I’m Mallory of babylist scout. Today, I am here to talk about different types of baby monitors and the features to consider first things first know that your baby monitor is majorly dependent on what your family needs. So let’s talk about options.
There are three major types of baby monitors, audio-video, and what I like to call smart audio, baby monitors only let you hear the baby.
This is the most budget-friendly because there aren’t a whole lot of bells and whistles to baby’s first. Walkie-talkie the things you could spend a little bit more on with audio-only monitors are these things long range.
So you can be further away from baby’s room, but still hear them and being able to hear baby clearly with no static or FAS these monitors when on the budget friendly and portability categories, for sure. But if you’re craving the visual, it’s a, no-go a popular pick for the audio.
The only monitor is the Vtech DM221 two to one audio baby monitor. It costs around $35, which is way cheap. And parents say the audio transmission is nice and clear with no crackle. There’s also a two way audio, which means you can talk back to baby. That’s a really nice feature on any type of monitor. This one also has a visual indicator that alerts you when there are cries from the other room. Even if you have your volume turned down and onto video baby monitors, this is definitely the most popular baby monitor types these days.
And now there are two video monitor types. non-WiFi monitors, which have an external monitor for you to view baby while you’re in your home. And Wi-Fi monitors, which allow you to access the video feed from an app on your phone from anywhere and everywhere that has internet non-WiFi monitors limit you to your house because of the local connection they use either an available radio frequency or an encrypted digital signal that transmits and receives audio video and discrete numbers.
There’s no wifi or Bluetooth involved. And some parents feel this is a little bit more of a secure connection because even if someone else is using a device on the same frequency as your baby monitor, they can easily hear and see what your baby monitor is. Transmitting a non-WiFi monitor does use a battery-powered handheld device to help you see the baby’s room.
And the quality of the picture is pretty clear up to a certain range before losing connection. Here’s what to look for when choosing the best handheld monitor to view baby, with a clear and bigger picture, five inches is considered extra large while three and a half is more average.
You’ll want lots of range. Longer ranges are more expensive. And the max is about a thousand feet. Solid battery. Life is key like more than eight hours because these handheld devices do need to be charged.
And if you’re charging all the time, that can get annoying. non-WiFi baby monitors with separate handheld devices do when on the security front because of their local connection. But do keep in mind, you will have a limited range and battery life, a popular pick for a non-WiFi video. The baby monitor is an infant. Optics DXR-8 are eight video baby monitors. It costs around $165. It comes with a three-and-a-half-inch display screen that parents say has a very impressive video picture because of the self-contained camera lens system.
Parents also love that there’s very little delay in the video feed. You have the ability to adjust and pan tilt and zoom remotely, which means you don’t have to go into baby’s room to make the tweaks and risk waking them another major win. And you get great features like two way audio and room temperature tracking with this monitor as well.
The other type of video baby monitor is the wifi one. These don’t only let you see baby when you’re at home, but also when you leave the house and you can usually access the video from an app on your phone or whatever device you’re using. So you won’t need a separate handheld device. As long as the baby monitor and your phone or whatever device you’re viewing with are connected to wifi. You can check on baby anywhere.
This makes wifi monitors great nanny cams in the long run, the wifi baby monitors. Specifically, you can spend more on these things as super secure connection. Most use what’s called wireless encryption and firmware to protect your video feed and make it as close to unhackable as possible. A solid wifi connection with no delay. 2.4 gigahertz is typically the speed required for a clear connection. Video. History is another factor here since this type of monitor connects to an app.
Some allow you to access video history from a few days to months, and maybe even to share clips with friends, but you will probably need to pay a subscription fee for that. It’s definitely cool to be able to access baby from anywhere with wifi monitors and the fact that they can act as a nanny cam down the line is handy, but the wifi struggles for streaming and security concerns are real. A popular pick for a wifi video. Baby monitor is the nest cam at around $200. This monitor is super loved by parents for its crisp 10 ADP picture quality day and night on any device from anywhere.
There are so many ways to Mount this camera so you can get optimal views as the baby grows, and you can zoom in from the app to some love the app connection of this monitor and wifi monitors in general, while others have been left craving for a separate handheld monitor because you can’t be on Instagram and see your baby at the same time.
And when grandma comes over and let’s just sneak a peek at your sleeping baby, you don’t have to give her your phone last video type for you guys.
Are you ready for these smart baby monitors?
These monitors go way past just hearing and seeing the baby. These ones actually take on things like babies, sleep, and breathing and reporting it to you with alerts and analytics. These monitors can get pricey depending on what you want to monitor. And sometimes you may have to have the baby wear something to get the readings.
Now with all the different types of smart monitors, these are the things to keep an eye out for nearly all of them accurate alerts, whether the device is beeping at you, flashing lights or sending a notification to your phone, ensuring that the alerts are accurate is key. Faulty alerts can cause more stress than they’re worth placement.
Know that some devices need to be worn on the baby. So you might only get to use it when the baby isn’t super wiggly, others must be mounted above the crib. So if you don’t even own one, then this isn’t a good fit. The placement of smart monitors feels very much more specific than the others do where you can just set it on a nightstand, just be sure that you do know and understand what you’re signing up for. And subscriptions with smart monitors come access to smart data, but not all the data is free.
No, that a lot of smart monitors do require a monthly or annual subscription to get their great insights. Usually, after a brief free trial, these smarty-pants monitors do get brownie points for innovation, but the price and added cost of the subscriptions, restrictions, and placements, and the possibility of faulty alerts are big considerations.
A few popular picks for the smart monitors are these, this news, a hero costs around $100 and clips to baby’s diaper and alerts with beets. If their breathing is weak, the cocoon cam is about $130 and also monitors baby’s breathing. But without a wearable, this wifi video monitor gives you a bird’s eye view of baby’s crib and shows you breathing patterns in the app. The nanny cam goes for $279 and monitors baby’s sleep habits with a subscription. You can access valuable sleep data based on each night, snooze, the outlet smart sock, two runs for $300.
It tracks baby’s heart rate and oxygen levels with a wearable sock while baby sleeps and alerts you in an app. And on the included base station with light sounds. If something is out of range paired with a wifi video, baby monitor, this bundle is $400 and that’s all I have for you guys today, baby monitors, one Oh one is done. Hope this has been helpful. And let us know in the comments, if you have any other types of baby monitor questions, also be sure to check out baby list gear guides for more great info like this and happy registers.
| Top List of Best Baby Monitors | Models |
|---|---|
| The Best Video Baby Monitor | VAVA VA-IH006 |
| The Best Non-Wifi Baby Monitor | Infant Optics DXR-8 PRO |
| The Best 2-3-4 Camera Baby Monitor | Babysense HD S2 |
| The Best Baby Monitor with WiFi | Nanit Pro |
| The Best Baby Monitor Audio-Only | Philips AVENT DECT SCD501/10 |
| The Best Oxygen Monitor | Owlet Smart Sock 3 |
