All of HD-DVD's hard work seems to be paying off.

In a story from Video Business, according to "NPD Group unit sales figures cited by Toshiba" the stand-alone HD-DVD players now lead Blu-ray players in sales.

It looks like "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," states Jodi Sally, Toshiba VP of marketing of digital A/V products.

The NPD figures breakdown as follows, "HD-DVD players command 53% of sales; Blu-ray players, 44%; dual format players, 3%."

"When new models hit stores there will be a surge in demand. There were some weeks where we lagged," Sally continued. "But overall HD-DVD continues to dominate."

Toshiba launched "its series of third generation HD DVD players in September. Its new entry-level model, the $299 HD-A3 is beginning to hit shelves in October."

Sally also discussed "HD-DVD strength within PC drives. Toshiba estimates that 5 million HD-DVD drives for desktops and notebooks will be sold during fiscal 2008. She believes that should make the format competitive with the Playstation 3, which was nearing 2 million units sold in the U.S. through the summer. HD-DVD laptops are closing in on a relatively attractive $1,000 price point, likely fueling the retail movement."

Lastly, "Toshiba believes more people are buying PC HD DVD drives with the pure intention to watch high-def movies than people who are buying the PS3. Sources have estimated that just 20% of PS3 owners have played movies on the machine."