Time Machine from 2 computers to one HD - why are the backups different?

I have an external HD linked by fire-wire from one PowerMac. I have an iMac linked by ethernet to the PowerMac. I make the links, so the iMac and its Time Machine can 'see' the external HD.
Both machines run Time Machine, backing up onto the external HD.
HOWEVER:
the PowerMac creates a backup folder, then puts the backup into that folder, as another folder. I can see the contents.
the iMac creates a "sparse Image disk bundle," a single file, that I can't see inside of.
Have I set up Time Machine wrong? Am I really backing things up to the external HD?
Additional info:
The "old" MacBook (10.4.11) puts a Silverkeeper backup file on the external HD also.
There is plenty of available space on the external HD.
Whatever Time Machine does to announce completion of a back up, I don't know what it is. There ought to be 2 modes of operation for it - (1) for beginners, to hear & see when things happen, and (2) for comfortable users who trust this near miracle software to do its job. [How does one become comfortable with something that never explains what it does/did? Appears like a Window 95 network printer.]

Jay Warner wrote:
The "old" MacBook (10.4.11) puts a Silverkeeper backup file on the external HD also.
Are those backups in a separate partition? If not, that's eventually going to be a problem. It would be best in this case for your TM drive to have at least 3 partitions (see #3 and 4 in the Frequently Asked Questions *User Tip* at the top of this forum):
The PowerMac's TM backups.
The iMac's backups.
The Silverkeeper backups.
Whatever Time Machine does to announce completion of a back up, I don't know what it is.
As Mr. Boyd says, you can see this from the TM icon in your menubar, and also in the TM Preferences pane. Both will also contain an indication of a problem (although the one in the menubar is a bit hard to see).
You might want to review these:
Time Machine Tutorial
Time Machine 101
How to back up and restore your files
Time Machine Features
Apple - Support - Mac OSX v10.5 Leopard Time Machine
and perhaps browse the rest of the FAQ Tip.

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