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Subscription wars: MoviePass competitor Sinemia announces new family plans
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MoviePass competitor Sinemia released a new feature that allows their subscribers to reserve movie tickets online without the need of a Sinemia debit card. - photo by Herb Scribner
Herb Scribner
Deseret News
Published: Jun 24, 2018, 10:29 AM
The subscription wars arent slowing down.

Sinemia, a subscription service that bills itself as a MoviePass competitor, announced it will launch an affordable family plan beginning Friday.

The new plan will be available for groups of two to six people, according to a press release emailed to the Deseret News.

The membership holder can bring between two and six people to the theater whenever they want.

The family plans range from $8.99 to $89.99 per month, depending on how many movie days and people you want to bring to the movies with you.

The Sinemia for Two plan will begin at $8.99 per month, down from $9.99 per month, which was previously offered.

The plans range from bringing two people a day with you to six people per day.

All the plans will be billed at annual rates.

Read about all the plans here.

Since 2014, weve been the pioneer of product improvements in the movie ticket subscription area, said Sinemia founder and CEO Rifat Oguz in a press release. Our mission is to give our users the best movie-going experience with sustainable pricing that benefits all parties in the movie industry.

Currently, Sinemia offers one movie ticket per month for $4.99 each month. The service offers advanced ticketing and seat selection.

You can also see a movie more than once if you desire.

MoviePass currently does not offer family plans, advanced ticket purchasing or the option to see a movie more than once a month.

Earlier this week, AMC Theaters announced its new streaming service called AMC Stubs A-List, that offers advanced ticketing and three movies per week for an entire month at a price of $19.95 per month.

MoviePass responded by announcing it would add surge pricing to its service beginning in July. MoviePass CEO Mitch Lowe told Business Insider the rise of subscription services for movie theaters shows the industry is growing and that MoviePass will stay in business longer.

"It's been tough when you have the president of AMC essentially for eight or nine months telling everybody that our subscription was not sustainable, and then he comes out with a program that essentially could cost him $60 or $80 a month to pay the studios their minimums and collecting $19.95," Lowe said, referring to AMC CEO Adam Aron. "So it is a little bit kind of funny that it's pretty clear what he wanted to do clear the way for his own subscription program and not have competition."
Its toxic: New study says blue light from tech devices can speed up blindness
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A new study from the University of Toledo found that blue light from digital devices can transform molecules in your eyes retina into cell killers. - photo by Herb Scribner
Herb Scribner
Deseret News
Published: Aug 13, 2018, 1:39 PM
It turns out checking Twitter or Facebook before bed is bad for your health.

A new study from the University of Toledo found that blue light from digital devices can transform molecules in your eyes retina into cell killers.

That process can lead to age-related macular degeneration, which is a leading cause of blindness in the United States, according to the researchs extract.

Blue light is a common issue for many modern Americans. Blue light is emitted from screens, most notably at night, causing sleep loss, eye strain and a number of other issues.

Dr. Ajith Karunarathne, assistant professor in the UT Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, said our constant exposure to blue light cant be blocked by the lens or cornea.

"It's no secret that blue light harms our vision by damaging the eye's retina. Our experiments explain how this happens, and we hope this leads to therapies that slow macular degeneration, such as a new kind of eye drop, he said.

Macular degeneration is an incurable eye disease that often affects those in their 50s or 60s. It occurs after the death of photoreceptor cells in the retina. Those cells need retinal to sense light and help signal the brain.

The research team found blue light exposure created poisonous chemical molecules that killed photoreceptor cells

"It's toxic. If you shine blue light on retinal, the retinal kills photoreceptor cells as the signaling molecule on the membrane dissolves," said Kasun Ratnayake, a Ph.D. student researcher working in Karunarathne's cellular photo chemistry group. "Photoreceptor cells do not regenerate in the eye. When they're dead, they're dead for good."

However, the researchers found a molecule called alpha-tocopherol, which comes from Vitamin E, can help prevent cell death, according to Futurism.

The researchers plan to review how light from TVs, cellphones and tablet screens affect the eyes as well.

"If you look at the amount of light coming out of your cellphone, it's not great but it seems tolerable," said Dr. John Payton, visiting assistant professor in the UT Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. "Some cellphone companies are adding blue-light filters to the screens, and I think that is a good idea."

Indeed, Apple released a Night Shift mode two years ago to help quell blue lights strain on the eyes, according to The Verge. The screen will dim into a warmer, orange light that will cause less stress on the eyes.