For a long time, the only choice for parents who wanted to invest in an infant monitor with video was the DXR-8. The Infant Optics DXR-8 Pro is a newer version of this product that offers some new features and improvements over its predecessor.
There are three major differences between these two products: night vision quality, audio quality, and battery life.
The Infant Optics DXR-8 Pro has better night vision than its predecessor due to improved infrared LEDs that illuminate objects more evenly on the screen and offer clearer images at longer distances from the camera. This device also gives you the option of using either enhanced digital zoom or panning mode when viewing your baby’s room; however, both modes can.
| Models / Features | Infant Optics DXR-8 PRO | Infant Optics DXR-8 |
|---|---|---|
| Display | 5” LCD | 3.5” LCD |
| Zoom | 6X | 4X |
| Active Noise Reduction | ✓ | - |
| Speaker | 1000mW | 800mW |
| Battery Life (Regular Mode) | 8-10 hrs | 6-10 hrs |
| Range Up | 1000 feet | 700 feet |
Pros:
- The video quality is better on the Pro;
- Buttons on the top of the monitor to control screen brightness and volume;
- Better Zoom 6X;
- Active Sound Reduction;
- You can change the alert tone and volume;
- Long transmission distance.
Cons:
- Not compatible with the old cameras;
- When in scan mode (for multiple cameras) when the cameras switch every 7 secs;
Infant Optics add-on camera unit for DXR-8 PRO
- Additional Camera Unit pairs with Infant Optics DXR-8 PRO
- Not compatible with DXR-8 (3.5" model)
- Remote pan/tilt/zoom, night vision, remote thermometer, interchangeable lens
- High definition CMOS lens for 720P video resolution.
- Zoom lens and wide angle lens sold separately
Monitor for DXR-8 PRO without camera unit & battery
- NOT compatible with DXR-8 camera unit. Only compatible with DXR-8 PRO camera units.
- Battery NOT included. Camera Unit NOT included.
- Sold as a servicing part only. REQUIRES DXR-8 PRO FULL SET TO WORK.
- This is a replacement component for existing DXR-8 PRO owners.
- Only compatible with DXR-8 PRO. NOT compatible with DXR-8.
- Official Infant Optics product. Will not void warranty.
- Item Package Weight : 0.13 pounds
- Country Of Origin : CHINA
- With interchangeable zoom and wide-angle lenses, as well as pan/tilt control, you can get a closer look at your baby or widen the view to keep an eye on all the action.
- The 10-hour battery life means you can stay connected even when you're not home, and the lightweight and small size make it easy to take with you wherever you go.
- This top-of-the-line monitor is equipped with robust and mature hardware, and can reach up to 700 feet without any obstruction.
- And if things get too loud for your little one in their room, don't worry – the DXR-8 features a tone of voice that is friendly and reassuring.
Infant Optics add-on camera unit for DXR-8
- Not compatible with DXR-8 PRO (5.0" model)
- Additional Camera Unit pairs with Infant Optics DXR-8 (3.5" model)
- Features remote pan/tilt/zoom, night vision, remote thermometer, and interchangeable lens. Number of channels: 1 frequency channel
- Expand up to 4 camera units per monitor unit
- Zoom lens and wide angle lens sold separately. Camera unit power adapter included.
Monitor for DXR-8 without camera unit & battery
- Battery NOT included. This is just the monitor unit
- Compatibly pairs with all versions of DXR-8 Camera Unit
- Round-pin charging jack for improved reliability and efficiency.Channel bandwidth:3.375 MHz
- Not compatible with older versions (micro-USB) DXR-8 Monitor Unit power adapters
- 110v-220v compatible power adapter included
- Will NOT void warranty. ALL non-official batteries will void DXR-8 warranty due to incorrect technical specifications.
- Official Infant Optics accessory
- Sold as a servicing part for existing DXR-8 Video Baby Monitors
Obviously, the Infant Optics DXR-8 has been a hard-working monitor for many parents. But now the original DXR-8 Pro is kicking this monitor up a notch with its HD 720P resolution and quality memory card slot to help you find those awesome moments with your little one again. The perfect balance of convenience and design, we all know that they will make life just a bit easier for mommy (and daddy!).
The Infant Optics DXR-8 PRO has an HD camera, two-way talk, and temperature readings
The Infant Optics DXR-8 Pro has an HD camera, two-way talk, and temperature readings
- A large, high resolution touchscreen display which is night vision compatible and can be viewed from any angle;
- Infrared technology for nighttime viewing, also called Night Vision (NV) mode- A temperature sensor so you know your baby’s room temp at all times without needing an extra device like a thermometer;
- The DXR-Pro gives clearer sound and better reception than its predecessor DXR-8 or DXR Series monitors because it has more advanced digital signal processing capabilities as well as enhanced frequency control circuitry.
The price of the DXR-8 is $150 while the price of the more advanced DXR-8 Pro is $200
The DXR-Pro gives clearer sound and better reception than its predecessor DXR-8 monitors because it has more advanced digital signal processing capabilities as well as enhanced frequency control circuitry. The DXR-Pro monitor is also an HD camera, two-way talk, and temperature readings while the DXR-8 only offers a standard speaker with a limited range for audio. This new model of baby monitoring device can be used at all times without needing an extra device like a thermometer (like you have to on some other products).
One downside of this product is that if cellular service goes out or there are any bugs in your Wi-Fi network, then the baby will not be able to communicate with anyone outside either by voice or video call.
The best review Optics DXR-8 Pro
The original Infant Optics DXR-8 Pro is one of the best-selling monitors ever made toughing, multiple baby registries on the baby to Amazon and other retailers. Now, when I talked about it a couple of years back, it was great, but it felt that it could use an update. Well, the update is finally here, but the DXR-8. Let’s check it out.
Andrew, here with dad verb up until now. The only non-connected monitor that I’ve recommended is the UV space view. I haven’t really changed my stance on that for like two years or so, but I can honestly say that the new Optics DXR-8 Pro is my new favorite non-connected monitor moving forward. I do have to know that this monitor was provided to me by infant optics. And I’m actively trying to get the brand to sponsor more videos along with this entire channel.
But it’s because this is something that I genuinely believe in. And I think it’s something that parents will scoop up and enjoy. So to start, let’s take a look at what’s inside the box. Really. It’s pretty simple, which is a good thing. You’ve got the camera and the accompanying parent unit, uh, the power supply for both nicely labeled to limit confusion, a zoom lens, a USB plug to connect it to a computer or a power bank, and a screw to mount it for a top-down view.
So first let’s go over the camera off the bat. The biggest improvement here that we’ll notice from the original Infant Optics DXR-8 is the quality. We’re not looking at a 720P picture, which in comparison to other non-connected monitors in the category is among the best that you’ll see. It’s much less muddy, not nearly as choppy, and yields a pretty crisp image.
No, this isn’t a 4k image, but guess what?
It doesn’t need to be for parents looking to just drop in on their baby. This delivers exactly what you need it for. And it’s far better than what was previously available to other parents comparing the image to UV. They are quite similar, but I would give the edge to infant optics here. The camera comes with an interchangeable zoom lens and for a little extra, you can actually get a wide-angle lens to add on.
It’s pretty neat to be able to adapt it for multiple fields of view because you know, every nursery is going to be different, but personally, for our use, we didn’t need any of the other lenses that were available. We just liked the standard events at it came with a lot of connected monitors are locked into a crib view, but here you actually still have pan tilt and zoom functions, which is great, particularly, uh, when you get into the toddler stage and you want a broader view of the room. So that about covers the camera.
Next, let’s move on to the parent unit. Uh, in addition to the 720P display, the screen size has also increased to five inches, which is a lot more convenient at the top is the power and sleep button along with dedicated buttons for brightness and volume on the right, are your buttons for panning and tilting zoom, uh, the push to talk function, and then your menu where you can set alarms at cameras and more, and I haven’t tested it yet, but you can connect up to four monitors here.
So that is great for twins are monitoring multiple rooms on the left is a light indicator that reacts to sounds and crying. It’s always nice to have visuals paired with the sound. And lastly, at the rears, a stand, which you can open up and wrestle on your nightstand or any other surface. I do want to make one quick note here. That’s always bugged me about the UV space view, and that is the volume button.
Oddly enough, intuitively you want to go this way to make it louder and this way to make it softer with [inaudible]. They actually always had those buttons flipped, which I never got used to. So thanks to infant optics for getting that right. I mean, overall, this is a great parent unit. There’s, there’s nothing really to complain about here. Uh, the last thing that I do want to highlight though is the increased signal range, which can now go up to a thousand feet compared to the 700 feet of its predecessors.
So that’s a good jump and testing it. I was actually able to maintain signals throughout my house. I had to walk a bit down the road before I started to actually lose that signal. And by the way, I’ve got the monitor linked below buying through that link helps support this channel at no additional cost to you guys. So if you do end up pulling the trigger on the Infant Optics DXR-8 Pro, please consider buying through the link in the description. Thank you. All right, battery life.
That’s another thing that you’re going to be considering when buying a monitor with a dedicated parent unit during testing, I accidentally forgot to plug the Jack in all the way I woke up the next morning to find that the battery wasn’t dead, but it had been, uh, reduced quite a bit. Uh, and it continued to run for me actually it later throughout the morning, uh, before it started giving off this chime, uh, warning me of a low battery.
So if you need it to, I think it can give you probably around 10 hours or so, probably even more as it did for me, as I’ve mentioned in a lot of previous videos, background, audio monitoring is a very important feature that I look for. Um, when the video feed is asleep, I still like to listen to the baby, but unique to the Infant Optics DXR-8 Pro is a new feature called active noise reduction.
Now, this is really interesting because one issue with some audio monitors is that sometimes it blends the background sounds with the sounds from the baby, making it kind of hard to hear. And I particularly found that to be an issue with the hatch rest. Plus, as we used it for sound monitoring with the pro, you now have the option to enable the active noise reduction feature to filter out the background sounds like fans or purifiers can clearly hear the baby.
Yeah, you can just leave that feature off, but it is nice to have in your back pocket. So who is this monitor for as many monitors as I’ve reviewed, I’ve come to find that a lot of parents just don’t have an appetite or need for the features of connected monitors like a Nanit or Miku or any of that bunch. They don’t need breathing, monitoring, or sleep analytics.
They just want something simple and reliable. They just want to hear the baby and they want to see the baby. And that’s what you’re getting here from a brand that is trusted within the baby product space. I’d say the only downside here is there’s no remote monitoring. Other than that, it’s a pretty perfect monitor. Also for anyone who has fears of security or privacy. This is going to be a monitor that you want to pick up simply because it’s not connected via wifi.
The box itself actually declared it as hackproof, which may be something that parents can take comfort in. Another thing to know is that you’re going to get a lot more reliability out of a monitor like this compared to any other connected option.
Even my Nana, that a hell of so dearly, even that is susceptible to occasional connection drops as not going to be the case here with infant optics, that that’s just the advantage of the non-connected option. And lastly, while this is a great monitor for home, it’s also a perfect companion for travel set up as easy as it is, plug and play. And you don’t have to go through the trouble of logging in through an app and doing the whole pairing process. You can get your portable crib and your monitor all set up in a matter of seconds to round it out.
I will say that, yes, this is a pricey registry item at 199, but it is on par with other options that you’re going to find around, buy, buy baby and target and Amazon. I understand that it might be hard to pull the trigger on just on any pricey monitor, but I will legit say that if you go with this one, this is definitely going to be a nursery staple that you will not regret.
Final thoughts on purchasing a monitor for your baby
The Infant Optics DXR-8 vs DXR-8 pro will also depend on what features are most important to you. If advanced temperature readings are something that would make life easier for caring parents, go with the DXR-8 model as this feature cannot be found anywhere
- If you want high-quality video and audio for your child’s room, go with the more expensive model DXR-8;
- if you’re just looking for basic features like sound and motion alerts, then go with the cheaper model DXR-8 pro.
Editors Choice:
| Top List of Best Baby Monitors | Models |
|---|---|
| The Best Two Camera Baby Monitor in 2022 | Babysense HD S2 |
| Which Non-Wi-Fi® baby monitor is best? | Infant Optics DXR-8 PRO |
| The Best WIFI Baby Monitor with Multiple Cameras | Motorola Connect40-2 |
| The Top Baby Monitors App | Hubble Connected |
| Best Baby Monitor with Tracking Breathing Heart Rate | Nanit Pro Complete Baby Monitoring System Bundle |
The Review
Infant Optics DXR-8 vs DXR-8 Pro
After all of these tests, the winner in this roundup is the Infant Optics DXR-8 PRO. This model offers a large viewing window and long battery life for an affordable price with its high-quality video and audio features. The camera has a good range so you can get up to 10 meters away from your baby without moving closer or giving them more attention than they need when checking on them throughout the night. With its many helpful features like temperature monitoring, lullabies, white noise machine, room temperature display, and others; we believe that the Infant Optics DXR-8 Pro deserves our pick as the best monitor for babies under one year old!
PROS
- The video quality is better
- Buttons on the top of the monitor to control screen brightness and volume
- Better Zoom 6X
- Active Sound Reduction
- You can change the alert tone and volume
- Long transmission distance
CONS
- Not compatible with the old cameras
- When in scan mode (for multiple cameras) when the cameras switch every 7 secs
Review Breakdown
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Easy to use
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Brightness
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Picture quality
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Night vision
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Battery life
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Zoom
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Sound machine
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Active Sound Reduction
Can the video camera Infant Optics DXR-8 run battery too or does it require to be connected in continuously?
The video camera includes a battery that costs as it’s plugged in, it’s not already in the monitor when it arrives, it’s in a separate bundle once you add it to the monitor it charges when the unit is plugged in, it likewise has a USB plug so you can connect it into a laptop too. Honestly, this is the very best baby monitor I’ve tried as well as we have actually checked many others consisting of the monitor that comes with the owlet sock, currently, we simply utilize the owlet sock and also this monitor, the finest combination in my point of view