How to Get the Most Out of Your DVD Player & DVDs

DVDs have come a long way since their birth in 1995. Enhanced features like audio and video commentary - not to mention added value content like interviews, documentaries, DVD-Rom and even games - give them new life. Today forward looking movie fans either have the new high definition DVD format Blu-Ray or will purchase a player soon. Old DVDs play on the new players, so don't fear your movie collection becoming obsolete.

Fancy features on DVD is fine, but the whole point of renting or buying is getting the most out of the film itself. You may watch your DVD copy of Lord of The Rings with Ian McKellan or Flight Plan starring Jodi Foster a dozen times and the extra features, but after awhile it's about all you can do to breathe new life into the flick. Actually there's more.

DVD fans are well aware of the Easter Eggs - little film clips, interviews, deleted scenes and more that are hidden on the disc menu. There are tons of websites devoted to revealing just where the little gems are found, if you don't want to do the work yourself. Well, there's also DVD or movie artwork on the disc that's not always easily found. Vintage movie posters and more are there waiting for you to find them.

Accessing DVD Files

Each DVD remote control is different, but most have a Chapter Or File Control. By going to your Main Control Menu - the DVD Player one not the movie itself - on many models you can instruct it to display all the files, or even see a file thumbnail of each. A DVD is basically a computer data disc with individual files - just like a computer CD-ROM or DVD-ROM. By accessing the main DVD Player Control Menu, you can view all the files and access them by number. There may be only a few, or there may be many - but in this way you can call up those posters, files or whatever is on the DVD, including those often elusive Easter Eggs.

Video Modes - Zoom & Reduce

I love to zoom in on many of my favorite DVDs. Pausing a scene and magnifying 4-6 times its size reveals details about your movies and TV shows you'd never know playing them at normal size. But there's an even cooler thing you can do with the reduce feature.