A year ago, XStreamHD provided one of the highlights of the CES 2008 show in Las Vegas, trotting out an aging Michael Douglas to roll out its set-top box. The only thing the company lacked was customers.

Fast-forward to 2009, and XStreamHD was scheduled to hold a second press conference. The expectation? Someone would back the service. But alas, it was not to be. I asked Michael Muchmore to cover the press conference, and he called back, puzzled: the room was empty. Even the conference officials didn't know what happened.

Well, we don't know much more, but BetaNews reported that XStreamHD told them that the press conference was contingent "upon a certain event taking place, which did not". What happened? At best, a customer deal probably fell through at the last minute. At worst -- well, in a crowded set-top market, it's possible a venture capitalist decided XStreamHD was too risky a venture.