HD DVD set-tops have reclaimed their dominance over Blu-ray standalone players, according to weekly NPD Group unit sales figures cited by Toshiba.
HD DVD players began outselling Blu-ray models starting in mid-September and regained a year-to-date lead of a little over 50% through the rest of the month, said Jodi Sally, Toshiba VP of marketing of digital A/V products.
Year to date, according to NPD figures she cited, HD DVD players command 53% of sales; Blu-ray players, 44%; dual format players, 3%.
She acknowledged several Blu-ray weekly victories in the run-up to home theater installer conference CEDIA, but she told attendees at Tuesday's DVD Forum conference, that Blu-ray victory was short lived. At the time of CEDIA in early September, Sony executives said that the launch of the company's $499 models, which marked the cheapest available BD set-tops to date, helped boost their August sales.
"When new models hit stores there will be a surge in demand. There were some weeks where we lagged," said Sally. "But overall HD DVD continues to dominate."