New consumer research from Leichtman Research found that about one-quarter of households in the United States have at least one television set capable of receiving high definition programming– essentially double the penetration of HDTV of two years ago. Yet, consumer confusion related to high definition programming and products remains strong.

LRG's latest HDTV research found that:

While over three-quarters of HDTV owners believe that they are watching HD programming, LRG estimates that about 53% of all HD households are actually watching HD programming from a multi-channel video provider (cable, DBS or a telco), and about 4% are watching HD programming via broadcast-only – leaving about 20% of those with an HDTV erroneously thinking that they are watching HD programming when they are not.

Just 41% of HDTV owners say that they were told how to receive HD programming when they purchased their set.

About 40% of HDTV owners, and over 20% of all adults, believe that their household currently has a high definition DVD player – a figure that, if accurate, would represent a much greater total than the number of high definition DVD players actually sold to date.

These findings are based on a survey of 1,300 households throughout the United States, and are part of a new LRG study, HDTV 2007: Consumer Awareness, Interest and Ownership.

Categories: Articles, UHD