Baby monitors suggestions

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David321

485 posts

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#280849 15-Jan-2021 07:16

I am currently looking into baby monitors for a family member as it has been allocated to me for being the tech guy in the family! but I have no idea what to look for and what features are possible/handy to have with them.

I see consumer has tested a lot but I can not justify a one off $20 charge to see their results.

_David_

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#2635737 15-Jan-2021 07:28

Top Few from their testing, but they recommend 20/29.

Vtech
BM1000

Vtech
Video Baby Monitor with Remote Access RM5752

Uniden
Digital Wireless Baby Audio Monitor BW130

Arlo
Pro 2 (VMS4230P)

Uniden
Guardian App Cam X56

D-Link
Full HD Pan & Tilt Wi-Fi Camera DCS-8525LH

D-Link
HD 180-Degree Wi-Fi Camera DCS-8100LH

Uniden
Smart Baby Monitor Camera & App BW140R

Goosey

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#2635744 15-Jan-2021 07:56

My two cents...

Any stand alone monitor is generally fine... you just need to hear and see...

My strong suggestion is to avoid anything needing your wifi and anything that you have to view via mobile/tablet. Why would anyone need remote access or want to use their mobile phone all the time to keep an eye on a sleeping baby...theres other jobs around the house that need to be done!

Some exceptions

- some monitors have a crappy noise threshold... but if the crying is loud enough it will activate (trick is you dont want to hear constant audio...so the threshold is useful).

- Some monitors have weird designs.... be wary of the field of view.... solution to this is to wall mount (using decent grip 3m velcro) or cot mount being careful of safety etc.

Remember, its only a "aide". to see and hear quickly....its not a baby sitter.... you still need to go see the kid if you suspect somthing is up!

I see a lot of new parents get those wifi smart ones then regret it... the time and energy required to monitor it, hence why a stand alone monitor that you can chuck on the kitchen bench, couch, next to the bed...take it whereever you are in the house... is best.

good luck.

David321

485 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2635746 15-Jan-2021 08:04

Jase2985:

Top Few from their testing, but they recommend 20/29.

Vtech
BM1000

Vtech
Video Baby Monitor with Remote Access RM5752

Uniden
Digital Wireless Baby Audio Monitor BW130

Arlo
Pro 2 (VMS4230P)

Uniden
Guardian App Cam X56

D-Link
Full HD Pan & Tilt Wi-Fi Camera DCS-8525LH

D-Link
HD 180-Degree Wi-Fi Camera DCS-8100LH

Uniden
Smart Baby Monitor Camera & App BW140R

Thanks a lot for that, I see most of them were just cameras that connect to a smart phone without a hell of a lot of features but the Vtech one looks great.

_David_

David321

485 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2635747 15-Jan-2021 08:06

Goosey:

My two cents...

Any stand alone monitor is generally fine... you just need to hear and see...

My strong suggestion is to avoid anything needing your wifi and anything that you have to view via mobile/tablet. Why would anyone need remote access or want to use their mobile phone all the time to keep an eye on a sleeping baby...theres other jobs around the house that need to be done!

Some exceptions

- some monitors have a crappy noise threshold... but if the crying is loud enough it will activate (trick is you dont want to hear constant audio...so the threshold is useful).

- Some monitors have weird designs.... be wary of the field of view.... solution to this is to wall mount (using decent grip 3m velcro) or cot mount being careful of safety etc.

Remember, its only a "aide". to see and hear quickly....its not a baby sitter.... you still need to go see the kid if you suspect somthing is up!

I see a lot of new parents get those wifi smart ones then regret it... the time and energy required to monitor it, hence why a stand alone monitor that you can chuck on the kitchen bench, couch, next to the bed...take it whereever you are in the house... is best.

good luck.

Cheers for the info, very helpful, I am quite keen on the Vtech one sugested above, I see it has a range of features such as room temp and its own monitor and options for white noise etc, it also has the option to connect to a smart phone if you did not want to use the supplied monitor for some reason. It is pricey though!

_David_

gcorgnet

1078 posts

Uber Geek

#2635756 15-Jan-2021 08:26

My 2 cents.

I had bought an uber expensive Angelcare video monitor thing that was ok but had a crappy battery life (for the handheld device, parent side) and should have been much better for the price.

One day I got annoyed and replaced this by a $30 IP Camera (make sure it's a camera with a mic as well) on my local network (you can do the necessary network adjustments to avoid external traffic if you're worried about that side of thing)
I then installed a nearly free Android App on my "bedtime reading" tablet that can use any IP camera as a baby monitor (can't remember the name right now but have a look around). The app will do the threshold thing and only let you hear noises when there's actual crying. What's best is that it runs in the background so you don't have to actively monitor it: You will hear it go off when baby is crying, just like with a dedicated monitor device.

Edit: Forgot to add why I though video was important for us: When you hear some crying, It helps you check if baby is full on awake, ready to be picked up or if they look like they might settle again... Saves you from going in there when you shouldn't...

Downside: Hard to take this system for a weekend away at the inlaws or something as everything is configured to work on your network, etc..

Pros: Cheap and surprisingly complete solution.

timmmay

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#2635757 15-Jan-2021 08:27

We've had a Philips Avent baby monitor, audio only, that's worked perfectly for four years - this one. It's an old model now, but look at their current models. After four years daily use the battery still lasts 12 hours. Features are average, a light and a bit of music, but generally bulletproof. It's extremely robust.

We haven't needed video monitoring, I got a separate video camera but haven't even bothered to set it up. I prefer an easy "buy it and use it" solution to buying cameras, setting up apps, etc.

rogercruse

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#2635768 15-Jan-2021 08:52

https://wyze.com/wyze-cam-pan.html

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Blurtie

468 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2635852 15-Jan-2021 09:51

My 2 cents..

We also have an IP camera set up as a make shift baby monitor - D-Link DCS-8300LH.

As previously stated, it's not transportable.. But I like the fact that this set up doubles as a security camera when we're away on holiday..

This is personal preference, but I like the remote access to check in on bubs from time to time while I'm at work.. I don't do it all the time, but it's just nice having that feature available.

Works on android/google home. I've got a Google nest hub max, and I can get it to show the stream on that while we're in the kitchen - although there is a bit of a delay in the feed, but overall it works well for our needs. You can also cast the feed to any chromecast device too!

neb

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#2636163 15-Jan-2021 16:57

Goosey:
My strong suggestion is to avoid anything needing your wifi and anything that you have to view via mobile/tablet. Why would anyone need remote access or want to use their mobile phone all the time to keep an eye on a sleeping baby...theres other jobs around the house that need to be done!

+1. You're setting up a most-likely remotely-hackable device that broadcasts audio and video from inside your house. If you can get away with it, plug a USB webcam into something wired and set up a feed from that. Also, assume that anything done and said in front of the camera could end up on Youtube, or possibly Pornhub.

timmmay

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#2636164 15-Jan-2021 17:05

New parents might think video useful or essential, but as a parent I think it's unnecessary.

We did have an owlet baby monitor which directly monitored heartbeat and blood oxygenation, quite expensive and a pain in the ass to use but I slept better because of it. You have to import it via youshop. Ours went off once and I don't know if it was an actual issue or poor installation but we got into that room pretty damn quickly.

mulac

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#2636235 15-Jan-2021 18:57

Soon to be parent so I can't provide any recomendations based on experience, but I have a WyzeCam with Dafang Hacks on it which I plan to use for a video feed if/when I ever want it. Then we'll keep an eye on the used marketplace for an audio-only baby monitor for everyday use. I'd recomend buying used, a lot of these are used for one child then sent to the landfill 😞

DonH

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#2636283 15-Jan-2021 21:01

Wifi connected isn't necessarily a problem provided your network is properly set up and the app has no functionality for connecting outside your local subnet.

I used this for a while on an old Android 4 phone:

https://f-droid.org/en/packages/protect.babymonitor/

There's a more recent fork:

https://f-droid.org/en/packages/de.rochefort.childmonitor/

The advantage is that many people keep their phone within earshot, so you don't need to carry a dedicated monitor device around.

If you need video as well, I have used this:

https://f-droid.org/en/packages/pl.hypeapp.endoscope/

Also, used monitors can often be found at thrift shops.

People hear what they see. - Doris Day

coffeebaron

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#2636291 15-Jan-2021 21:24

We have the most excellent baby monitor money can't buy. It's call the wife, myself and the kids. Works really well. I don't know how we managed to get on without such innovation in the old days.

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Scott3

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#2636294 15-Jan-2021 21:32

We have the Philips advent video one.

Gets the job done. Having video has been worthwhile I think. Usefull to tell if a toddler is standing up crying, or lying down (latter will cry themselves to sleep). Quite nice to show people the baby on the screen if you don't want them in the room with the sleeping baby. Only one child, but our units have copped a beating.

Some comments:

- micro USB sockets on parent unit have worn - need to postion cord carefully to get a charge.

- Screen sucks by modern standards

- battery life on parent unit sucks in video mode.

- lullaby mode feeds back to the microphone badly (basically need to mute the parent unit to use this mode)

- Range is fine in our house - can get the whole way to the road, but struggled in in laws concrete house overseas.

- I suspect it slows 2.4ghz wifi badly, but I just moved everything I care about to hardwired or 5.4ghz rather than bothering to confirm this.

- view is quite narrow - need to have on a table across the room from the cot.

k1w1k1d

1519 posts

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#2636359 16-Jan-2021 08:57

I also don't know why a baby monitor is required nowadays?

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