Are anime still submitted to broadcasters in tape form?


In _Shirobako_ , the studio has to deliver the tapes to broadcasters
physically. I'm not surprised that this is a process, but I am surprised that
there's nothing more _modern_ in place.

Early on, we learn that Musani Animation has an FTP server to store their
files - So why don't they just send the file over the internet?

![enter image description here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/8W6iT.jpg)

I've heard some arguments that physical deliver is still faster, but I'm not
sure I buy that - Japan's internet speeds are quite good and the file sizes
shouldn't be overly huge as it should be the compiled product rather than
files with image layers, audio tracks, cg models, etc all seperate.

Are anime really still submitted by tape? If so - why?




No, tapes are no longer used. The tape appearing in Shirobako is just a joke
in reference to old times. DVD-R are used nowadays, and maybe sometime in the
future, blu-ray will replace them. It seems like the trend of using DVD-R
began [at least in
2007](http://blog.livedoor.jp/eniqma_k/archives/50708458.html). On a side
note, shirobako are not necessarily white either [in
reality](https://twitter.com/g1_bari/status/525673642424676352).

As to possible reasons regarding why they have to give it physically:

  1. They are late so they don't have the time to send it by post.
  2. The FTP server was down in the anime so they had no other choice.
  3. Mark of respect and seriousness for the broadcasters.
  4. No problem of "timestamp" proof (if the broadcasters refused to accept the shirobako because of lateness) since a person goes directly to give it.
  5. Reduced risk of leaking the episode if it was given by another mean.

Sources:

  * moto-neta.com/anime/shirobako/
  * detail.chiebukuro.yahoo.co.jp/qa/question_detail/q1185176891 
  * img.animeanime.jp/imgs/thumb_h/44928.jpg
  * the anime Shirobako itself
  * Lots of other pages on Google when searching for "白箱"




No, tapes are no longer used. The tape appearing in Shirobako is just a joke
in reference to old times. DVD-R are used nowadays, and maybe sometime in the
future, blu-ray will replace them. It seems like the trend of using DVD-R
began [at least in
2007](http://blog.livedoor.jp/eniqma_k/archives/50708458.html). On a side
note, shirobako are not necessarily white either [in
reality](https://twitter.com/g1_bari/status/525673642424676352).

As to possible reasons regarding why they have to give it physically:

  1. They are late so they don't have the time to send it by post.
  2. The FTP server was down in the anime so they had no other choice.
  3. Mark of respect and seriousness for the broadcasters.
  4. No problem of "timestamp" proof (if the broadcasters refused to accept the shirobako because of lateness) since a person goes directly to give it.
  5. Reduced risk of leaking the episode if it was given by another mean.

Sources:

  * moto-neta.com/anime/shirobako/
  * detail.chiebukuro.yahoo.co.jp/qa/question_detail/q1185176891 
  * img.animeanime.jp/imgs/thumb_h/44928.jpg
  * the anime Shirobako itself
  * Lots of other pages on Google when searching for "白箱"

