<p>How big a tv should I bring?</p>
<p>You should bring an infinitely small one – one so small that is is impossible to watch. That way you won’t be distracted from your studies and from all the fun activities open to you during your college years. Like the poor, TV will always be with you, but college only comes around once in a lifetime.</p>
<p>I’d go with this one: <a href=“http://www.engadgethd.com/2007/06/08/jvcs-worlds-largest-tv-110-inches-and-728-pounds-of-hd/[/url]”>http://www.engadgethd.com/2007/06/08/jvcs-worlds-largest-tv-110-inches-and-728-pounds-of-hd/</a></p>
<p>Hmmm, I assume you want a TV to keep getting your daily CNN world news fix or to check on the financial markets on CNBC. Just kidding… Who watches TV in the era of YouTubes, online newspapers, Yahoos, etc.? On a more serious note, if you are brining a computer, look into monitors that can also function as TVs. If you have a laptop, think about getting a docking station with that kind of monitor and a normal-sized keyboard to ease the strain on your eyes and wrists. With the right set up, your computer can function as a CD/DVD player, TV set, typewriter, etc. That way, if your roommate wants to watch something obnoxious on yout “TV”, you can always have an excuse “Hey, buddy, I’ve got my essay on global freezing due tomorrow” to get him off of it.</p>
<p>I went looking for cheap and small for my daughter. Bought a 19 inch flat HDTV by Polaroid for $287 which was $37 over my limit. When I saw that the tv had to go 12 feet from where her head would be I decided that it had to be 19 inches.</p>
<p>She can only see the screen from her top bunk so she does not watch until in bed for the night.</p>
<p>If you REALLY have a laptop, just get a TV tuner for it. It’s a lot easier than lugging a television around. Otherwise, just hang out in TV lounges with other students. TV can be too isolating.</p>
<p>You? You should bring a 51" TV.</p>
<p>There aren’t enough words to describe how badly I felt to see S’s roommate unpack his big TV into their tiny tripled double. I kept my mouth shut, however.</p>
<p>I started college a few days before the first moonwalk. We all knew about it, but few of us watched it because we didn’t have tv’s. We actually sat out late at night on campus and read poetry to each other–that we had written. And we looked at the moon.</p>
<p>Find something better to do with your time.</p>
<p>i had a 20 inch flat screen LCD tv last yr. it worked well (except for the part about us not having cable…)</p>
<p>If you bring a big TV, don’t bring a normal tube kind…my freshman roommate brought a 27" or 29" TV that was absolutely gigantic. We had a built-in desk that we both shared, and this thing absolutely dominated it. She also brought a Tivo…TV was pretty isolating for her, considering all she would do on weekends would be to sleep until 2 and then watch crappy Lifetime movies. Then she’d also use the Tivo to record her stupid shows (stuff in the vein of the OC, exactly the type of shows I can’t stand) and watch it later. Or watch it multiple times.</p>
<p>We weren’t exactly chums, although there were more reasons than just the TV thing. But that was definitely part of it.</p>
<p>Most colleges have TVs in shared spaces that you can watch easily when you want to (sports event, favorite show). You are not going to have enough time in college to lounge around hiding in your room regularly watching TV instead of taking advantage of all the amazing opportunities outside of your dorm room.
My favorite way to watch TV is in the gym while working out…fun and productive.</p>
<p>S brought a 20" and this year in a shared apt added another 20" for the living room,where he and buddies play video games, do Wiii,etc.If you’re a good shopper you can get the 20" for 100$
He likes to have a TV on.Im not giving him,or others lectures about getting out, watching on his laptop,etc.He likes to have other things going on the laptop and have the TV on at the same time,it just seems to be the way kids his age “roll”.Hes on a full merit scholarship,got a 4.0 last year, does plenty of activities, has a girlfriend,etc.,so who am I to complain?He just likes TV,especially sports channels.By the way his current dorm has no common room and last years dorm the common room has a fish tank instead of a TV.
Any bigger than the 20" wouldnt have fit into the alloted space, by the way.</p>
<p>If I could impose my will on my kids I would make sure they don’t have a TV in their room and for that matter that they spend limited time on their PCs IMing or gaming. There are a ton of interesting people to hang with, things to do, and places to go while in college … save the TV viewing for when you’re a parent worrying about when your teenage kid is going to get home!</p>
<p>A 72 inch screen…assuming you won’t have a girlfriend and will spending most of your weekends alone in your room.</p>
<p>Otherwise, skip it. ;)</p>
<p>Wow, people here have really knee-jerk negative reactions to the idea of TV. I wonder if they would use the same reasoning about TV being a solitary activity, TV distracting you from your studies, TV getting in the way of the activities that the college offers, and so on, if you asked how many of your old books you should bring to college? Since you could say all the same thing about recreational reading. And I say this as someone who generally likes the more socially acceptable entertainment of recreational reading much better than that of TV.</p>
<p>As siliconvalleymom said, a lot of dorms/halls/Greek houses have communal TVs. Communal TV is way better, IMO, than your own TV, because communal TV is one of many, many things you can do with your friends on hall or whatever. Sometimes there’s stuff you want to watch on your own, but, as has also been said, this is what computers are for, and you’ll probably need a computer anyway.</p>
<p>Yes, I do have a knee-jerk negative reaction to a tv in a college dorm room, much less of one to a cummunal tv in a louge for shared viewing. Everybody needs down time, but solitary tv watching has got to be one of the lowest forms. It’s a very different activity from reading, brainwise–it literally affects the brain differently.</p>
<p>“It’s a very different activity from reading, brainwise–it literally affects the brain differently.”</p>
<p>Depends on how you do it and which shows/books you’re consuming. There are people who read and don’t bother to think about what they’re reading, and there are some pretty bad books. There are also intelligent, thought-provoking TV shows, and people who get inspired to do all sorts of creative things or develop their imaginations through their TV viewing.</p>