I see Blu-ray ads on broadcast TV. I see HD-DVD ads on disc. Is either one gaining on the other.

Is there a player that handles both that is under $1000?

Wrong forum (there's one dedicated to these 2 technologies). It was a tie, but Warner recently went BluRay exclusively, which may (or may not) change things. The LG and Samsung dual format players are still up there in price (getting 2 separate players would be cheaper).