New technologies, including 3D capability in two new TVs from Samsung, are well represented in our latest TV Ratings, now available to subscribers. In addition to the new 3D TVs, we have more LCD sets with LED backlighting, and two with Wi-Fi capability for wireless access to Internet-based content, including streaming movies.

Among the new 3D TVs in our Ratings is the first plasma model we've tested from Samsung, the 58-inch PN58C7000, priced at about $2,400 (a 50-inch version costs about $1,800). The other 3D set is a 46-inch model from Samsung's lowest-priced 3D LCD line. Unlike earlier Samsung 3D LCD sets we tested, which use LED backlights, the LN46C750 (about $1,500) has a conventional fluorescent lamp backlight, plus 240Hz technology. As you’ll see from the Ratings, one of these models excelled in both 3D and 2D modes, while we found the other lacking in overall picture quality.

In general, though, edge LED backlighting is showing up on more TVs, including lower-priced, smaller-screen models such as Samsung’s 32-inch UN32C4000 LCD set. In larger-sized sets, LED backlights appear in models from several major brands, including Sony (the 46-inch Sony Bravia KDL-46EX600, about $1,300, and 52-inch KDL-52NX800, about $2,500) and Sharp (the 40-inch LC-40LE810UN, about $1,200, and the 60-inch LC-60LE810UN, about $2,500). Sony’s larger set is among the few on the market to offer built-in Wi-Fi; we also review Toshiba’s 55-inch 55UX600 set that comes with a Wi-Fi adapter. Both Sharp models use its new Quattron technology, which adds a yellow sub-pixel to the traditional red, blue and green. We were not impressed by its ability to render more accurate colors, as the manufacturer claimed.