If you’re heading back to school and are looking for a TV for your dorm room or apartment bedroom, I think I’ve found the best possible sets that meet most needs.
Beggars can’t be choosers, after all. You don’t need the top-of-the-line OLED for back to school, as (honestly) you should be focusing on studying and schoolwork as opposed to getting the best possible picture performance for movies and shows.
That’s where some of the cheapest TVs come into play. Most of these displays aren’t necessarily bottom-of-the-barrel, but they do come cheap and yet still will net you quality performance. I’ve also listed a few 2024 sets, which will save you some extra dollars while still lasting over four years.
Check out the full list below so you can deck out your dorm room and make it the chill spot for every movie night.
Quick List
Panasonic W95A Mini-LED TV
The Panasonic W95A makes one of the best cases for a budget dorm room TV. It’s marked as one of the cheapest Mini-LED TVs on the market right now and though it arrived in 2024, it has some serious picture performance.
In my review of the Panasonic W95A Mini-LED TV, I raved about its viewing angles and anti-glare mitigation. These are crucial for back-to-school goers, who often don’t have a ton of space in their room and will watch TV from an angle.
At just under $500, the W95A is hard to beat. It might not be the most feature-rich set, but it definitely ticks most of the boxes you’d want for general entertainment without diminishing on picture quality.
TCL QM6K Mini-LED TV
I know what you’re thinking; “A gaming TV for my dorm room?” You’re allowed to have some leisure time, and the TCL QM6K would be my pick to pair up with a PS5 or PC in my dorm.
I might have graduated college nearly nine years ago, but I know just how important those late-night gaming sessions are. You’re going to want a TV that’s a one-two punch in terms of gaming features and price, which the QM6K nails at just under $500.
In our review, we raved about just how many features are packed into the TCL QM6K Mini-LED TV. Although it might have a poor speaker and doesn’t have the best glare mitigation, its 144Hz refresh rate and picture quality makes up for this.
It can also hit 288Hz in 1080p, which no other TVs have on offer, making it perfect for the burgeoning PC gamers still in school right now.
Hisense U6QF Mini-LED TV
Although it sits at the bottom of Hisense’s 2025 TV lineup, the U6QF is still a remarkable display with tons of value. We don’t have a full review of this Mini-LED TV just yet, but it already seems like a tempting budget model built on the back of Hisense’s brilliant brightness know-how.
Unlike the rest of its lineup, the Hisense U6QF Mini-LED TV is the only set to feature Fire TV over Google TV. That means you’ll have access to cloud gaming services, like Amazon Luna and Xbox Game Pass, which is nice if you’re needing a break from the cramming for finals.
It is a bit larger in terms of its chassis, which is par for the course when it comes to most Mini-LED TVs. If you have limited space in your dorm room, you might need to find a smaller screen — even in the face of its sub-$600 sticker price.
Sansui OLED TV
I couldn’t imagine having an OLED TV in my college dorm room, but the best possible way you could get one is with the Sansui OLED TV. I reviewed this budget OLED last year and while it didn’t match the same performance against other OLEDs, its appealing price is hard to ignore.
The Sansui OLED did stand out with some good color performance, which we measured at 129% of the Rec709 gamut. And it did have some higher brightness metrics for an OLED, measured at 480 nits in standard content and 724 nits in HDR with Brightness Booster enabled.
A big letdown for me was its slower interface, but this can be amended with one of the best streaming devices, like the Roku Ultra. Still, if you want those perfect contrasts and wide viewing angles at a perfect price, the Sansui OLED isn’t a bad pick at just $800.
LG C4 OLED
As the top dog among best OLED TVs last year, the LG C4 OLED is a perfect TV for your dorm room. It’s got tons of specs and is built on the widest selection of sizes, all of which are set at competitive prices — made all the better now that it’s a year old.
Don’t let its age fool you, though. It’s built with some of the best features, like a 144Hz refresh rate and four HDMI 2.1 ports. In our testing, it also had some exceptional color accuracy and coverage. Delta-E measures color accuracy, with lower scores being better, the C4 posted a Delta-E of 1.8. The screen also covers 98.9% of the Rec709 gamut.
Movie nights and even all-night gaming sessions will be unbeatable on the LG C4. You could even use it as a PC monitor — last year, in fact, I replaced my PC monitor with the LG C4. While it might be overkill, it’s totally worth it.
