Recommendations for a video monitor? Thank you!
Recommendations for a video monitor? Thank you!
coconut / 8079 posts
We like our Foscam! We were able to check in on LO using an app on our phones.
pomelo / 5573 posts
We have the Motorola and it's decent. The range can be a little finicky - sometimes it cuts out in our living room - but we've used it daily for four years and it's still going and I really liked being able to add a second camera when we had a second baby.
honeydew / 7463 posts
We went through 2 Motorola’s with my first son. After the second one died we refused to get another. So we went with the infant optics one I think it’s the DXR-8. So far I’m in love with it. Battery life is amazing and picture is far superior to the Motorola. We also have a drop cam but we don’t use that as our primary. We will move the infant optics to the new baby when he’s born and probably just use the drop cam to check in occasionally on my three-year-old.
wonderful kiwi / 23653 posts
Motorola. I see you're about to have your 2nd; I love that I can do split screen and see both on one monitor.
nectarine / 2243 posts
we have had a foscam (really a glorified security camera) hard wired to our network and it runs off of apps on our devices. It was good but a little buggy. Video quality was good. I liked that Family could just enter in a web address to view if they were here babysitting
We have a nest for our second. The video quality is a lot better. You don’t have to pay the monthly subscription and you can view snapshots of the last 5 hours of activity (but they are still images) vs saved live video feeds if you pay. But I don’t like that in order for a sitter or Family to view the nest you essentially give them full control over the nest and your home if they put the app on their device.
pear / 1767 posts
@LBee: I bought a new battery for my Motorola and it really helped with the battery life. I just unscrewed the parent monitor and checked the description on the battery and then found a replacement on Amazon. I think Motorola cheaps out on the battery that they install in the factory.
squash / 13199 posts
For the price of most baby monitors you could get an actual security camera like arlo or nest that works much better and connects to your cell phone. We had Motorola with DD but now with two kids we upgraded tosecurity cameras
persimmon / 1381 posts
Agreed with the motorola battery. The monitor itself is fine but the battery life drives me bonkers.
apricot / 285 posts
We have a motorola for our first and I have never loved it. As others said the battery life is terrible, it serves its purpose but I wanted to pick up another monitor for the second baby we are expecting. I went with an Infant Optics DXR-8 and I set it up to try with our son to see if I would like it better. What a world of a difference. A feature that I must have is the temperature monitoring.
We get a lot of feedback on the motorola not nearly as much on the infant optics and the battery life is better. I am someone that did not want a wifi camera or to have to use my cell phone so I choose to stick with the traditional monitor. So far the infant optics is a world above the motorola, granted the motorola is 2 years old at this point ;).
nectarine / 2262 posts
Following. We've used our Motorola for 2.5 years - same as others, it's pretty good, battery sucks, but using it plugged in is not a big deal. We are expecting #2 in May. I am trying to decide whether I want to get a 2nd camera, a new 2nd monitor (and have 2 monitors), or a new system all together with two cameras/1 monitor. Thoughts?
apricot / 285 posts
@mrsads we went with a whole second monitor. Not the best budget wise but I don't love the Motorola nor did I like the idea of only having sound for one of the rooms at a time. Our son will be 2.5 when the baby arrives and he sleeps on a floor bed. I like to have the sound on for him to know if he is up and about.
Everyones situation is different, we do not use the Motorola a ton with our son but since I do not love it, I just opted to pick up a new one and keep the old one running for the toddler.
pomegranate / 3438 posts
We have an iBaby monitor. I like the app and the camera is good quality. But I don’t like that I can’t really mount it since it is round. It needs a shelf.
grapefruit / 4045 posts
I love the Nest monitor, as well! So easy to use and so great to be able to look back on what was recorder. I like that it stays on all the time, also.
clementine / 874 posts
We went with the Summer Infant 5 inch Wide View 2.0 Duo. It doesn't have a lot of bells and whistles, but it ticked the boxes of night vision, monitoring two kids with one device and being cheap
We got ours for 120 on a Black Friday sale. We considered upgrading to the kind that had split screen and you could control the cameras, but honestly, I only use the video to check on them when they're making noise but I don't know if I should go in or not. And to watch my toddler's silly antics on his bunkbed when he's supposed to be asleep haha.
nectarine / 2262 posts
@macsunshine I am really considering getting a 2nd even though it's more $$$. I am just kind of nutso about the monitor and not having sound for one of the kids will make me worry, I know.
clementine / 828 posts
@MrsADS: What about just getting an audio monitor (for the older one).
persimmon / 1005 posts
We also decided to just get a second monitor. I already had an infant optics one that is fine, but I wanted temperature monitoring. Tried out the step up infant optics model that offered a temperature monitor, but it turned out not to have a temp alert for low or high temperatures. You had to look at the monitor and read the temp.
Went with a rando one I saw on amazon that has a temp alert built in and so far I’m very happy with it, although it’s only been in use for about a week.
pear / 1558 posts
@Shantuck: I never even thought to replace the battery! We like our Motorola, but it has very little life after 2yrs use.
pear / 1767 posts
@GoGoSnoGirl: We had used ours for almost 4 years and were considering a new one for baby #2 since the battery was so awful. The replacement we bought was so much better and for $11, our monitor was almost like new!
apricot / 285 posts
@mrsads I know, that is why we ended up with two. Audio only wouldn’t have worked for our toddler since he is on a floor bed. Watch for sales, the Infant Optics one we got was a Black Friday or some other special on Amazon for $125. Also not sure what Banies R Us sales will be like if one is closing by you.
persimmon / 1281 posts
We have infant optics dxr-8 and like it. We had the 5 but it crapped out after a little over a year. The 8 is way nicer, has temp reading, pan/tilt, and speaker. No issues with battery life or range. We also have a next camera for security but I’m weird about having something like that as a monitor.
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