hard to forget the childhood thrill of an Easter egg hunt.

The quest of finding the most, hoarding them all in a basket and opening each one to find the hidden surprise.

Not many adults admit to participating in Easter egg hunts these days, not unless they’re willing to succumb to unmerciful teasings.

But it’s a different story if the hunt takes place on a DVD.

With nothing more than a remote control, savvy movie buffs are uncovering secret footage that’s digitally buried by movie companies.

“It’s like finding a bonus,” said Dominick Sposato, 22. “I get really excited when I find one.”

Sposato, of Columbus, Ga., has more than 300 DVDs in his personal collection.

While he can’t decide on a favorite movie, a smile breaks across his face when he thinks about his favorite Easter egg, recently discovered on “The Ring.” On it, viewers can watch the deadly video on which the movie is based.

“It’s really cool,” he said. “On the movie you only get to see clips of the video.” The egg lets you watch the whole thing.

But accessing eggs isn’t as obvious as pressing a play button. Sometimes it happens accidentally.

At the main menu or special selection menu of the DVD, punching arrow keys on the remote control might cause an icon to pop up. Other times, eggs are buried deep within the DVD and require instructions to access them.

“Sometimes I go online and there’s a Web site that tells you how to find them,” Sposato said.

Brandon Burrell, 22, said a friend told him about an egg on “Final Fantasy, Spirits Within.” “It’s hysterical,” he said.

At the special selection menu on the DVD, he punches the arrow key down and to the right until a small box with movie characters is highlighted. He presses enter, and the characters start dancing to Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.”

“It’s just interesting,” he said. “Real movie lovers want to see as much as possible about a movie.”

And DVDs offer the technology to do so. Perhaps that’s why the disks are now outselling VHS.

According to the Video Software Dealers Association, DVD rentals have accounted for 49 percent of rental revenues in the quarter of 2003, compared with 26 percent for the first quarter of 2002. The VSDA predicts that DVD will be the dominant rental format for the rest of the year.

But according to Sposato, despite the popularity of DVD rentals, finding eggs is mainly popular among DVD collectors.

“Your average movie renter isn’t really interested in them,” he said. “They just care about watching the movie.”

Plus, few people are willing to take the time to hunt for something that may turn out to be nothing.

Like finding a penny in your Easter egg instead of a dollar, some DVD eggs are a bust. “I spent a lot of time trying to find one once and when I did, I was like, ‘Is that all?'” Burrell said. “Some things you wonder why they would bother hiding.”

But things like alternative movie endings, bloopers and interviews are gold.

“It lets you see something you normally wouldn’t and that makes the movie that much more interesting,” Sposato said.