Meanwhile, standard-definition TV shipments are expected to decline from 114.8 million units to 23.1 million unites by 2012, according to the firm.

Sheri Greenspan, iSuppli senior analyst for consumer electronics, credits the increasing availability of HD content in many regions of the world and declining prices of HDTV sets for the projected growth. While most consumers may not know exactly what HD is, they know they want it, she notes.

"The technology is everywhere these days—on broadcast television, on cable, on satellite, and on the Internet," Greenspan said. "You can't escape hearing about something being broadcast in HD or getting the most out of your HD receiver or the most HD channels available."

HD set-top boxes (STBs) are growing at a CAGR of 36 percent, driven by the expanding availability of HD content and declining cost to process HD video streams, according to iSuppli (El Segundo, Calif.). HD STBs represented less than 20 percent of the overall global STB market in 2007 but will represent 50 percent of the overall STB market by 2012, according to the firm.

Costs to providers to generate and deliver HD content are declining and the savings is being passed along to consumers, Greenspan said.

 See projected growth chart