HD DVD video players have outsold rival standard Blu-ray players by a three-to-one margin in Europe's main markets so far this year, according to a lobby group. The European HD DVD Promotional Group claimed it had 74 percent market share in Britain, Germany, France, Italy, Spain and Switzerland for stand-alone players, citing sales figures it commissioned from market research group GfK.

GfK said it has not published research commissioned from the trade group.

The HD DVD group did not give figures for how many players it had shipped to retail outlets in Europe.

The figures were for stand-alone players only and did not include sales of games consoles such as Sony's PlayStation 3, which contains a Blu-ray player.

Toshiba cut prices for its HD-E1 HD DVD player to 399 euros ($549) in Europe and $299 in the United States last month from 499 euros and $399, respectively.

Sony's BDP-S300 Blu-ray player costs $499 in the United States, and its BDP-S1E European version has recently gone on sale, with prices starting at around 900 euros. Other Blu-ray players have been on sale in Europe for longer.