Where Can I Buy The Best Wireless Video Baby Monitor
The audio-only, baby monitoring systems have a lot of cool features. You can talk to your spouse on another walkie-talkie or speak back to the baby through the built in intercom.
You can activate lullabies, night lights and check the temperature of the infant’s room.
The next step in evolution was naturally the advent of the wireless video baby monitor, which allows you the ability to see exactly what your baby is up to, either on a larger LCD baby monitor screen, on a smaller hand held video monitor or on your own television set.
Some of the more advanced systems offer color baby monitor choices, multiple camera monitors, zooms, pans and night vision. Many parents purchase this “luxury” system reticently, wondering if it’s really necessary, but quickly find that they love watching their baby giggling, chatting, waking up and falling asleep.
When purchasing a wireless, video monitoring system, you’ll need to consider how you intend to use it first. Some 5″ to 7″ video baby monitors attach underneath cabinets in a more permanent way, while others can be propped up on any nightstand or countertop. Another category of receivers are the handheld varieties, allowing you the ability to roam freely, while watching your baby on a smaller 1.8″ screen. The actual baby monitor camera may be mounted to the wall, attached to the crib or affixed to a bookshelf. Can you pan, tilt, zoom or get a wide-angle view of the room with your camera? These are all options to consider, and it’s important to note that they do not come one standard way, across the board.
There are many additional special features for a wireless video baby monitor today. Some monitors enable parents to speak back to their children through a portable handheld unit. You may even be able to remotely access several different soothing lullabies, a night light, gentle vibrations, a mini-light-show or nature sounds for a discontent baby, all by pressing a single button! These features are often referred to as “baby soothers” and can be found on some of the more high-end models by Summer Infant, for example.
A wireless video baby monitor is an excellent way to keep tabs on your baby. Some parents revel in the joys of parenthood and love to watch their baby chatter in the crib, laugh, giggle or call for mommy and daddy. After all, these quiet moments can be an ideal time to capture some great footage for a family video! Other parents like the ability to switch on the screen and see if their baby is awake yet, so they don’t have to open the door and disturb the baby’s slumber. Additionally, these wireless baby monitors are great for babies with colds, colicky kids, premature babies, handicapped children or for a number of other situations where vigilance is crucial.
Don’t Choose any old Video Baby Monitor
If you’re looking for a video baby monitor, then you may be surprised to learn they range from $100 to $300. You certainly don’t want to buy a piece of junk that will be obsolete in a few years, as improved video monitors come out, yet you also don’t want to overpay for something you can find much cheaper. Buying a baby monitor system can be a real dilemma, but it can also provide you with hours of watching your baby’s peaceful slumber and listening in on morning baby talk, without disruption.
The Philips DECT baby monitor is frequently listed as one of the “Top 10 Best Baby Monitors.” Using the latest state-of-the-art security technology, you can rest assured that your baby monitor system works free of interference. Not only can you hear crystal-clear clarity, but you can also talk back through the monitor to soothe your baby. Added special features make it easy for you to monitor the baby’s room temperature and remotely activate lullabies or a light show to help your baby sleep easier. The lightweight receiver comes with neck and belt clips for easy mobility. On the downside, this is also one of the more expensive monitors, retailing at $200.
Another popular model is the Safety 1st Color View video baby monitor ($186), which can be mounted on a crib rail, table or the wall. The resolution and color are excellent, even late at night. With the remote digital zoom and pan, you can see the whole situation and catch all of your baby’s cutest moves, without interrupting your activity. The DataLock technology ensures that you never lose picture or sound and the wideband audio clarity system ensures that you get no interference or static. The battery life isn’t very reliable, so you’ll be happy to know you can plug-in this video infant monitor.
Critics argue that baby monitors with video capabilities are over-priced and unnecessary. Technically, you could buy an audio baby monitor that has a “flashing light” mode for when you don’t want to be frightened by a sudden baby shriek. The louder your baby is yelling, the more lights light up. You don’t need to see your baby’s flushed red face and tonsils to know when he or she is yelling. Yet, other mothers say they just couldn’t live without a video baby monitor, since it lets them peek into so many rare moments, without disturbing the baby’s sleep or quiet time.
Only Buy the Best Digital Baby Monitor
As you are comparison shopping for the best baby monitors, you may notice that prices range from as low as $20 to as high as $300. What makes one product worth so much more than another? The cheapest baby monitors are analog and operate on the 49 MHz or 2.4 GHz frequencies, which many older cordless phones also operate on, incidentally. So it’s not uncommon to hear voices, sirens, traffic or heavy static through these analogue models. Today, the best models are the digital baby monitor products with DECT technology, which encodes signals before sending them, uses more than 60 channels and ensures greater clarity, as well as security.
There are many good, digital infant monitors from which to choose. The Philips DECT baby monitor gets the highest reviews for sound clarity and offers special features, like parent-to-baby intercom functionality, alert lights, room temperature gauges, a night-light and soothing lullabies. The Summer Infant baby monitor offers video, night-vision, sound-alert lights and zoom and pan functionality. The Secure Sounds infant monitor Summer brand has also received positive reviews for limited interference and its stylish, contemporary design. The new Digitally Fresh digital baby monitor comes with a 1.5-inch color LCD baby monitor screen, a walkie-talkie/receiver and a security camera. The Graco baby monitor, called the “iMonitor,” has multi-child monitoring features, an estimated 2,000-ft range, night vision and zoom. Mobi sells systems with unlimited receivers, wide camera angles, zoom, voice-activated video transmission and high-resolution screens. These high-end models run between $100 and $200.
You may find the price of a digital baby monitor to be a bit too high for your liking, in which case there are a few analog, baby monitor system choices that still receive decent reviews. The “Whisper Connect” by Evenflo ($20 to $30) comes with two receivers, two monitors and rechargeable batteries, not to mention three-way-talk functionality, sound lights and a low battery indicator. The Graco baby monitor, “Ultra Clear II” ($30) comes with two receivers that have two channels for better sound clarity. The Fisher Price baby monitor, “Private Connection” ($35 – $50) has received more positive reviews than their “Lights & Sounds” model, which is more prone to static. The “BabyCall NTM-910″ by Sony ($45) is a 900 MHz analog monitor that has better clarity than most of the cheaper models, customers say.
You can certainly pay a lot for your digital baby monitor, so you’ll need to spend a little time considering which features you absolutely need and which you can live without. Most people just want a basic, baby monitoring system that provides clear reception, has mobile handsets and picks up the sounds of the baby. Once you’ve had a basic system for a while, you may decide you’d like some special features, such as multiple handsets, talk-back/intercom functionality or lights-only mode. If you’re a paranoid parent, then you may need to know the temperature and humidity levels of the baby’s room or when your baby is moving around. You may even decide that actually seeing what your baby is up to on video monitors can be part of the joys of parenthood.
Choose the Right Wirless Baby Monitor
In the past, the only baby monitor system available was the wired variety, which connects the transmitters and receivers together. The benefit of such a system is that you can never stray out of range, you always know where the receivers are and you won’t have any chance of interference from household appliances, cordless phones, microwaves, wireless internet or the neighbors’ baby monitors. However, this unit must be installed by a professional (much like a security system) in one, fixed place and there will be no mobility. On the other hand, a wireless baby monitor can be set up by parents in a matter of minutes and allows the parents the option to roam freely around the house, with the receiver worn around the neck or clipped to a belt. Since interference is a possible issue, it’s important that you choose a high-quality product to ensure clarity of sound.
One wireless monitor to consider is the Graco Ultra Clear II. The Graco baby monitor is a budget product that has received positive reviews for its excellent reception and sound quality. Bonus features include a night-light and sound indicator lights, so you can simply see when your baby is crying, rather than be startled by the sudden, shrill shrieks. The system also comes with two parental unit monitors, which is a nice bonus. In consumer baby monitor reviews, many parents give the UltraClear II 5/5 stars. However, like many other monitors, interference can be a problem in busier areas, so you might want to upgrade to the $60 Graco iMonitor system, which offers even better clarity. The only cons listed for this item are that the monitor is too sensitive and that the volume can only be turned off, not kept down low. Prices range from $36.99 at Amazon to $44.95 at Ebay. Target and Walmart also carry this product if you need it right away.
On the high-end, Philips baby monitors like the SCD 589 DECT Digital are guaranteed to have no interference from other electronic devices. With 60 different channels, compared to competitors’ two, the DECT baby monitor automatically switches to clear, unused channels. Many parents also like the intercom function, which allows them the ability to communicate with the baby through their handheld receiver. They can also remotely check the temperature and humidity of the baby’s room, cue up lullabies and turn on a night-light. Some complaints have been that the battery life doesn’t perform as advertised, that the volume doesn’t pick up baby talk as well as it picks up full-blown screaming and that it’s expensive. Prices for this wireless baby monitor run from $100 at Amazon to $200 in stores.
In addition to wireless baby monitor systems, there are also ones that come with video monitors for those parents who don’t want to miss a thing. An LCD baby monitor can usually be connected to the television set for a larger picture. Parents can have the sound turned off on their units and still see what their little one is up to. Often parents can catch a baby who has just awakened, before the shrieking and crying to get out of the crib starts. However, as you can imagine, these systems do come with a higher price-tag, which is usually between $100 and $300, rather than ranging from $50 to $150.Choose the Right Wireless C
Help with Safety Baby Monitors
When browsing for a baby monitor, the most important factor is clear reception. Muffled, fuzzy or screeching sounds will be distracting and difficult to discern from ambient sounds. With low-end wireless baby monitors, cordless telephone conversations may come through the channel or simple everyday appliances like microwaves may jumble the pictures or sounds. The best way to avoid interference is to purchase a quality baby infant monitor that has a similar range to your home size. If you buy one that is too large, it will be easier to pick up the neighbor’s frequencies. Also, tests show that digital baby monitors have less trouble with interference than analog baby monitors, so that should be considered as well. If you do settle on an analog monitor, ensure that your cordless phone and monitor do not work off the same Gigahertz frequency and look for a model that offers at least two different channel selections.
Multiple monitoring is a useful feature that comes with some safety baby monitors, allowing you to keep receivers in more than one room or enabling you and your spouse to keep track of the baby concurrently. Some of the best baby monitors let both parents communicate with one another via their receivers, like walkie-talkies, and even speak back to the baby to comfort him or her back to slumber if it’s not an emergency situation. Buying a set with a warning system is a good idea too, because it will indicate, with flashing lights, how loudly the baby is crying (with no need to have the volume cranked) and it may also warn you when you’re out of range or the battery is low.
Safety baby monitors come in all price ranges with all kinds of features. For just a bare bones basic audio model, you can pay $29.99 for the Ultra-Clear Graco Baby Monitor, which is considered a great buy for the money. Another inexpensive model is the Safety 1st Baby monitor, which sells for $75, and is very quiet to have on in the background. At the high end, you can pay $299.99 for the Summer Infant Complete Coverage Video Monitor Set, which offers TV output, two video monitors and a whole host of advanced features. The Philips DECT baby monitor ($149.99) is another high-quality selection that offers minimal-to-no interference.