You're midway through an epic Kimmy Schmidt binge session on the TV. Then your roommate announces she's heading to bed. In your approximately 300-square-foot apartment, that's code for, "Time to turn off the TV." Ugh.
Sharing a living room with roommates can be tricky at times. Whether one of you wants to nap or two of you are dueling over what to play on the big screen, the drama is not always limited to what's happening on the tube.
There are some tools that can help, though. Simply switching up some Netflix settings or buying a new streaming device can make sharing a TV among roommates a piece of cake. Ahead, all of the tips you need to make the living room more friendly and less complicated.
Quiet Time Vs. TV Time? Use Roku Private Listening
If you and your roommate have conflicting sleep schedules, a TV blaring in the living room can be a huge disruption. If you get a $50 Roku Streaming Stick, though, you can use Roku's accompanying app to watch what you want on the TV, but listen to the audio through headphones connected to your phone. This also works great if you come home to watch some Fuller House only to find your roommate napping on the couch. Roku's newest streaming stick ships this month.
Photo: Courtesy Roku.
Separate Tastes? Separate Netflix Accounts
You should never have to open your Netflix account only to see weird shows you've never watched interrupting the app's suggestions. You can easily fix this issue by setting up multiple Netflix profiles, one for each person in the household. Or, if you and your roomie do have similar tastes, you can use different profiles to fine-tune your different genre moods — one account for B-grade horror movies, one for feel-good comedies, you get the picture.
Photo: Courtesy Netflix.
"But I Bought It!" Keep The Common Space Common
When you congregate with multiple people in a single household, you face an inevitable dilemma: Does the person whose stuff lives in the living room have a greater right to those items than other roommates? A good rule: If you put your stuff in the common space, you have to accept that it's now for sharing, and that your roommates will respect those items (your TV, your set-top box, even your couch) as if they were their own. That means that you all take equal responsibility for care and upkeep, and you all get equal opportunity to use them. Just because you bought the TV doesn't mean you get to kick your roommate and her friends off the couch when your show comes on. If you want full control of the TV, keep one in your bedroom.
Photo: Courtesy Target.
Both Have Must-Watch Shows? Stream One
You're in a face-off — both of you must watch something on the TV right now, and neither is backing down. With the $194 Nuvyyo Tablo, one of the cheapest and best DVRs on the market, one of you can watch on-air programming on the TV, while the other can get another station streamed to his or her mobile device. It's not a perfect solution, since one of you still has to watch on a phone or laptop, but at least you can both watch what you want to, at the same time.
Photo: Courtesy Nuvyyo.
Having Regular Conflicts? Just Make A Schedule
While it's not the most ideal solution, if you and your roommates are regularly butting heads over who gets to watch what when, you can divvy up the TV schedule on Google Calendar or another scheduling app. If there are only two of you, you should be able to talk things out in person first, but if you've got four or more roommates, a schedule may be the easiest way to keep things fair and avoid conflict.
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