"TV" setup for dorm room

Parent Cafe
1

Parents:

In my day, it was easy: you had a TV or you didn’t have a TV.

What are kids bringing to college for in-room entertainment these days? Some notes about DD:

  1. She will be studying interactive media/game design/something like that, so she will have a laptop.
  2. She also has an Xbox One that she won last year at afterprom.
  3. She doesn’t watch a lot of broadcast TV. What she does want to watch will be available on-demand through our cable provider’s online presence, and she may end up with an Amazon Plus subscription or something.
  4. The Xbox can play Blu-Rays and stream the digital copies of movies we own.

The direct question is, would a 24" or so computer monitor serve her well? It would be more useful to attach to her laptop for school projects, and would be cheaper than a similar-size TV. How big a monitor would be good?

Thanks in advance.

2

I see plenty of large screen HDTV sets in college rooms during the tours. Large 46" screens. And yes, a full array of XBox and PS4 systems. These kids take this stuff seriously.

3

My youngest (math/CS) has a laptop but also a 35" TV. She doesn’t have cable or broadcast TV, but she does use it as a second monitor for her laptop and with her raspberry pi. She may be the only CS major on the planet who abhors video games and doesn’t have a gaming system, but even so, I think she’d say the 24" monitor is on the small side.

4

we set up a tv for our freshman CS/pre-med major just because he sometimes likes to unwind and watch sports or something. We told him it would be taken away if his grades were bad. We just plugged it in as the service came with the room but then we had to set up the remote.

5

I’ve seen the TV arrangement range from elaborate to having no TV. It depends on what is important to those kids. What I want to add to the discussion is that before deciding what to bring, it is important to: 1) get a sense of how much space is in the dorm room for TVs, etc. and 2) coordinate with any future roommates.

6

I would get a TV; it may be cheaper than you think! A few weeks ago I stopped by Best Buy and managed to pick up a 40-something-inch flat screen for only about $100… I think they’re really trying to push those “smart” TVs now so they’re trying to clear out some of their “dumb TV” (for lack of a better phrase) inventory.

And with an HDMI cable it’s easy enough to attach a computer to a new-ish TV as well.

And if your daughter plans to play games or frequently watch movies like you mentioned on the XBOX though I would recommend the TV or a larger monitor. The console can be bulky (and I wouldn’t recommend putting the TV on top of it, no way) and with a 24" monitor she’d have to get up pretty close to the screen… A larger TV or monitor would allow her to sit more comfortably.

7

I think it depends on the size of the dorm room. Our son was in a 2 person room that was used for 3 people. There was no place to put a TV. None of the boys seemed to care as they all just streamed everything to their laptops. Their floor chipped in on a big TV for the common area and that seemed to work for them. Just make sure she will have room for a tv before you invest.

8

@takeitallin is spot on. Whether it’s going to be a TV or a monitor, you need to make sure there’s enough room. If she’s going to put it on her desk, make sure there’s enough room to otherwise use the desk. If it’s going on a dresser, make sure it’s not a communal dresser, or that there’s not something else that needs to fit up there. Most schools won’t let you put the holes in the wall that would be necessary to hang a TV. We waited until we got to school and scoped out my daughter’s room to decide on a TV. We ended up getting a 24" one, because that’s what fit (even though she had a single), and then when she moved to an apartment a couple years later, where her couch was a lot further away from the TV, she found the TV to be much too small. Too bad, so sad, though, as I wasn’t buying her another one.

9

Right, it’s the space I’m concerned about, not the cost. And how well it will work with the computer.

Thanks to everyone for their comments.

10

Has any used the loft bed tv hanger??

11

None of my 3 kids had a tv in college, nor did they have a monitor, and one was a CS major. They watch everything on their laptops.

12

I think a laptop to view streaming videos would be fine.

13

I agree with @takeitallin. My D is in a forced triple. There would be no room for a TV even if they wanted one. She watches Netflix on her computer or on her phone. She can also access our DIRECTV thru the app so she watches a few shows that way.

14

Neither of my kids had a TV. They watched on their laptops. They like video games so their lap tops were fairly large and powerful.

15

My kiddo overwhelmingly watches stuff on her laptop. But she and her roommate have a TV up on the wall on Command Hooks this year. Medium size TV…they’re shockingly light weight now. She’s got a FireStick, so she can use our Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime (with HBO). She rarely uses it. But it’s nice for a movie party at their apartment.

16

Thanks again. “No TV” is not an option; I have been informed that the Xbox is going even if she has to sleep in the hall. :smiley: (It’s all I can do to keep her from taking my PS4 too . . . .)

17

That’s fine, but remind her that she is almost certainly going to have a roommate… :slight_smile:

18

My kids used their computers. DD had. Teeny tiny little small regular old TV she used for a year or two. Waste of money. Reception was poor. She does have a small TV now in grad school, but only because it was given to her…free.

DS graduated from undergrad 10 years ago…never had a TV in his dorm room…and doesn’t own one now. Streams in his computer (which has a nice large screen).