Buy an HDTV projector on the cheap and build an HDTV antenna.

One of the most common things to do while chilling in the dorm is watching a flick. Well how about watching that flick on a 120" screen! An evo projector is an inexpensive and logical way to do this. The advantage of an evo is that it uses a special bulb that has a much longer life than other commercial projectors and it only costs about $20 to replace it, whereas a commercial bulb will run you about $250 to replace. The evo projector is only $400 and can be found at many stores online, just do a google search for evo projector.

Once you have that evo projector how about some free HDTV? That includes the antenna, below is a video on how to build your own coathanger HDTV antenna that will pick up the local channels and works better that most store bought antennas!

One final important piece of equipment is a cable for playing all of those movies you have stored on your laptop or just using your new projector as a computer screen. You will need either a DVI to Component or VGA to Component cable depending on what type of output your laptop uses. The cheapest cables of this type can be found at Monoprice.com. These types of cables go for around $5 on monoprice.com, but can go for over $50 at other stores. The $50 cables are only logical for uber-performance cinema quality home theaters that cost tens of thousands.