In the 60 years that television watching has dominated Americans' leisurely pursuits, the picture has twice been transformed: first from black and white to color; then from dull resolution to high definition. Significantly, the change from conventional to HD resolution was accompanied by the switch from analog to digital delivery.
According to the Consumer Electronics Association, the first year that household penetration rates reached more than 50% was 1973 for color television and 2009 for HDTV. If you consider that color standards were agreed to and limited color broadcasting began in the mid-1950s and HDTV standards and limited broadcasts began in the late 1990s, it appears that Americans' embrace of color was a slow dance that took roughly two decades vs. just one for HDTV.
According to the Consumer Electronics Association, the first year that household penetration rates reached more than 50% was 1973 for color television and 2009 for HDTV. If you consider that color standards were agreed to and limited color broadcasting began in the mid-1950s and HDTV standards and limited broadcasts began in the late 1990s, it appears that Americans' embrace of color was a slow dance that took roughly two decades vs. just one for HDTV.