Scotsdale (AZ) - A USA Today report published yesterday cited figures from analyst firm In-Stat, in making a claim that fewer than 5,000 high-definition DVD players had been sold. The report made some waves on the Internet, bolstering claims by some that both Blu-ray and HD DVD formats were jointly headed for a swift and sure demise.

But the author of the report - In-Stat senior analyst for converging markets and technologies, Mike Paxton - confirmed to TG Daily this afternoon that the report the report was published in June 2006, most likely prior to the release of the first Blu-ray players. Furthermore, the figures were limited to player/recorder combos sold only in North America. Still further, the 5,000 figure was an estimate based on derivative reads from third-party sources, Paxton said.

In-Stat has not made a recent estimate of high-definition DVD player sales recently, nor has it made any recent preliminary estimates on behalf of the press, Paxton went on to say.