In spite of a Black Friday bump for HD DVD player sales and Blu-ray's continued lead in hardware market share, standard DVD continues to dominate DVD hardware and software sales, Video Business magazine reports.

That trend is expected to continue for the next few years, according to new research from Screen Media Digest and Adams Media Research. Their report forecasts stagnant sales for high-definition in both formats, even as Blu-ray retains its dominance in hardware presence.

As the HD DVD vs. Blu-Ray format battle continues, many consumers are simply opting out, it seems. One interesting point of comparison: In 1998 -- the second year after standard DVDs were introduced -- households with DVD players purchased an average of 8.9 discs. But in 2007, those households equipped with high-definition DVD players (including standalone units and game systems that play high-def discs) have purchased only 3.6 discs apiece on average.

Analysts point to the continued popularity of the regular-format DVD, as well as the backward compatibility/up-converting capability of most high-definition DVD players, as a drag on high-def disc sales. Rather than spending to upgrade their DVD libraries to the newer formats, consumers are opting to settle for the next best thing, by and large. Certainly, the lack of a clear direction in an industry standard for high-def discs isn't helping matters, either.

Adams Media Research analysts predict that Blu-ray will continue to lead in market share at a 55-45 split in the U.S., and by a 60-40 split globally.

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