Plextor External 708UF Question

I am thinking of purchasing this drive, and I have a few questions. When I use my standard HP640 dvd drive I put in the movie I want to back up(ususally I'll use shrink etc) then when it gets to the burn mode, the movie ejects and I put in a blank media disc to backup the movie. Is this how an external drive works? Do I use it extactly the same way I have been using my internal drive? Does anyone have an opinion on this external drive I've chosen. thanks!