As of February 2009, slightly more than one-third of American TV homes had at least one HDTV, a marked increase from November 2008, when 29.2 percent of homes had one, and a huge leap from February 2008 when only 19.3 percent of homes had one. Indeed, a separate Nielsen report found that HDTVs were the single most popular home entertainment system purchases during the holidays. Asian households had the greatest penetration – 41.8 percent – while African-American homes had the lowest at 25.9 percent.

Where are people putting their new TV sets? Nearly two-thirds are located in common areas such as the living or family room. In homes with more than one HDTV, the second set is usually located in a master bedroom. This switch to HDTV doesn’t necessarily mean that households are ditching their old standard sets; they are simply re-locating them to other rooms such as bedrooms and the basement, and may use them for a dedicated purpose, such as video gaming. Overall, the average U.S. household now has 2.6 TV sets.

“It’s clear that despite the current economic climate, HD remains on course to become the benchmark in TV viewing. As prices of HDTVs continue to fall — a trend that might accelerate in the current environment — and circumstances such as the digital transition create new opportunities to promote the sets and programming, HDTV will continue to gain a greater foothold in U.S. television homes,” said Steve McGowan, Senior Vice President, Insights and Client Research Initiatives, Nielsen.

Click here to read the full Nielsen HD TV report.

Using data collected from its national and local television panels, the quarterly Home Technology phone survey and the Nielsen Claritas 2008 Convergence Audit survey, the report provides a detailed look at how Americans are getting on the internet and the differences by various demographic breaks.

Key findings of the report include:

• Internet access is correlated with education level and a household’s combined annual income. As they increase, so does the likelihood of internet access.
• Internet access is lowest in Hispanic and African-American homes, as well as those where the head of household has not completed a high school education.
• Access is much lower in rural areas and in homes that receive only broadcast TV.
• Those using dial-up service tend be older, with more modest incomes and lower education levels than those using high-speed internet.
• The East South Central region (consisting of Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee and Kentucky), had the highest number of households with no internet access – 26 percent.
• The top five markets with the highest percentage of homes with internet access are Washington, DC, Norfolk, Salt Lake City, Boston and Portland, OR.
• The five markets with the lowest percentages are Knoxville, Greenville, Albuquerque, Memphis and Tulsa.

“Our findings indicate that there remains opportunity for growth in internet access in the U.S.  Indeed, President Obama stated during the campaign that we had to view broadband internet access the same way we did telephone service and electricity – an essential utility available to all regardless of economic status,” said Steve McGowan, Senior Vice President, Insights and Client Research Initiatives at Nielsen.  “But part of the challenge in extending web access to all Americans is the fact that there are more homes without computers, than there are homes with computers but lacking internet access.”

To view the complete report, click here.