New research by the Leichtman Research Group (LRG) found that roughly one-quarter of households in the country have at least one TV set that is able to receive HDTV programming, which is double the penetration rate of two years ago, but consumers are still confused about what HD really is.

LRG’s research found that while more than three-quarters of the HDTV owners think they’re watching HD programming, about 53 percent are actually getting HD signals from a cable, telco or satellite service provider. LRG said about 4 percent of the above 53 percent are watching HD programming via-broadcast only, which leaves about 20 percent of those with HDTVs erroneously thinking they’re watching HD when they’re actually not.

Only 41 percent of the HDTV owners said that they were told how to receive HD programming when they bought their HDTVs.

“The number of households with an HDTV has significantly increased in recent years, and LRG forecasts that over 85 million U.S. households will have at least one HDTV by the end of 2012,” said Bruce Leichtman, president and principal analyst for Leichtman Research Group, in a statement. “However, with the expansion of HDTV, there will need to be continued consumer education about high definition programming and products.”

LRG’s research also found that 17 percent of all households plan to purchase a new TV set in the next 12 months, and 47 percent of this group expects to spend more than $1,000 on a TV set.