Full marks6/6
Optical media stores data as pits and lands burnt into a spiral track. A laser beam is shone at the disc and the reflected light is measured; pits and lands reflect it differently, and this pattern is read as binary 1s and 0s. Optical discs are cheap to mass produce, so the studio can sell each film at a low price, and a disc is small and light so a customer can store it or give it as a gift. A Blu-ray holds a whole high-definition film and can be played without an internet connection. However, a DVD may not hold a high-definition film with extra features, so the studio would need a Blu-ray, and discs are easily scratched, which can cause read errors so the film will not play. Many modern laptops have no disc drive, so some customers could not play the film. Overall the studio should keep selling discs as well as downloads, because the discs are cheap to produce and give customers a copy that works without an internet connection, even though some customers will prefer to download.
Why: Explains how data is stored on optical media using pits, lands, reflected light and binary (AO1); gives benefits applied to selling films (cheap mass production, portability, Blu-ray holds a film and plays offline) and drawbacks (DVD capacity, scratches causing read errors, no disc drive in modern laptops); ends with a sustained judgement and recommendation, so it meets the Level 3 guidance.
Some marks2/6
Optical storage uses a laser to read pits and lands. It is cheap to make discs, so the studio can sell them cheaply. Discs are portable. But they can be scratched and damaged. Some computers don't have a disc drive.
Why: Basic point about how data is stored, a laser reading pits and lands (1), plus basic points about benefits (cheap to produce, portable) and drawbacks (scratched, no disc drive), but the points are independent and undeveloped with no linkage or application to the studio, so it is the top of Level 1: 2 marks.
No marks0/6
Optical storage uses magnets to store data. The film studio should use optical discs because they are very fast and have a large capacity. They are not affected by scratches.
Why: No creditworthy points. Confuses optical storage with magnetic storage; claims it is fast, has a large capacity and is not affected by scratches, all of which are incorrect. Level 0.