It works the same way in BEWS 12 when it comes to the restore selection view of Public folder of backups on tape.We have though made some changes and now you can use n/w locations,FAT and removable volumes for the destination.
You can backup to tape and can duplicate the backup set from the tape to B2D if you want to restore a Public folder.This will allow you to get a restore selection view and the restore will not have to go through the STAGING process.