Thanks for that. I don't really care what it is as long as I know it's reputable enough not to break down on me before my five years are up. With $80 a month to work with (and I would assume a somewhat simmilar figure at college for spending money, since my food will be taken care of on the meal plan), I really do not want to have to buy a DVD player twice. In particular I guess what I really want to know is wheather or not there are any brands or models with bad reputations which I should steer clear of.
As for watching movies on my computer...well, yeah, I could, but I don't really want to as long as I am going to have a TV. Diluting something like There Will Be Blood to 17-20 inches is going to be painful enough; I can't imagine watching it on a tiny computer moniter.
Edit: I was browsing on Amazon and found this.
Amazon.com: Coby DVD-224 Compact DVD Player: Electronics -- it sems to fit the bill nicely, but I've not heard of Coby Electronics. Does anyone have any experience with this unit or manufactuer they'd care to share?