1. A system for printing time-based media, the system comprising: a media processing system for determining an electronic representation of the time-based media wherein the media processing system resides at least in part on a printer and at least in part on an external media processing system; the printer including: an interface for transferring time-based media between the external media processing system and the printer, the interface comprising a first media interface for communicating with a first peripheral device external to the printer and a second media interface for communicating with a second peripheral device external to the printer; an electronic output system in communication with the media processing system to receive the electronic representation, the electronic output system producing a corresponding electronic output from the electronic representation of the time-based media; and a resource allocation module for receiving a request for at least one media processing task and determining processing allocation for at least one media processing task among the printer and the external media processing system based on criteria.