The advent of the DVD as the main format for owning a movie or TV show has brought pleasure to millions of consumers of digital media around the world. Not only did the new technology provide tons of new content, with random access no less, it also proved to be much more versatile (DVD originally stood for Digital Versatile Disc) than its earlier cousin, the music CD.

By now, most of us know all about the DVD "extras" such as director and/or actor commentaries, behind-the-scenes documentaries, storyboards, trailers and even games. All of these features are usually accessible via the menu screens. But somewhere in the development of DVDs, producers decided that it would be fun to throw extra material on the DVDs, only without the benefit of having it appear on a menu. These little hidden treasures, known as "Easter Eggs," are buried amongst the stated content and usually consist of short featurettes that, on their own, perhaps don't warrant full-fledged feature status. But they are fun nonetheless, both to play and to find!

In the early days of DVD (1997 to 2000) the hidden features were called, quite unoriginally, "Hidden Features." They soon became known as "Easter Eggs," surprises that intrepid viewers find when least expected, like in an Easter egg hunt. The Star Trek DVDs officially began to carry Easter Egg content on August 17, 1999, when Paramount Home Entertainment released Volumes 1 and 2 of the Original Series. The Easter Eggs on these single-disc editions were simply trailers, or previews, of other Star Trek episodes and products. Star Trek Easter Eggs began to get more sophisticated with the October 22, 2002 Special Collector's Edition of "Star Trek III: The Search for Spock," which featured an additional featurette about the movie's production. By 2003, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine became the first series to offer Easter Eggs regularly. Now, Easter Eggs are an expected inclusion with any Star Trek DVD, or just about any DVD for that matter.

In addition to Easter Eggs, fans have been able to get their hands on additional extras by purchasing Star Trek DVDs at Best Buy stores. Some of the DVDs season sets have been packaged with bonus CD-ROMs and DVDs that further extend the viewing experience. These aren't Easter Eggs per se, but they're worth tracking down.

Below is your complete guide to the hidden features, the Easter Eggs of Star Trek, plus a list of the features on the Best Buy bonus discs.

Page 1 – The Original Series
Page 2 – The Next Generation
Page 3 – Deep Space Nine
Page 4 – Voyager
Page 5 – Enterprise (Updated 12.02.05)
Page 6 – Movies

Star Trek (The Original Series - single disc versions)
With each disc, at the Main Menu, click "Up" with your remote control button to highlight the Starfleet insignia, then press "Enter." This leads to a page of previews for the episodes on the disc as well as the episodes on the next disc. (The previews for the episodes on the disc are accessible via the individual episode pages, too.) Volume 40 has a preview for Season 1 of Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Star Trek: The Original Series (season box sets)
These Easter Eggs are known as the "Red Shirt Logs" and are featured on the last disc of each set.

Season 1
1) On the first menu page in the "Special Features" section, highlight "The Birth of a Timeless Legacy", click "Up" to highlight Sulu's helm monitor, and press Enter to watch an interview with George Takei about practicing fencing for "The Naked Time."

2) On the first menu page in the "Special Features" section, highlight "Life Beyond Trek: William Shatner," click "Up" to highlight Chekov's tactical panel, and press Enter to watch an interview with Robert Justman about trick photography used to make sets look bigger than they really are.

3) On the second menu page in the "Special Features" section, highlight "Communications," click "Up" to highlight the center panel light, and press Enter to watch a featurette about the casting of Clint Howard in "The Corbomite Maneuver."

4) On the second menu page in the "Special Features" section, highlight "Return," click "Down" to highlight the bottom control panel, and press Enter to watch a featurette that discusses William Shatner's reservations about Star Trek.

Best Buy Bonus DVD: "Kiss 'N' Tell: Romance in the 23rd Century" and "Trek Connections" (six-degrees-of-separation linking cast, crew, and guest stars to other movies and TV shows)

Season 2
1) On the first menu page in the "Special Features" section, highlight "To Boldly Go... Season Two," click "Up" to highlight the small viewing display, and press Enter to watch a featurette about the difficulties of playing the monster in "A Private Little War."

2) On the first menu page in the "Special Features" section, highlight "Communications," click "Up" to highlight the long control panel, and press Enter to watch an interview with Leonard Nimoy about Star Trek's ideas influencing real-life science.

3) On the second menu page in the "Special Features" section, highlight "Designing the Final Frontier," click "Up" to highlight a square control panel, and press Enter to watch an interview with Bjo Trimble about Star Trek being censored outside of the United States.

4) On the third menu page in the "Special Features" section, highlight "Star Trek's Divine Diva: Nichelle Nichols," click "Up" to highlight the small viewing display, and press Enter to watch a featurette about creating Tribbles.

Best Buy Bonus DVD: "Star Trek: Favorite Moments" (celebrities, cast, crew, and fans recall their favorite memories from The Original Series)

Season 3
1) On the first menu page in the "Special Features" section, highlight "To Boldy Go... Season Three," click "Up" to highlight the small viewing display, and press Enter to watch an interview with William Shatner about positive encounters with fans.

2) After highlighting the first Easter Egg, click "Right" to highlight a square control panel and press Enter to watch an interview with George Takei about "The Savage Curtain."

3) On the second menu page in the "Special Features" section, highlight "Memoir from Mr. Sulu," click "Up" to highlight a square computer panel, and press Enter to watch an interview with Leonard Nimoy about working on Mission: Impossible.

4) After highlighting the third Easter Egg, click "Left" to highlight another square computer panel and press Enter to watch an interview with George Takei about the 25th Anniversary Convention at the Shrine Auditorium.

5) On the third menu page in the "Special Features" section, highlight "Star Trek's Impact," click "Up" to highlight a square computer panel, and press Enter to watch an interview with Bjo Trimble about "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield."

6) On the third menu page in the "Special Features" section, highlight "A Star Trek Collector's Dream Come True," click "Up" to highlight a square computer panel, and press Enter to watch an interview with Bjo Trimble about "Elaan of Troyius."

Best Buy Bonus DVD: "Collectible Trek" (a look at Star Trek paraphernalia that fans have gathered over the years)