(FORTUNE Magazine) – Granted, U.S. electronics manufacturers are far behind the Japanese in developing high-definition television (HDTV) hardware. But some good news has been overlooked amid all the clamor for government-sponsored research to put U.S. companies back in the race. A pioneering crop of American firms, including Eleven Twenty Five Productions, Zbig Vision, and Rebo High Definition Studio, has staked out a lead in the potentially more lucrative business of producing HDTV programming. Says David Niles, CEO of Eleven Twenty Five Productions: ''The market could be as big as television itself.'' Though regular high-definition TV broadcasting in the U.S. is still years away, advertisers such as Lancome and Reebok have produced commercials, CBS has commissioned a TV movie, and Mick Jagger has shot a music video using the technology. Since the viewer who sees these on a conventional television set can't tell the difference, why should their makers bother? For starters, high definition adds extra oomph to special effects. More surprising, it can cut production costs by as much as 20%. Even Japanese HDTV hardware manufacturers like Sony are turning to U.S. production houses for HDTV programming. Says Larry Thorpe, vice president of production technology for Sony Corp. of America: ''U.S. companies are three to four years ahead of everybody else.''R.J.