Best baby monitor - not cheapest

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  bobbified on 09/09/2014 - 09:37

  It depends how you plan on using this "baby monitor". Are you going to be using it in the house only? Or do you plan on being able to watch from afar - for eg, on your smartphone while you're away?

  You can either get an IP/Network camera (this requires a little technical know-how and a bit of setup on your phone/router/computer) or you can get an actual Baby Monitor kit that comes with a camera and portable screen for short distance use around the house.

  There's advantages and disadvantages in both….

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  AirJordan6s on 09/09/2014 - 09:54

  Choice top 3
  Baby Solutions - $99 Sound & Video Monitor 2.4 GHz LCD wireless baby monitor, JY209
  Motorola - $90 Digital Audio Baby Monitor MBP 11
  Motorola - $80 Digital Baby Monitor MBP10

  We ended up getting ours from Kmart, was about $40. Did exactly what we needed: good range for outdoors, display lights, rechargeable, portable. Not reviewed on Choice and half the price of the leading brands.

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  shaiguy on 09/09/2014 - 11:07

  It is probably a lot cheaper not to mention you'd probably get a better quality camera if you set it up yourself. In saying that I got the Withings Smart Baby Monitor (A$300) which is equal 3rd on the Choice list with the MBP10 (86/100) with the top 2 both getting 88/100. It is significantly more expensive, however, I have found it really convenient to use and we have iPhones and iPads. It also allowed me to checkup and watch the little one whilst at work by just using the app. The night vision was also fantastic on it. Each one definitely has different features that you may or may not like/want, e.g. on the Withings you can talk through it, play lights or soft music through it. Just make sure you follow instructions carefully - as complaints on reviews are moreso due to people not knowing how to set it up correctly.

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  sjp770 on 09/09/2014 - 11:42

  I should have said the mats for breathing monitoring is a feature im looking for. Good idea to run a separate camera rather than a baby specific one. I was always against the idea of a camera but im warming to it. Range would be ideal, I had previously looked at the Phillips one as it was DECT and you could play music as well, however without the mat it has fallen off the list.

  Are there any mat only options so I can go for a better monitor?

  $300-400 is the top bracket for an all in one solution i think.

  i.e this combo + a separate camera
  http://www.pramwarehouse.com.au/product/Angelcare_Movement_O…
  http://www.pramwarehouse.com.au/product/Avent_DECT_530_Baby_…

  btw i'm an IT tech so setup of a streaming camera is easy as.

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  modsec802 on 09/09/2014 - 12:02

  +1

  We've had three babies in the last four years, and have used Oricom digital baby monitors (no video or no breathing monitoring) which you can get on sale at Babys R Us (Toys R Us) for about $30 to $50 (eg http://www.toysrus.com.au/w1/i1670262/)

  The reason we like these is they have zero static, long range and also have rechargeable batteries with a cradle for recharging the speaker part.

  We've never seen the need for video or breathing monitoring: audio is sufficient (we only use these monitors in the day time as we've co-slept with our babies in the same room at night). Friends who have initially used the breathing monitoring have told me they have quickly turned it off as it gives lots of 'false positives' meaning you think your baby has stopped breathing but they've rolled over, moved etc. and no longer on the sensor.

  • 

    StewBalls on 09/09/2014 - 12:20

    Friends who have initially used the breathing monitoring have told me they have quickly turned it off as it gives lots of 'false positives' meaning you think your baby has stopped breathing but they've rolled over, moved etc. and no longer on the sensor.

    ^This.

    Breathing monitors are one of those great ideas on paper that don't actually translate well to reality. I don't know anyone who would use one a second time around.

    • 

      sjp770 on 09/09/2014 - 12:26

      feedback on bubhub.com.au seems good. Only false alarms is if baby rolls off it, you forget to turn it off before lifting them up or a fan is confusing it.

      • 

        StewBalls on 09/09/2014 - 12:45

        My experience is somewhat different, false alarms pretty much every time they move a bit, I wouldn't bother personally, but YMMV…

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  sjp770 on 09/09/2014 - 12:12

  Cool, thanks for the feedback. Oricom seems to be getting a good rating, id only seen lower end products of theirs before and they didn't seem to be at the top of the market.

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  Mummy2 on 09/09/2014 - 21:15

  We have had Angelcare monitors with the mats for both our kids (bought 3 years and 5 years ago) and have been really happy with them. We managed to get them on offer (30% or 40% off at Target so worth looking out for offers as that's quite a saving).

  We mostly ran them off the mains with the batteries just for back up (eg in case of a powercut) and the batteries lasted for ages (years) that way.

  The mat is quite sensitive i.e. the breeze from a floor fan directed at the cot is sufficient for it to think there is a baby in the cot breathing. In this scenario the alarm would not go off if the baby stopped breathing.

  We have a 1930s house with thick walls and only hear static on the monitor if the signal has to pass through too many walls (distance without walls does not seem to be a problem). In a modern house with thin walls we have had no problems with static interference between rooms (no matter the distance between rooms or number of walls the signal has to pass through). Occasionally we have heard the faint sounds of other babies (not our next door neighbours as they don't have kids, but not sure who) being picked up by our monitor.

  Most monitors seem to operate only the same 2 channels (we have a choice of "A" or "B") i.e. we could use our receiver with another friends monitor/transmitter - and if we were both using our monitors in the same house on the same channel there was a lot of static.

  Finally we didn't bother putting a board under the mattress to rest the sensor pad (it recommends you do) - we just put it across the "cross beams" of the base of the cot. In this scenario the sensor pad only really detected movement for about 2/3 of the length of the cot - so once the baby was able to move a lot at night we got lots of false alarms when he'd moved to the end of the cot outside the zone of monitoring. But better false alarms than it not going off when it should.