18.7. Disk Images and External DVD BurnersThanks to a new iDVD 5 feature, you can now save your project as a computer file called a disk image. And from there, you can do something that many iDVD fans have always wanted to do: burn DVDs on an external, non-Apple DVD burner . You may have run into the disk-image (.dmg or .img) format before; it's a popular storage format for software you download. It's so popular because you get a single, self-contained file that contains many other files, arrayed inside exactly as though they're on a disk. When you open a disk image file, in fact, it turns into a little harddisk icon on your desktop, with all of its contents tucked inside. Note: Don't confuse a disk image with a project archive; they're two very different beasts. A disk image is a virtual disk, a bit-for-bit copy of the data that would appear on an actual, physical DVDit just happens to be stored on a hard drive rather than a DVD.Project archives, in contrast, contain all the source project material used by iDVD. The only thing that can read or "play back" a project archive is iDVD itself. To turn an iDVD project into a disk image, save it. Then, choose File Save as Disc Image (Shift- -R). Choose a file name (for example, Summer Fun.img ) and a location, and then click Save. Now wait as iDVD compresses your movie data and saves it to disk. All of this takes just as long as an actual DVD burning, so now's your chance to catch up on some magazine reading. When it's all over, you'll find a new .img icona disk imageon your desktop. Disk images are amazingly high-octane, cool stuff for two reasons:
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