Philips AVENT Basic Baby Monitor with DECT Technology - Babyphone Discounters

By 

Francis E. Reyes (Denver, Colorado USA) –

  

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.

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 Comment

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.

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 Comments (3)

By 

Phyllis Staff (Dallas, Texas USA) –

  

  

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!

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