It is no secret that we like the Ceton InfiniTV 4 CableCARD tuner around here or that we are always looking for new and interesting ways to make use of our favorite media front-ends such as XBMC. Thanks to mcheng89 in the XBMC forums, we can now make use of the Ceton InfiniTV 4 in XBMC. He has put together a modified version of the PsuedoTV plugin that allows XBMC to tune into the InfiniTV 4 with a little help from VLC. By building on PsuedoTV, the plugin includes a customizable EPG. It is not a complete DVR solution, but it is an interesting option for tapping into live TV from XBMC and especially from XBMC-compatible devices such as the Apple TV.

Way back in November, quiet rumors began to circulate that there might be a new Apple TV on the way. The primary evidence was that some retailers had begun to sell the Apple TV for less than Apple's MSRP. Since then, the denizens of the Interwebs have been preoccupied with whipping themselves into a frenzy about the iPad 3 and the mythical iTV. With the iPad 3 announcement now expected in early March, Apple rumormongers have evidently decided to look around and see if there is any evidence that Apple might be planning to offer up a side dish and have alit on the iTunes Store and the Apple TV. The latest rumors suggest that Apple will launch 1080p content for the iTunes Store. If the iPad 3's Retina Display pans out, then this one seems like a near certainty at some point in the near future. Even on a 10" screen, 720p content on a 2048 x 1536 LCD panel is less than ideal. The Apple TV has been caught up in this round of rumors not only because a refreshed unit would also benefit from 1080p content, but because there is a whole bunch of circumstantial evidence that the second generation Apple TV, now being listed by some retailers as the 2010 model, is in short supply in the retail channel. 

It's been a busy month for streaming media fans looking for something new. Netflix launched their first original series, Lilyhammer, earlier this month, and this week Hulu premiered their first original scripted show, Battleground. While Netflix dropped the entire first season of Lilyhammer at one time, Hulu likes to parcel its shows out gradually. New episodes of Battleground will be available on Hulu and Hulu Plus every Tuesday for its entire 13 episode run.

Even as Lilyhammer and Battleground face-off, Netflix is reportedly moving ahead with another new series. Netflix is expected to announce that it has ordered 13 episodes of its own comedy, Orange is the New Black. Although Netflix does have some other original content coming down the pipe, this will be only the second series after Lilyhammer to be completely financed by Netflix. Both companies are betting big on original content going forward. Early reviews on Lilyhammer and Battleground have generally been quick to pounce on the idea that HBO and Showtime don't have much to worry about. Just keep in mind that early HBO shows such as Tanner '88 and Dream On weren't exactly greeted as the second coming of television either.

**This article has been amended. "Lilyhammer" was produced by Rubicon TV AS for the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation. Netflix financed part of the production.**

The holidays have come and gone, but if your wallet is still feeling a little light, there is a good chance it's because you were one of the folks splurging on consumer electronics last year. NPD has been busy crunching sales numbers and is reporting that consumer electronics sales generated $144B last year. This actually down 0.5% from 2010, and indeed, most of the categories that NPD tracked were down overall. The one category to post big gains was tablets/e-readers. It makes sense then that, of the top CE brands, the only company to post a sales increase was Apple. That's two years in a row for Apple, and judging by the hoopla surrounding the impending iPad3 announcement, the company seems well-positioned to go for the three-peat. Perhaps the most interesting numbers involve the retail channels. Few people would be surprised to hear that B&M stores are falling and online stores are rising, but to see Best Buy at the top of the chain and Amazon tied with Staples for fourth? How in the world is Staples holding its own against Amazon in consumer electronics sales?

Given the positive conversation I had with SIGMA DESIGNS at CES I was a little surprised to see a rumor floating around that the SMP8910 had been suspended. If true, this would be a major setback for those waiting for Dune HD's Pro media player so I fired off an email to find out.

Fortunately, my contact at SIGMA was able to confirm that the 8910 has no been suspended but said nothing beyond that - so I guess we can safely go back to waiting. Patiently.

Samsung was showing off a 55" OLED TV at CES this year. At the time, Samsung was not giving any release dates, but they were aiming for the second half of the year. Well, Samsung still isn't giving a date, but evidently folks in the UK are going to be getting Samsung's OLED beauty this spring. Samsung also isn't giving any prices, though one can assume that it will be lofty. The TV is expected to ship with the full range of Smart TV features and with Samsung's new active 3D technology. It will be interesting to see if Samsung is able to gain some traction this year with their new big screen OLED TVs given how anticipated the technology has been in this size range.