The big knock on Ultra HD TV today is the lack of available content. Manufacturers can make all the 4K TVs they want, but if there's no new video to watch, the hardware upgrade is a tough sell.

NeuLion Inc. , however, has a solution. Instead of waiting for the professionals to deliver UHD content, the company thinks consumers should start enjoying their own high-resolution videos on 4K flat screens. With a new app scheduled to go live on April 1, NeuLion is introducing casting technology that makes transferring UHD video from a phone or online storage account to a 4K TV as easy as streaming Netflix to a Google Chromecast stick.

And it's fast.

Figure 1: NeuLion EVP Chris Wagner demos the company's new 4K video casting technology to Light Reading editor Mari Silbey

"Casting" has becoming the industry term for broadcasting content from your mobile device to a TV screen. In a booth at CES, NeuLion shot 4K video on a phone and demonstrated near-instant transfer of the content to a nearby UHD TV. The demo was successful over conference WiFi and required nothing more than a few clicks to activate. As NeuLion EVP and Co-Founder Chris Wagner explained, many newer phones already include 4K recording capabilities, which means if a user has a UHD TV, the value proposition is a simple one. Record, cast, enjoy.

Want to know more about the impact of web services on the pay-TV sector? Check out our dedicated OTT services content channel here on Light Reading.

The free casting app is coming to iOS and Android and will be subsidized through advertising. For NeuLion, the app will also help drive the UHD cause, which benefits the company's DivX media player business. Not coincidentally, NeuLion also just announced deals to embed its DivX-based UHD player in Samsung and Sony UHD TV sets.

Professional 4K content may take a while to filter into the mainstream, but user-generated content could help bridge the gap for today's UHD TV buyers. That's a big plus for consumers and for TV manufacturers alike.

— Mari Silbey, Senior Editor, Cable/Video, Light Reading