The system used a set of videodisks containing photographs of all the streets of Aspen, Colorado. Recording was done by means of four cameras, each pointing in a different direction, and mounted on a truck. Photo's were taken every 3 meters. The user could always continue straight ahead, back up, move left or right. Each photo was linked to the other relevant photos for supporting these movements. In theory the system could display 30 images per second, simulating a speed of 200 mph (330 km/h). The system was artificially slowed down to at most 10 images per second, or 68 mph (110 km/h).
To make the demo more lively, the user could stop in front of some of the major buildings of Aspen and walk inside. Many buildings had also been filmed inside for the videodisk.
The system used two screens, a vertical one for the video and a horizontal one that showed the street map of Aspen. The user could point to a spot on the map and jump directly to it instead of finding her way through the city.
The Aspen Movie Map is an excellent example of a "proof of concept". It was not really an application to help anybody accomplish a given task. But it showed what was possible with the technology at that time. Even today the Aspen Movie Map remains one of the most sophisticated hypermedia systems ever built. A follow-up to Aspen, the Movie Manual was targeted towards maintenance and repair. The computer could for instance display the image of a car. By pointing at the area to be repaired the user could request instructions in a mixture of text, images and possibly also video.