Obviously the use of adapter cables for component and composite hookups can be confusing, especially since you also have to take the extra step of specifying the input type through the HDTV's software menu, but it is a way to help minimize cable clutter if you want to mount the 46SL417U on a wall. Toshiba provides a helpful printed manual, along with a small but useful quick-setup sheet showing how to connect the various cables.
A fairly standard first-time wizard guides you through the usual setup routine in which you specify language, time zone and Daylight Savings Time status, location (home versus store), and the video source for the coax cable (cable TV versus antenna), after which the channel-scanning process starts.
The first-time wizard does not address image quality or network setup, however. For those items, you must go into the on-screen menu using the 46SL417U's remote--a long, snazzy-looking curved affair on which most of the buttons are set into a shiny black surface slapped on top of a silvery base that sticks out at the bottom. Unfortunately, the remote suffers from several usability issues: Some buttons, including the color-coded context-sensitive buttons (a fixture on most advanced remotes), are way too tiny; the remote has no backlight; and the button for changing inputs isn't conveniently located.
The 46SL417U's remote can control up to three additional devices via buttons labeled Cable/Satellite, DVD/BD (Blu-ray), and Auxiliary. By default, the first two buttons are programmed to control, respectively, a Toshiba satellite dish and a Toshiba Blu-ray Disc player, while the last button is set to control an Onkyo home theater audio system. You can reprogram all of the buttons to control other devices.
Toshiba's menu system is well organized and easy to follow, with five top-level categories (Network, Media Player, Wallpaper, Timer, and Settings). The largest menu item, Settings, contains submenus for Picture, Sound, Applications, and Preferences (a catchall that leads to parental controls, the aforementioned shared port settings, setup for Netflix and Vudu, channel-browser editing, and so forth).