Did You Know Google Has A DVD Screensaver? The Hidden Easter Egg Explained

For a certain generation, there is nothing quite like the DVD era, which exploded in the early 2000s. Gone were the days of "be kind, rewind" when VHS ruled the world. Instead, movies could be viewed at home with ease and in crystal clear quality not seen before on the home media market. It was a big deal. For younger folks out there who have largely grown up in the streaming era, this might sound meaningless. That goes double for the notion of a DVD screensaver.

Again, for those who owned a DVD player in the 2000s, there was nothing quite like the simple appeal of a DVD screensaver. "The Office" even had a famous intro gag all about it in season 5, with the show's characters watching the DVD logo hoping it will go exactly into the corner of a TV screen while their boss Michael Scott (Steve Carell) is holding a meeting. Be it in a classroom or just because one left the DVD player on at home after watching a movie, these screensavers were a part of cinema at this time, oddly enough.

It's something that Google has since decided to immortalize with a hidden Easter egg within the popular search engine. Google regularly does things like this, having even included a pretty brutal Thanos tie-in around the time "Avengers: Endgame" hit theaters. For those looking for a little blast from the past, here's how to access Google's DVD screensaver Easter egg.

Those who wish to see Google's DVD screensaver Easter egg for themselves can follow a series of very simple steps to get there. First, head over to the Google.com homepage, then type "DVD screensaver" into the search bar. And that's pretty much it!

After these steps are taken, the Google logo will move away from its usual location at the top lefthand side of the screen and begin bouncing all over the screen, not unlike the DVD logo on DVD players from years past. The logo will also change color, which is something that these DVD player menu animations also did when they were left to do their thing. It's a pretty accurate little blast from the past and a reminder of the good ol' days when it comes to DVDs, which began roughly around 1997 when "Twister" became one of the first movies ever released on DVD.

One important note for anyone looking to chase down this bit of early 2000s nostalgia: The Easter egg in question only works on desktop devices. It won't work on mobile devices, meaning if you try it on your phone or tablet, it's going to be a disappointing experience. But next time you're on your laptop or desktop computer, feel free to give it a go.

For anyone seeking a little more old school DVD action, a visit to BouncingDVDLogo.com might do the trick. Not to spoil the surprise, but it pretty much does exactly what the URL promises. Enjoy.

This whole notion of a DVD screensaver menu really is a throwback to a different time. Now, when we turn on our smart TVs, it's usually a screen populated with endless tiles for various streaming services, representing bottomless pits of viewing options. In some ways better and in some ways worse, the era of seeing these DVD screensavers was a simpler time.

What's interesting is that these DVD screensavers actually had a function purpose when they were created. As the Hacker News forum once pointed out, "The bouncing logo wasn't just for fun, but was important to prevent screen burn-in on CRTs. If you had a static image on a CRT for a long time, it could damage the phosphor. Sometimes you could even see the image when the screen was off!"

These days, the DVD market isn't what it once was, even though it's far from dead. Streaming dominates viewership, but the advent of Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD discs has managed to capitalize on the collector's market thanks to viewers who not only want to preserve their favorites but also watch them in the highest quality possible when they please. As a result, classics are regularly remastered in 4K these days to entice the small but loyal patrons of the physical media market to open up their wallets.

The heyday of DVDs is very far in the rearview mirror, though. Not only are these DVD screensavers largely a thing of the past, but even the robust bonus features that once made home media in general worth it are disappearing rapidly. In that way, this Google Easter egg is truly a reminder of a better time for many hardcore movie and TV fans out there.