One of every three U.S. households now has at least one High Definition TV receiver, according to a new survey by Leichtman Research Group (LRG). That’s twice the number of HD households in the U.S. two years ago. But two-thirds of current U.S. HDTV owners bought their sets within the past 12 months, indicating a rapid acceleration in HD sales. The U.S. figures are considered generally applicable to Canada, as well.

Among the survey’s more notable findings:

• Combined, 38 per cent of HD owners say that replacing an old/broken set or wanting to buy a new TV set was the most important reason for getting their HDTV — compared to 22 per cent citing picture quality and seven per cent citing the quality of HD programming or the number of HD channels.
• About 58 per cent of all HD households are now watching HD programming from a multi-channel video provider – up from 53 per cent last year. However, about 18 per cent of individuals with an HDTV continue think that they are watching HD programming, but are not.

Even if you have cable or satellite TV service, you still need an HD converter to receive HD programming. According to the LRG survey, less than half of the HDTV buyers polled said they were told how to receive HD programming when they purchased their TVs.

HDTV owners without access to HD broadcast, satellite or cable signals can still view HD DVD videos in true HD — but only if they have an HD compatible DVD player.