Good News/Bad News: Majority own HD sets, 7% of HD capable homes can’t receive it

So close, yet so far, and in this case, sort of sad news (mixed with good news) for HD in general.

The good news from Nielsen: a recent survey indicates HDTV unit ownership has crossed over into more than half of homes now in the US, which is an amazing stat considering many industry pundits were not predicting that this quickly. A year ago, it was around 34% of homes, now its 53%. Amazing indeed.

The sad thing: about 7% of those owners live in areas where they can’t receive an HD signal, or can’t receive a proper HD broadcast without satellite or something similar. Yes, many HDTVs are bigger you may say, but that number really needs to change for HD to truly have a future as a format.  That doesn’t count those few that don’t know they aren’t getting HD, which is a few percentage points, we’re guessing. To have over the 50% mark in HDTV ownership is a momentous occasion for the industry, however, that shouldn’t be overlooked.