A survey, conducted in February, shows that 33.3 percent of US homes have HDTV — up from just under 20 percent a year ago.

Nielsen, which conducted the survey, says it hasn’t seen anything like it since the 1960s, when color TV was first introduced.

“Despite the recession, Americans seem willing to continue to spend their hard-earned money on this new technology,” said Steve McGowan, Nielsen’s head of client research, in a blog post.