In a not-so-surprising turn, standalone HD DVD players have regained their lead on Blu-ray sales in September, giving the overall year-to-date figures (in which HD DVD has always been ahead) as 53% HD DVD, 44% Blu-ray, and 3% dual-format. Although this may give you the impression that HD DVD is in the lead, the numbers don't include the PS3, which dwarfs sales of standalone HD DVD and Blu-ray players by quite a large margin (based on June figures).

Things are also interestingly murky over on Netflix. When looking at their published numbes, Blu-ray has about twice as many people looking at the category, but only about 1/3 as many choosing it as their preference. We're not sure exactly what's going on, but our theory is that PS3 owners who got a Blu-ray player as part of the bargain are only marginally interested in its features, which explains the increased overall views. HD DVD owners, who either bought a standalone player or an add-on for the 360, knew what they were getting into, and thus have a higher preference for the format. Sounds good to us. *slaps hands together, then wipes on pants* [DailyTech via Crunchgear]

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