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Some aspects of the 40L3453DB's operating system are pretty friendly, especially the no-nonsense layout of the Cloud TV hub, and the straightforward nature of the main set-up menus. But Toshiba's set is ultimately hamstrung by how long its menus sometimes take to respond to your remote control commands.
The problem is particularly acute when trying to use some of the Cloud TV features, revealing all too clearly the issues associated with trying to shoehorn a smart TV system into a cheap TV that doesn't really have the processing power/infrastructure to deal with it.
Still, I guess many people could feel that a little patience isn't a great price to pay for having any smart features at all on such a reasonably priced TV.
Sound
Not surprisingly, given the flimsiness of its built quality, the 40L3453DB is no great shakes in the sound department. It just about holds its own with simple daytime TV fodder – chat shows, news bulletins, Jeremy Kyle and so on.
Oddly it's a bit better than many skinny TVs at handling treble sounds, where it produces quite respectable amounts of subtle detailing without sounding harsh. Bombard it with the musical score, explosions, gunfire, shouting, engine noise and all the rest associated with a big action sequence, though, and the 40L3453DB can't get close to doing it justice, sounding thin, artificial and largely devoid of bass.
Value
We've pretty much covered this already. But to recap, by the standards of the sub-£400 40-inch TV market the 40L3453DB is a good effort in both feature and picture quality terms. However, if you can dig a bit deeper, to the tune of another £80-£100, the rewards in terms of extra performance and features can be quite considerable.
