Former Wall Street analyst Steve Wang has just launched Wavelength, a free movie-sharing service, or, as Wang is calling it, "the first social movie service."

Wavelength is powered by Ultraviolet, a cloud locker created by movie studios in 2010 that allows users to buy one copy of a movie and stream it to multiple devices. Users can post a listing of all the movies they have in their Ultraviolet libraries to Wavelength, allowing their friends to browse and watch. Instead of hosting the movies, Wavelength sends users to an online portal run by the film's original retailer, like Walmart's Vudu or Flixster. Up to three people can watch the same movie posted by a shared friend.

Stream your friends' movies

By working with Ultraviolet, Wang has managed to play by Hollywood's rules without actually having the support of Hollywood. But if he wants Hollywood to invest in his service, he'll have to prove that Wavelength can actually get people to buy movies instead of just streaming them.

The whole thing is a delicate ecosystem. According to Recode, Wang is worried that Ultraviolet will soon rewrite its terms of service to prevent multiple users from sharing the same library, which could prevent new users from streaming their friends' videos.

In a blog post about the launch, Wang said, "It's unclear if we will be able to ultimately fulfill our longterm vision." But they're pushing on anyway. Ultraviolet's benefit to the consumer has never been clear. With Wavelength, it's just a little bit clearer.