Review by Phyllis Staff : Not Just for Monitoring Babies

As the caregiver for an elder who's recovering from stroke, I need to monitor her condition constantly -- a difficult task when you're also taking care of additional household responsibilities. When I found this monitor offered DECT technology, I jumped on it because I've been very pleased with the quality of sound from my DECT wireless phones.

This wireless monitor is just as good as my phones. I keep the parent monitor with me at all times, and I'm able to hear the smallest sounds from my elder's room. Add to this that I'm able to talk to her even though I'm somewhere else in house or yard -- just what I needed!

Setup was quick and easy. I charged the parent monitor overnight, installed lithium batteries in the baby monitor, and I was ready to go. The two monitors linked up immediately.

This monitor solves my problem and gives me peace of mind. Excellent product, Philips!

Review by Francis E. Reyes : Wonderful static/interference free baby monitor. Good for people in apartments/city/etc.

I was hesitant to get a monitor at this price ($90-100) considering there are other baby monitors out there available for much less. However, I'm glad to say it was well worth the investment.

Pros:

- No Interference from other devices
The largest concern for me was interference free performance as I live in a condo/apartment complex and there are at least 12 other 2.4ghz wireless routers that I can see from my computer. Who knows how many other 900mhz telephones/ 2.4 ghz cordless phones there are. We also are able to use cell phones around this baby monitor without interference as well.

- Safety in the event of a power outage / batteries.
The monitor also has battery backup for both the parent and the child unit (with the child unit being rechargeable and the parent unit non rechargeable). Both units can plug into the wall. I accidentally turned off the child unit the other evening and as a safety feature the parent unit started beeping (in case the parent unit for some reason fails / loses power). Unfortunately there are no precautions when the parent unit fails/runs out of battery. It simply shuts off. However, the rechargeable battery in the parent unit (at least while it is still new) can last for multiple evenings on a sensitivity level of about 1/2. However, we are fortunate to have an power outlet next to our bed so the parent unit can be plugged in and the batteries used only if the power goes out. The disadvantage though is this will likely dramatically decrease the life of the rechargeable battery.

- Distances/coverages
I live in a 1100 sq ft condo with the parent and child's room located about 50 feet away on the same level. The walls that separate us are simple drywall. No interference or sound quality issues.

-Crystal clear sound / very good detection of crying.
The parent unit will only alert if the noise level of the room is above a background noise level (set by the 'sensitivity' setting on the parent unit). What this means is that the baby mobile can be running and this will not alert the parent unit. However, when our child begins crying (while the baby mobile is running) the parent unit will alert. At very high sensitivity levels one can hear the baby breathing (with the child unit about 1-2 ft from the child, we set ours on the 'ledge' of his crib).

- Sound level lights on parent unit allow you to observe sound levels in the baby room without actually hearing it.
The *very* bright blue lights on the parent unit act as a sound level monitor in the room. Therefore, you can tell whether the baby is just fussing or epically crying based on this level. This may be useful if you want to turn off the speaker but still want to know what the sound level in the room is (my spouse and I put the parent unit on the coffee table directly in front of us while watching a movie and have the speaker turned off, the brightness of the sound level lights are enough to distract us from the movie and attend to baby).

-Two way radio chat between the parent unit and the baby unit.
Extremely useful! At first thought this was for talking to the baby. Sometimes (particularly in the evenings), baby will be soothed by just changing the diaper/holding/etc. However, if this isn't the case it is easy to radio to your spouse (likely trying to get some sleep) that he/she is really needed (for breast feeding for example).

Cons:

- the lights are extremely bright on the parent unit
While I don't mind the blue sound level lights being bright (they only come on when the child unit is picking up crying, etc), the constantly on LED lights for the battery and power-on for the baby unit are really bright.

Review by Charlene Taylor : AWESOME Monitor!

I would like to address the volume issue first and foremost to put your concerns at ease. After seeing the mixed reviews regarding the volume I was very uneasy about spending this much on a monitor...but after being woken repeatedly by our five year old, formerly top of the line (and still rated #4 by [...]) Sony NTM-910DUAL Babycall Nursery Monitor w/Two Receivers beeping and tapping and popping...I just couldn't stand it anymore!I purchased the Avent monitor and set it up, setting the sensitivity and volume both to 5 (max) to ensure a constant connection and waited to test it out on my kids. This monitor was for my 3 and 4 year old kids' room, which is on the opposite end of the house from our room where we'd never hear them! We've had issues with them keeping each other up talking and playing so it was VERY nice to have the feature of talking to them through the monitor and telling them they needed to settle down and go to sleep!The volume, although it is lower than I'd like, is perfectly fine. If your child is calling out or crying you WILL hear them. My complaint is that when my two are whispering I have to mute the TV and put the monitor to my ear to be sure who is whispering...and that is with the monitor placed in the small bathroom off of their bedroom (we wanted to be sure we could hear someone calling for a wipe in the middle of the night, and that they would not have to call out loudly waking the others). The monitor is about 10-15 ft from my kids' beds and facing away from them...and my complaint is that I have to mute the TV to hear who is whispering. Please let that assure you that this monitor, though it is quiet, WILL do the job and you WILL hear your child.The second most important factor to us was reception. We were SO sick of the beeping and popping of our old Sony. My 4 year old told me it sounded like the penguins dancing from Happy Feet...and it DID. This monitor has flawless reception and no interference. There is no beeping, no crackling, no popping, no anything except the sound in your kids' room! How awesome is that???The icing on the cake is being able to talk to the kids and tell them they need to stop talking and go to sleep. This has almost eliminated our issues at bedtime since we no longer procrastinate on going down to their room to fuss at them. They know we can hear them and we tell them immediately. Also, when it's time to wake them up you can call them on the monitor and wake them up. Very nice feature though I'm not sure how necessary it would be in a nursery...Don't hesitate, the volume is fine on this monitor (though a couple of extra settings WOULD be nice). And though the price is high, it's worth it for a decent monitor that does what it's supposed to do rather than waking you up night after night!

Review by Jeff Bier : Must be adjusted correctly

Speaking as someone who works in the electronics industry, most baby monitors are simply junk. I've owned several of them. The Philips model is the one we kept and the one we used. It has a crystal-clear signal and zero annoying interference.

That said, I have read the reviews of people who have had trouble with this unit, and I think I understand what's happening in those cases. The monitor has a sensitivity adjustment. This is a useful feature: if you don't want to hear every little sound coming from your baby's room, you can set the sensitivity accordingly. When the adjustment is done correctly, you won't hear every yawn and stretch, but you will hear your child crying or calling for you.

But, here's the problem: the same buttons that adjust the volume on the parent unit also adjust the sensitivity. To adjust the volume, you press the +/- buttons. To adjust the sensitivity, you press the "sensitivity button" (which is sort of hidden on the side), and then press the +/- buttons. Hence, it is really easy to adjust the sensitivity by accident, when you think you're adjusting the volume. Poor user interface design, to be sure. But when this monitor is adjusted correctly, we've found it to work much better than any other we've tried.

Review by Kimberly R. Shaw "kimmykat01" : Great Product!

This is a fantastic monitor! We can hear her breathing from the other room with it. There is no static and no noise interfering. I love the portable receiver with belt clip. I can go outside to water the dogs or cook dinner without worrying about if I can hear the baby or carrying the monitor.

Review by S. Drew : Static and interference-free baby monitor

We purchased this baby monitor after the birth of our son, whom we needed to monitor in his crib while we're elsewhere in the house. We've now owned the monitor for a few months, and here's what I've observed:The monitor is crystal-clear in its reception; none of the constant static of other monitors. The monitor does not transmit unless a sound is made, which triggers the monitor to turn on and begin transmitting. We'll usually hear our son mid-cry on the first cry. The monitor is capable of filtering white noise: we have a noise machine between the monitor and the baby, and the monitor picks up the baby's sounds but not the white noise.The parent unit is very portable. It's roughly the size of a deck of cards. I clip it to my pants and carry it around the house--main floor and basement are no problem with baby's room upstairs. I've even taken it outside briefly while baby was napping, and the green light that indicates I'm within range of the base remains lit. Battery life seems quite long: we can use it for several days during nap times and through the night without recharging it.The features on the parent unit are as follows: In addition to the speaker that transmits from the base unit, there are five very bright blue lights that light up when the unit is transmitting. The number of lights lit correlates wtih the noise level. The lights are bright enough to wake us at night when the monitor is next to our bed and baby is in another room--especially helpful because we wear earplugs, and the lights usually wake us just before the sound does. For this reason, I'd recommend the monitor to deaf or hard-of-hearing parents.The parent unit has volume control (to adjust what comes out of the speaker), a sensitivity button to adjust the level of noise picked up and transmitted by the base, and a talk button, which allows a parent to speak reassuringly to baby from anywhere within range. At any time I want to hear what's going on in the nursery and the unit is silent, I press the sensitivity button, and the unit transmits for a few seconds. The talk button transmits just as clearly to the base.When the parent unit needs charging, the battery indicator light blinks and makes a soft beeping sound for 30 mins. before the unit shuts off. The unit has a rechargeable battery pack, so we just plug it in and wait for it to finish charging. It usually takes several hours to charge and is fully usable while plugged in.The base also has volume control, a page button for locating the parent unit (only when the parent unit is turned on), and a soft orange night light--useful for peeking in the crib without disturbing baby. The unit is always plugged in but can also run on non-rechargeable batteries.The DECT technology causes the monitor to scan constantly for a free channel, so there is no interference from other devices. We have 5.8GHz cordless phones, wireless internet, and a microwave regularly in use with no interference. There's a home daycare a few houses away and we've never had problems with competing monitors on the same channel.

Review by Seminoles79 : Expensive yet good

My wife and I bought this monitor for our first child.

LIKES
-Bright LEDs. They're easy to see in the daytime albeit a little distracting at night.
-Interference free. We have wireless internet, and neighbors have wireless phone. No interference from either.
-Sensitivity adjustments. 5 levels of adjustment are great.
-"Talk" button on parent for communication back to baby monitor.
-Good battery life. We get about 24 hrs of life on a lower sensitivity setting; about 16 hrs on highest setting.
-Battery backup for baby monitor. I'm fairly certain all baby monitors have this now. Nonetheless, AA batteries can be installed on the baby monitor in the event power is lost.

DISLIKES
-Relatively low volume of parent. With volume turned all the way up on parent it is difficult to hear cry over TV. (No I don't have the TV THAT loud.) But the bright LEDs are helpful here.
-Expensive
-Only one parent. Two would be more convenient - especially at this price.


NOTES ABOUT CHANGING THE SENSITIVITY LEVEL
-First, there are 5 levels with 5 being highest and 1 being lowest. The speaker on the parent will turn off after about 30 seconds of inactivity on ANY SETTING LOWER THAN 5. This is to save power. This also means that if your baby starts to cry it won't pick up the very first cry. The parent speaker will turn on and then transmit any subsequent noise. After 30 seconds of inactivity, the speaker will turn off.

-Second, if you want the parent speaker on ALL THE TIME set the sensitivity level to 5 LEDs on (highest).


THE BOTTOM LINE
A good monitor with little noise and no interference. Expensive. Good sensitivity control.

Review by A. Ryan : Great 2 way monitor

This is a great monitor. We had to move our bedroom far from the kids' room and I was worried about being able to hear them, with this monitor I can hear the kids crystal clear (no static) and I can talk to my kids from the parent base. I am 100% satisfied.

Review by Kevin Sexton "sexton86" : Great connection, but low volume

We've had the monitor for about a month now. The connection is fantastic -- no more annoying beeps and static we had with our previous monitor. The drawback is that the monitor isn't as loud as we'd like. With a TV and/or air conditioner running, it can be difficult to hear.

The lights that indicate the level of sound are very bright. We initially thought that this was a good feature, but the disco lights at night (we often have a fan running in our daughter's room) are a little annoying.

In the end, we think that the monitor was a decent investment.

Review by zablalbaz "zab" : Best rated on CR. Spectacular product - I bought two!

Buy this baby monitor - it is the one for you!My wife and I got this monitor for our second 'litter.' For our first child, we did not have any kind of monitoring unit at all. I was really worried after reading the negative reviews, but bought this one anyway because it is the best rated monitor on Consumer Report's web site. In my opinion, the bulk of these negative reviews probably came from people who did not thoroughly read the instructions and/or maybe just had unrealistic expectations.Like many folks, I read the negative reviews first and was really apprehensive over some of the complaints I saw there. Here are a few of the negative comments I remember reading and my own thoughts regarding each of them:1. The 'sleep' function:There were quite a few complaints regarding the 'sleep' function of the parent unit. It does go to sleep after a few seconds and does not wake up again until your young one makes a noise that meets the sensitivity setting you've set on the parent unit. We love this function! My wife and I do not want to hear every little gurgle and whine coming out of our twins. We only need to know when they really, really need us in there.2. Sound level too low on parent unit:All the negative reports about the sound level being too low on the parent unit are true - with a BIG caveat.The caveat being that ONLY the ambient (background) sounds in your baby's room are hard to hear from a distance. Example...in order to hear your infant breathing, you will have to turn up the volume to its maximum setting and put the device to your ear. But pray that your young one does not let out a cry of any kind while you are doing so...because that will blow out your eardrum. The volume for this type of 'background' noise is indeed too low to hear from any distance away from the parent unit. But when your infant lets out a coo or a cry, it will be plainly audible to you from several feet away with the volume setting at 'medium.'3. Lights on the Parent unit too bright:True. If you are a fan of sleeping in the pitch-black inkiness of space, then you are really going to hate the parent unit. Nothing that some white electrical tape or a shirt set in front of the unit cannot rectify. IMO, this is trivial and doesn't rate any kind of demerit.4. Monitoring unit needs to be set too closely to infant:My own observation is this is just not true. I have the monitor unit set on top of a wardrobe eight feet away from the crib. I can hear everything that I consider important.All this being said, I can see where new parents or those who just want to hear every little thing going on in their newborn baby's room might have a problem with this unit. This device does not actively broadcast every little sound coming out of your infant's room, and there is no setting that can be turned on for that. And background noise (breathing, etc) is not audible from a distance...you need to put the unit directly to your ear if you want to hear those sounds.Rest assured that if your baby does let out a cry during the wee hours of the morn that this product will wake you up and you will hear the cries immediately. I hope that this review can help some of you make up your minds - regardless of whether you go with this monitor or not.