College can get pretty hectic if you think about it. You’re supposed to spend a long day in the morning, attending classes, submitting assignments, and hanging out with your friends at parties, but it’s nice to come back to your dorm room.
You get to lie on your bed and then, the boredom hits pretty bad. You’re missing out on something. Though it’s nice to have a laptop and computer, but you might want to just couch and watch a show or movie from time to time, right?
That’s where you need a TV for your college dorm room. Now, we know that dorms aren’t the best place to keep an expensive TV, but if the conditions allow it and your dorm room is an off-limits place to outsiders, or if you don’t have any friends who are rough around the edges, getting a TV for your dorm room does make plenty sense.
Dorm rooms tend to be pretty small, and most of the time, they’re shared. If you’ve got a reliable roommate, you can go ahead and get a decent TV.
But what stands as decent? You might want to get into the intricacies of optimal viewing distances, clearance space, and other factors to get the right TV. If that’s a bit much for you. Don’t worry, we’re here to help. Check out our top picks for the best TVs for dorm rooms.
What size TV is best for dorm rooms?
So, you’re planning to get a little treat of a TV for your dorm room, but you don’t know which size to go for. But we’re here to help. You’re not going to need a big 55-inch TV. That would be pretty much overkill, and it does tend to attract the attention of people wanting to get a little bit of binge action of their own.
But you might have to deal with some clearance issues as well on the side. So, which TV should you go for? If you’ve bought a desk for your dorm room, then you might want to watch on a TV that’s in the ballpark of, say, 32 to 43 inches.
That’s enough to suffice for your dorm entertainment experience. You might need to optimize your viewing distance as well, so as to not lose the immersive experience of whatever movie or show you’re watching.
But if you’re planning on sitting more than 3–4 feet away from the screen, you’d want to go for something bigger than a 43-inch TV. If you’ve got a sofa and a small desk, and you plan on sitting a bit farther away from your screen, then it’s best to get a 55-inch TV.
While that does sound a bit contradictory, it all comes down to the size of your dorm room. Not all dorm rooms are the same size, are they?
Best TV for Dorm Rooms: LG OLED42C2
LG OLED42C2
Size
42″
Screen Technology
OLED
Resolution
4K Ultra HD 3840 x 2160p
Refresh rate
120 Hz
Panel type
WOLED
HDMI standard
HDMI 2.1
- OLED EVO technology for better brightness.
- Supports HDMI VRR, Nvidia G-Sync, and AMD FreeSync.
- Small screen size.
- Higher price compared to some competitors.
If you’re on the hunt for a small-screen OLED TV for your new dorm room, you’ve got some options to consider. But one that stands out, especially for a dorm TV setup, is the LG OLED42C2.
This LG OLED may be small, but it packs a punch with its OLED EVO technology, which gives you better brightness. It comes with a fantastic lineup of features that outshine its closest rival, the Panasonic LZ980. You get Auto Low Latency Mode, Variable Refresh Rate, and support for 4K at a smooth 120Hz on all the HDMI inputs.
Speaking of gaming, the OLED42C2 supports HDMI VRR, as well as Nvidia and AMD’s VRR solutions, with a latency of just 12.9ms. While it’s not as lightning-fast as Samsung’s TVs, it’s still pretty darn responsive. And when you have VRR in play, the lag practically disappears.
Best Budget TV For Dorm Rooms: Hisense A6G
Hisense 43A6G
Size
43″
Screen Technology
LED Direct lit
Resolution
4K Ultra HD 3840 x 2160p
Refresh rate
60Hz
Panel type
VA/IPS
HDMI standard
HDMI 2.0
- Affordable price.
- Google TV smart interface.
- Lower contrast ratio.
- No local dimming.
If you’ve got no money to spare and are the average college student looking to get by, then you can certainly get a TV that’s relatively wallet friendly. The Hisense A6H checks all boxes–for the most part. It’s an entry level TV that comes in at 43 inches.
It offers decent picture quality, standard to what you’d expect from a 4K TV, but doesn’t pack any fancy technologies. Where it falls flat is that the picture quality is barely acceptable in dark rooms, due to its lower contrast ratio. You don’t get any local dimming to improve the picture quality in darker scenes.
The OS on the Hisense A6H is the Google TV smart interface, with many streaming apps baked right in. If you just want to watch your favorite TV shows and get by, the Hisense A6H gets the job done.
Best 55 inch TV for Dorm Rooms: Sony 55 Inch 4K
Sony 55 Inch 4K Ultra HD TV
Screen Size
55 Inches
Resolution
4K
Display Technology
LED
Refresh Rate
120 Hz
- Support for major HDR formats.
- Impressive contrast.
- No Dolby Vision IQ.
- Minor treble issue.
Sony 55 Inch 4K TVs have certainly made a mark by offering high-quality features at prices that won’t break the bank, much like LG’s C-series OLEDs. Among their impressive lineup, the 55OLED807 stands out as one of their finest TVs to date.
This TV supports all major HDR formats, including HDR10, HLG, Dolby Vision, and HDR10+ Adaptive. While it doesn’t have Dolby Vision IQ, which can adapt to room lighting conditions for optimal detail, Philips claims its Dark Detail Optimization feature achieves a similar effect when activated.
As is typical with Sonu TVs, the contrast is strikingly impressive. Colors and skin tones are more naturally rendered compared to previous-generation models, with intensity when needed, but not overly vivid, resulting in a more lifelike image.
The built-in 2.1 sound system holds its own in the realm of flat-screen TVs. It offers distinct and detailed midrange sound, surprisingly weighty bass, and a well-distributed sound stage. However, there’s a minor issue with high-frequency performance, as treble sounds can sometimes lack precision.
Can you put a TV in your dorm room?
If you’re planning on going to college and have the funds and means to buy a TV for your dorm room, you might be hesitant at first. For the most part, most colleges allow students to keep a TV in their dorm room.
But for starters, you might want to check with your college if they do allow it in the first place. Also, find out what sort of connections you need for your TV. It would be a shame to get a smart TV and find out that the college’s WiFi refuses to connect to your TV.
Make sure that you have an electrical outlet nearby, preferably near the ground or wall, to prevent any messy cable management. It’s not okay to live in a messy room with wires everywhere.
For college students, a 32 inch TV will suffice for most of their go-to streaming and binge-watching needs, but it doesn’t hurt to spruce things up with a larger sized TV, does it? You can also take things up a notch with a 43 inch TV.
If your dorm room is on the smaller side, going larger will only hurt your TV-watching experience. You’re sure to strain your eyes and lose out on all the immersion that movies and shows have to offer.
Is 65 inches too big for a dorm room TV?
When getting a TV for your dorm room, you need to take two key things into account, and that’s the viewing distance and the size of your screen. If you’re getting a 32 inch 4K TV, you might want to keep a distance of nearly 2.4 feet from the TV.
On the other end of things, a 1080p 32 inch TV requires a viewing distance of 3.6 feet away from the screen in question. Moving up into the 43 inch category, you’d need a distance of 2.8 feet from the TV for 4K TVs and a distance of 6 feet for a 1080p TV.
You’d need even more space and clearance to account for a 65-inch TV. Which would be more than 6 feet for a 4K TV and more than 10 feet for a 1080p TV. So, it’s pretty impractical to get your hands on a 65 inch TV for your dorm room.
You’ll mostly strain your eyes, and spoil your viewing experience, the content will be up all in your face. You won’t have a good time watching TV. In short, yes. A 65-inch TV is too big for a dorm room.
In Summary
That pretty much wraps up our top picks for the best TVs for your dorm room. Now, you can enjoy a bit of binge-watching some Netflix and movies after a hard day of college. Just make sure to get a bit of studying in, or you’ll end up flunking the year.
And if you’re confused about what TV you should get, just get one from our top picks because they’re certainly worth all the salt. And they won’t break your college budget, either.
