It’s rare to meet someone without a TV, especially in the US, and it would seem high-definition TVs in particular are becoming less scarce. According to a recent Nielsen report, as of February 2009 over 33% of US households owned HDTVs, which is up from 19.3% the previous February. A Nielsen blog post said that no new TV technology has been so swiftly adopted since color TV was introduced over half a century ago.

The information collected by the research firm found that at 41.8%, Asian households were the most likely to own HDTVs. This compares to about 34.3% of Caucasians, 32% of Hispanics and 25.9% of African Americans, who were the least likely to own HDTVs. The study reported that while high-def TV purchases are on the rise, people are relocating their old sets and making use of them in other rooms.

In a statement, Nielsen’s senior vice president, Steve McGowan said that despite a poor economic climate, “HD remains on course to become the benchmark in TV viewing.” In addition to the digital transition creating new opportunities to promote HD, he believes that high-def sets will continue to fly off shelves as prices descend.