Toshiba 40L3453DB review

The price is right but enthusiasts will want to spend a little more

Toshiba
Great Value

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The 40L3453DB is essentially a 40-inch TV at a no-frills price that actually offers a few frills! These include a passable smart TV system complete with some video streaming sources; multimedia playback via USB and DLNA; and picture technology that includes a pseudo 200Hz engine and a full HD resolution.

It's also well connected for its money, with three HDMIs doing HD video duties rather than the two you might have expected. Best of all, although its pictures don't truly excel in any department they do avoid most of the horrors commonly associated with budget TVs.

Just don't expect much from its sound, and be prepared to be patient if you regularly use the sluggish smart features.

We liked

Picture quality is decently above average for a budget TV, and the set is unusually rich in smart features for its level of the market. Which adds up to some good value overall.

We disliked

Its audio is flimsy, its smart features are sluggish and lack a few key video on demand services. The viewing angle is limited, its screen isn't especially bright, and its build quality is very basic.

Verdict

While it's certainly no classic TV, Toshiba's 40L3453DB fulfils its brief. It provides cash-strapped buyers – or people after a cheap screen for a second room – with more features, more picture quality and, given the Toshiba name, more peace of mind than you'll commonly find at the sub-£400 price level.

John Archer
AV Technology Contributor

John has been writing about home entertainment technology for more than two decades - an especially impressive feat considering he still claims to only be 35 years old (yeah, right). In that time he’s reviewed hundreds if not thousands of TVs, projectors and speakers, and spent frankly far too long sitting by himself in a dark room.