A recent telephone survey of 130 US households by the Leichtman Research Group shows that 18 percent of HDTV owners think they are watching high-definition programmes, when in fact they are watching standard definition material.

Given the general consumer confusion surrounding HDTV terminology like HD-Ready, 1080p and HDMI, it is little surprise that many buyers are still clueless. The confusion largely seems to lie with the issue that many HDTV buyers don't understand that their existing cable TV feeds come at standard-definition resolution and that a service upgrade has to be purchased in order to get high-def programming.

Also, optional high-definition services often include only a dozen or so highly compressed HD channels, which fall short of expected HD quality.

Retailers do not seem to be helpful in promoting the format. Just 42 percent of HDTV owners say they were told to get high-definition programming when they bought their sets.

Despite the confusion, HD adoption is booming. A third of HDTV owners have more than one HD set, and 25 percent plan to buy another one in the next year. Also, a third of US households have at least one HDTV, roughly double the percentage that had an HD set two years ago, the survey says.

Story filed 02.12.08