<p>Don’t listen to the other parents here. I am a student, and absolutely love my TV. Sheesh.</p>
<p>All of mine loved having a TV. The D used hers more for movies and taping favorite shows and the guys didn’t want to miss big sporting events. #2 son and roommate also ran their laptops on the screen.</p>
<p>I’m going to agree with neverborn. Both of my kids loved having their own tv. It didn’t make them less social; it just gave them the opportunity to watch what they wanted to when they wanted to. Go for it. Your son will be glad to have it.</p>
<p>My children both took a tv to school as our entire family loves tv!! My daughter had a group of 6 girls that watched several shows a week together; it was their girl bonding time. What if someone missed an episode due to a test or other commitment-no problem, my daughter had a Tivo!! </p>
<p>My son records every episode of West Wing on his Tivo; doesn’t matter how many times he has seen it, he loves to rewatch! For those of you with Tivo you understand how Tivo changes the way you watch tv. I have had our Tivo for years in our den and one year my daughter ask for a Tivo for Hanukkah. We told the grandparents that she really wanted one and if they wanted to be part of a group gift. They were more than happy to give her something she really wanted. I now have my parents hooked on Tivo, giving them one for a big anniversary.</p>
<p>Sorry, I got off topic. Anyway, both my kids study with the tv on instead of music. It hasn’t affected their grades, so I am ok with it. Most of their high school friends are also tv watchers; it is not unusually to find them watching as a group on a weekend night.</p>
<p>“it was their girl bonding time” </p>
<p>My D. and 5 other girls have been meeting weekly(for 3 years) during school year to watch their favorite 2 shows–Gilmore Girls and some other one. They DVR it for those that miss. Now that they all have apts. they take turns cooking/hosting the night. </p>
<p>To answer OP – I don’t know if brands really matter (ask your son’s friends if he has mentioned any favorites). Just go with the features you think he would like —the sleep option is nice, does he have digital cable at school?, size of dorm room, the flat panels are lighter–but more expensive and I worried about boys rough-housing and knocking the thing over. Anyway–those are my quick thoughts.</p>
<p>What’s a sleep option - do you set it to turn off, like a reverse alarm clock? Digital cable at college? hmmm, I have no idea and haven’t been able to find anything about it in the handbook. We don’t know anyone else that goes there to ask. Well, son might have an e-mail but that won’t help me. Does that matter?</p>
<p>Their video options have, shallwe say, grown… Startede with a TV-- used for videogames. They used the laptops for movies. Then the discovered that they could buy used campus equipment from the engineering school- ended up with some projection equipment for next to nothing that they hooked up to a receiver/tuner gizmo, and they project tv onto the wall. Their room became quite popular.</p>
<p>We bought S one of those flatscreen tv’s for Christmas he wanted that can also be tuned in as a monitor. It was a wise choice because they watch all the away football games on it as it is a larger screen . And very easy to bring home and move. I did worry about it being stolen but it wasn’t.</p>
<p>I am planning to go to Costco tomorrow and found a 15" one on-line at their site that will work as a monitor and has a dvd player. It’s a flat screen. Actually, it’s a little smaller then the monitor he has (also a flat screen) but looks cooler. Hope it’s there. Nothing like waiting until the minute!</p>
<p>any brand should be fine, although i would stay away from like sylvania or something like that. my sister had a 19" of theirs and it broke after about a year, and apparently they have a lot of problems like that (however they are a cheaper brand)</p>
<p>we never used our tv in college for tv watching, just for movie playing… and I’ve never seen anyone at school watch movies on a laptop. what group of friends sits around watching movies on a 15 inch laptop?</p>
<p>i’d def. get something with a dvd player … either built in or a stand alone… because that’s the only thing i ever use on my tv.</p>
<p>I now have a 27 inch widescreen tv in my room, and even that i just use for movie watching (which is why i got widescreen)</p>
<p>kathie, where is a costco near here?</p>
<p>Not that close! The only one I know about is in Montgomeryville - about 30 minutes south of Quakertown. I go about once a month. They have free trade coffee, dried mangoes in big bags and all kinds of yummy stuff!</p>
<p>I call it sleep option–not sure of its real term. You basically set it to go off after a certain period of time --30min, 1 hr, etc. Not sure if my kids really ever use it, but I sure would like one for me–but my set is 15 yrs. old and has no extra features!</p>
<p>I’m also voting for the TV with build in DVD player. The first year my daughter had a 14" flat screen (Toshiba) - it was too small. The next year she got a 20" with DVD (don’t ask - her dad got it for her “just because”) and she loved it. She watched movies with her friends all the time (a very common thing to do at school) or by herself when she just needed some personal down time. Around here, my big group of friends will all chip in for our kids’ graduation present and it’s usually the TV with the DVD player or a refrigerator. They all love it - and it’s a great start for them.</p>
<p>kathie, is it near the mall? I like the store “five and below” which is next to the best buy and old navy across from the mall. everything is 5 bucks and less… iv’e gotten some pretty decent stuff there. a lot of stocking stuffers at christmas.</p>
<p>I agree that costco is a good place for reasonable price on screens
Very interesting info to keep in mind however-
My D school didn’t allow TVs in dorm rooms, although there was usually a tv on one or more of the floors in teh common room that the RA would bring.
They did do group activities, but it was usually studying, playing cranium or cooking.
Not that I really have anything against tv, but I think for some kids- including my own- it could be used as an insulator against other things that they could/should be doing</p>
<p>emeraldkity,
We thought about this for a long time for that very reason. We gave up cable 7 years ago because we found it was too big a time waster for all of us and with less channels to choose from it’s easier to decide not to watch tv, and find something else to do. For both of my sons the something else has been the computer, especially computer games. My daughter never did get the tv bug and only watches tv on a regular basis. At her school there is a wide screen tv in the lounge area of her dorm but the kids have to decide to pay for sattelite service each quarter and sometimes they decided not to, and just watch dvd’s. Isn’t that amazing - a whole dorm full of kids deciding that tv is not that important? Anyway, I’m hoping this is not an anti-social choice, and I know it’s something our son will like. </p>
<p>fendergirl, sending you a pm.</p>
<p>kathiep, I know we are not in sync on this one. But no TV is the best plan in my view. TV really has little place when you are up till 2am every night anyway socializing like mad with a zillion new friends, trying to study and write profound papers, online 24/7 on a laptop and checking your cell phone every few minutes. My son at Duke didn’t want one and his roommate also was so relieved when he showed up without it. Their room could be a quiet place to escape a wired world at night. There are very fine large screen TVs in dorm group rooms where kids gather for the big games or for those who want to check out some favorite shows. Dorms at most colleges also have budgets and residents vote for how to spend them and many dorms buy premium channels which are quite generous for the dorm living rooms. I’m “agin” it. sorry. Sleep deprivation is a well-documented major issue for college students, not that I would deprive them of their time to push the limits but you have no idea how our kids are online all night long talking. Some kids also have cameras on their computer so they can talk to far away sweethearts till dawn. It is a new age since I showed up for my education at college with a hair dryer, a portable type writer before white out was invented, a desk lamp and one of those ridiculous make up mirrors. Sleep has declined much further since the communications age is oh so exciting now. Even without a TV to watch all the games on, my S reported home with mono from sleeping very little and socializing much much more than in high school which compromised his abilities all freshman year. Movie rentals are free at the college library and the kids check them out all the time. DVDs in laptops are just great. My son can watch films on his Ipod which was FREE (harharhar) at Duke this year. Think twice.</p>
<p>Another quick thought. A big reason alot of kids come home from school with bad experiences (“didn’t like the school… everybody ignored me”…etc…) is because they didn’t leave their dorm room. Providing something that can sub for interaction with people may not be helping. Most colleges I know of have enough stuff going on that TV is something you watch when you come home. College is a time to do things and meet people you might not meet in any other situation. It is not time to catch up on “wheel of fortune”.</p>
<p>Depends on the kid. My D and I love TV, and she had to have her own TV in her dorm room. She used it a LOT! And it became the common room for her friends. She was glad she had it, (she gets Netflix) and she and her friends had many a TV or movie night (also game nights - Trivial Pursuit, watching the Oscars, etc.) The TV in the common room was usually being used by others, so it came in handy.</p>
<p>I think it can be fun to watch a movie with friends and talk about it- I know that at my D school, everyone who was employed on campus had a stipend to spend on students. This resulted in lots of trips with profs to see Harry Potter or Serenity. ( I believe they packed the theatre to see Troy and did not amuse the other patrons when they shouted back at the screen)</p>
<p>My daughter also would get dvds of west wing episodes to watch occasionally when she had a down period.
But she really didn’ t have a lot of free time-
she was a bio major and lectures and lab classes consumed lots of time- homework consumed more time & she had to fit in taking a shower occasionaly and eating as well- not to mention her computer lab job- so while she did waste time on ichat when she should have been doing research-she didn’t need the pull of yet another thing to keep her from her studies.
SHe really doesn’t watch tv when she was at home- although both her dad and sister do, to the detriment of other things sometimes, so when we are looking at schools, that will be something I keep in mind- what students in teh dorms seem to be doing-
We went a long time ( for several years) without even having a tv when ours needed to be replaced and I didn’t get around to it- I didn’t miss it at all- I am very noise sensitive- unless I am actively listening to the tv/radio/music, it drives me insane to just “have it on”.
we finally did get a tv- & although I have netflix, I wont get cable cause then I don’t expect it would ever go off- when we are vacationing, the H and younger D, will have it on the whole time they are in the room- its like a drug.</p>