1993.10.05 21:07 "regarding 16 bit components in tiff", by Dave Dyer

We have an application that would like to use tiff format to store images with 16 bits per component, sometimes also 4 components/pixel. Some interesting questions arise, which don't appear to be covered either in the docmentation or in common practice.

1. what endian order should be used to store 16 bit components? Is this affected by the endian order used to store the header.
2. what component order should be used for 4 component x 16 bit images? Likewise, should this be affected by the endian ordering of the header.
3. how will 16 bit components interact with various supported compression schemes?
4. are there any real world applications that support 16 bit components now? Are there any sample images available for validation purposes?