Wondering how to do this

Hey everyone.
In the next few days i plan on purchasing a mac mini, that is the cheap model that does not come with a superdrive for burning dvds. That is a problem because i really want a mac for movie editing. I have several PCs right now that are equiped with dvd writers. Im wondering how i could purchase that mac mini model and still have dvd burning capability.

well there is two models. the more expensive one $799 comes with a super drive so you can burn dvd's and stuff. also i am not sure how either of them will be for video editing, but i would definitely not go with the cheaper one for video editing if you are going to try this, also i would suggest upgrading to 2gb of ram for the higher end model. i hope that helps.

iDVD has the ability to make a disk image. What I don't know is if you can transfer that to a PC and burn it to a disk. I haven't tried that.

If you are buying the mini just for video editing you may want to consider just buying PC edting software. The mini seems an expensive option. I'm assuming you are intending to just use iMovie, either 08 or the previous version, HD. Any version of Final Cut should now be run on a system with a dedicated graphics engine.

Well, movie editing isnt the ONLY reason i want a mac, just one of them. Everything about mac impresses me. I did some research and found some information. The article is based on idvd 06 though. Will it work for the newer versions?

http://www.mymacblog.com/index.php/archive/tip-burn-idvd-projects-to-a-dvd-using-your-windows-pc/

There is little difference between iDVD 06 & 08, so I'd expect that method to work fine.

I'm actually surprised there is any reason to convert the disk image. If I had access to appropriate PC, I'd try just copying the original image over to the PC, changing the extension, and trying a burn.

Ok, well this is sort of a "test mac" for me. I have never owned or used one before. I am only a high school student so my budget is limited. If i really like it ill save up for an imac or a macbook

Enjoy the 'test'. When evaluating performance remember that you are using the low end machine. Still, the mini should be a nice starter machine.

does low end nessesarily mean bad? will all the useful applications run smoothly. Honestly i hope it wont put a bad taste in my mouth. In my opinion, the other machines just seem too expensive for the hardware included.

No, it doesn't mean bad. Things like rendering an iMovie for YouTube or your iPod will be slower. Some applications (games or pro apps) require better graphics. I think you'll find the iLife apps run fine on a mini. Really, the best thing to do is test drive one in a store to get a feel for it.

The discussion of price has been hashed out a lot. Apple has been shown to be very competitive with the other name brand manufacturers for similar products.

My first Mac was a 233MHz Wallstreet laptop. I did some video editing on that box when I upgraded the processor to a blazing 466MHz and gave it more memory. The lowest end machine Apple sells today will blow the doors off of that old laptop. So don't feel you can't get things done or that the machine will lag behind you. In most cases you'll lag behind the machine. Video editing is intensive, so there will be times, usually when adding effects, that you might say to your self, it would be nice if this was instantaneous. You might want to ask around here (or search for it) how people find using iMovie 08 and iMovie HD with a Mac mini. The requirements page for iMovie 08 does not disqualify the Intel Mac mini.