Suggestions for an external HD to use with my AirPort Extreme?

I have a fairly new APE (6 months old or so), and I want to purchase an external HD for use as a backup/sharing device on my network.  I have a MBP running ML, a PC desktop (win XP), and a PC laptop (win 7).
It will be a stand alone unit at part of the network, and plugged into the APE, but when configured, I'd like to be able to access the files stored there with any of the computers I have.
I do not anticipate having to plug the ext HD directly into any of the computers, except in an extreme emergency.
Would a HD like a WD MyBook do, formatted either for the PC or the Mac?  Does the HD need to be formatted one way or the other for maximun compatibility?
I dont intend to buy a "portable" HD to do the job.  It will be connected full time to the network.
I've never used Time Machine before as a backup tool, nor any other backup software.  Primarily, the backup will be of my photos, and a few documents.
If I have a system  crash, I can and will reinstall the OS, whatever computer dies.
I've not got much experience with network HD backup, but I figure it's about time.
Sorry if my questions are a bit lame, or if this has been covered in some kind of tutorial somewhere else.  Please direct me to that link if it has.
Any advice or help would be greatly appreciated!!
DJ

Thank you for your reply.
I have been looking at the WD MyBook Studio as an option in my system.  Not so much because it is Mac compatible out of the box, but more because I like the idea of the metal enclosure, for durability and heat dissapation.
I have heard and seen reviews where many external drives can be noisy as well.  I'm not so concerned with noise during a backup or a file transfer, but I dont think I could tolerate constant noise.
I have a APE, 802.11n, Model MD031LL/A that I intend to plug my external drive into.  I may or may not just do basic "copy and pastes" of files and such, at least until I find a backup plan that is somewhat automated and hands-free.
For now, anyway, I have nothing of importance stored on my MBP, so using Time Machine might not be a factor as a backup solution for my MBP.
An overwhelming majority of my files will be JPEG, RAW, along with Word and Excel files (from both my MBP and PC).  I do not have any Mac-exclusive formatted files on my MBP.
I try to be careful when saving and storing files to allow for max compatibility on both platforms.  As an aside, if there is a good tutorial about this topic (file-saving and compatibility), I'd love a link if you can share.
I would be willing to reformat the external drive if it meant better, cross platform compatibility and performance.  In the back of my head, I have this idea about getting the MyBook Studio, and reformatting as necessary.
I know this idea sounds a bit fussy, but I just want to get a quiet, solid desktop external drive, that I can just sort of buy, configure and forget (in a manner of speaking)
Plus, I dont want to waste $100-$150 bucks making a poor HD choice.
Further suggestions?
Thanks,
DJ

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