Why TIFF? What about other container formats?

The one word answer is: compatibility. TIFF files are readable in a large number of existing software tools, and when coupled with OME-XML also flexible enough to accommodate the needs of the microscopy imaging community.

That said, OME-TIFF is merely one example of an alternate pixels container for OME-XML metadata; others are certainly possible. If you do not like TIFF for some reason, you can use the OME-XML format directly, or utilize a different container format. However, we urge you to consider using the OME-XML standard for metadata, rather than creating yet another incompatible metadata representation.