[TheGreatButcher]

I just got a 500GB WD external hard disk and I would like to use it on both a PC and Mac. Mac seems to read the format just fine; are there any potential issues I should be aware of on the Mac side, especially if I plan to use this as a scratch disk for Final Cut Pro in addition to file backup?

[Big Mac]

Mac OS X can read NTFS but not write to it without additional software.

Mac OS X can read and write to FAT, but there is a volume size restriction.

[mduell]

Mac OS X can read NTFS but not write to it without additional free software (macfuse + 3g-ntfs).

Mac OS X can read and write to FAT, but there is a file size restriction (4GB, the volume size restriction is several terabytes).

Windows can read and write HFS+ with additional paid ($40ish) software.