Ok, so I gave this monitor 4 stars rather than 5 because it does have some annoying flaws. I have researched so many monitors for multiple cameras and this one seemed the best. I had the Summer Infant Best View, which was AMAZING!! I sold it to a friend to help pay for this one, and I was kind of sad because I wasn't sure how this one would compare. It seems, like most of the reviews, as long as you don't get a "lemon", it works great.
I purchased mine from BabiesRus.com and ordered the extra camera too (they have it in stock right now, and Amazon does not.) Basically, the first one I tried, the monitor was blank and showed nothing. But if I hooked it up to my TV, I could see the baby sleeping, so I knew it wasn't the camera. I brought that one back and got another one. This one works!!! The video quality is not as good as the Best View, but is good enough. I have listed the PROS and CONS below!!
PROS
-Normal amount of interference with Wi-Fi. You will have this problem with most video monitors.
-No static...very clear sound, and we are 2300 feet from my daughter's room.
-The battery on the monitor appears to be pretty good, lasts all day and I charge it each night, even though it is not completely drained.
-The battery pack for the camera is a neat feature, but I haven't hooked it up. Keep in mind that if you purchase an additional camera, the battery pack is not included.
-The volume is really great and there are no problems with hearing the baby rustling around on the sheets, which is nice.
-Scanning feature!!!!! This feature is what I have been looking for. When you put it on "scan," it scans between the cameras you have set up. When the video is on, you see and hear what is being monitored (1st camera, then 2nd...and back to 1st again.) When you are sleeping, and the video is off, the sound is still scanning between rooms. On other monitors, the sound would stop on the room you had the camera on last. What's the point in that? Also, some have no sound and only video scanning. Like any person is just going to stay awake all night and stare at the video monitor to see if there are any issues with the babies. This one does the trick, though, with both video and audio scanning.
-The monitor is very sensitive to touch and easy to use.
-Camera is easy to swivel around to your preference...from the comfort of your bedroom, or wherever...though, I pretty much just keep it where it is. :)
-I love the intercom feature because sometimes I just talk to my daughter just for fun...when she is awake and I am about to go get her. She looks at the camera and says, "mama??" I love it!!
-There is a really nice "leg" on the monitor that is easy to open and close so you can stand it up, if you choose. (The dock props it up, as well, which makes quick "glances" at the monitor easy. If you choose not to use the dock, the plug goes right into the monitor if you don't enjoy the dock. (I discuss this below in the Con section.))
CONS
-It appears that there are a lot of "lemons" out there, so if yours has problems, bring it back and get another one right away.
-The dock is really light and is magnetic, so when I try to pick it up off the dock with one hand, it usually picks up the dock and drops it on the floor. Annoying, but not a deal-breaker.
-The "talk" button is right by the power button and since you have to hold the power button to turn the monitor off and hold the talk button to talk to the child, some people have reported accidentally holding the talk button and waking the child. This has not happened to me. It would be wise for Summer Infant to make a minor change in that area.
-Video quality can definitely be improved. The night vision is better than the color, but really, it is always dark when I am monitoring her, so this is not a problem. And, again, not a deal-breaker for me.
CONCLUSION
Basically, it boils down to how many rooms/kids you are monitoring. The scanning feature is just too important and outweighs all of the cons, in my opinion!! Please ask questions, if you have them. I had millions and just went for it!!
The Minutiae of 2 Monitors: Motorola MBP36 & Summer Infant Touch
Motorola Digital Video Baby Monitor with 3.5 Inch Color LCD Screen
Summer Infant Baby Touch Digital Color Video Monitor
This review discusses the minutiae, good and bad, of both monitors. (Same review under both products).
Summary: Motorola: 4 stars, SI: 4.5 stars. Both monitors are great and fit the bill for a pan/tilt monitor. It's the little details and personal preference that will determine the best monitor for you. FYI, we come from a history of owning the Summer Infant BestView-pre2011. We would have just added a 2nd camera to our unit if it were still available. Where applicable, we noted where SI has improved some things from the BestView to the Touch.
Both monitors have a 3.5" screen. The pictures in both daytime and night vision are very good. The sound and talk back on both units is good. The pan/tilt is quiet overall on both cameras. The biggest difference is how to access the features you feel are most important to you. Below are some notable differences between the two units.
Overall layout (see labeled pictures):
Video On/Off: external button on both
Volume: in menu on Motorola, dedicated top toggle on SI
Pan/Tilt: external (Left) buttons on Motorola, in a menu with touch arrows on SI
Zoom: in a menu on both
Scan: external button on Motorola, in a menu on SI
Buttons: SI wins this hands down. Unless you are awake every time you use the monitor, you cannot easily find and press the correct button, one-handed, in a dark room/semi-sleep state. For us, this design difference is what sealed the deal for SI over Motorola. We can easily find the Video On/Off and volume with tactile sense. We would have resorted to making a raised surface on the 3rd button if we chose to keep the Motorola.
SI touch screen: Many people commented that you can brush up against the screen anywhere and turn the menu on/select items. This doesn't seem to be totally the case. You not only have to have the video ON, but you also have to press on the very right or bottom strip of the picture/screen to bring up the menu. A random touch anywhere on the screen will not bring the menu up. Also of note, accessing the main functions (Video On/Off and Volume) does not require the touch menu since these buttons are located on the OUTSIDE of the unit. We are fine with going into a menu for less-common functions such as pan/zoom/scan because we will not be doing this nearly as often as turning the video on/off and adjusting volume. (And the SI volume toggle does NOT activate the touch screen so the monitor can stay dark while you adjust volume.)
Interference: we had problems with our old SI (BestView) and wireless interference. The Motorola had much less interference than the SI Touch, the SI Touch seemed to have the same interference as the SI BestView. We opted to upgrade/change routers to solve this problem instead of compromising on any monitors. A router is a cheaper electronic piece to swap out than a monitor system (esp with multiple cameras).
Camera range: we placed each camera on the same peg over the bed. The SI showed ¾ of the bed, the Motorola showed a little less than ½. For us that meant HAVING TO pan the Motorola each time to see where baby rolled. We have the camera at the max height on the wall. The camera could easily be placed at a different angle relative to the bed to avoid panning. This is just to compare how the video outputs differ relative to each other. (The specs are undoubtedly written in the manuals somewhere describing the camera lens type.)
Night vision LEDs: both the Motorola and SI Touch have 'invisible' LED lights to provide night vision. On the monitors, this looks like a spotlight with darker edges that look like they're `in the shade.' This is subtle and not really noticeable except at the lowest screen brightness setting. For reference, the old SI BestView had a circle of red LED lights around the lens that resulted in a more evenly-lit monitor picture.
Speaker: located in the back of the unit on the Motorola. The SI speaker is redesigned but still on the front of the monitor. Both units have an 8-level sound bar and each level between the 2 brands seems about equal. Several have been concerned that the volume does NOT go to zero on the Motorola. However, the speaker is on the back of the unit and makes the lowest setting almost equivalent to a mute setting. In testing it, we found that the rear speaker placement helped block the background rustling/movement that we didn't want to hear, but did not hinder us hearing the louder baby noises that we did want to hear. (Also for comparison's sake, the Motorola and SI Touch level 4 is equivalent to SI BestView level 2 so there is improved ability to adjust the lower/quieter sound levels; the quiet sounds are quieter and loud sounds (above level 4) are still loud. ...a great change for SI fans.
Cameras: The Motorola has nice rubber feet at the base that keep the camera from sliding where placed. The SI has a light plastic feel and the base is so light it feels like the camera will topple over. (But it doesn't.) We put ours on the wall (not on a shelf) since that's the best way for us to use the pan/tilt, so the padded bottom is a non-issue (although the SI vibration against the wall was loud until we placed a felt pad sticker on it).
Monitors: The Motorola monitor also has the nice rubber grips on the bottom. It stays in place on a tabletop making it easier for you to grab. And you WILL need to grab it...with BOTH hands...in order to press the correct button(s) to activate any function. The SI comes with a little saucer-like magnetic recharging base. It's so light and plastic-y that it hangs on to the monitor when trying to break the magnetic connection. Because you need adequate pressure for the touch screen, you'll need to get your hands on the monitor to work the touch screen functions. Put the fancy saucer base in the trash and just use the charger port on the left side of the monitor unit itself. Overall, the Motorola is a niiiice monitor to hold. It's thick and chunky, like a portable game unit (think psp), and you can thumb the left and right buttons very, very easily. The SI is thinner and more sleek (fake chrome cover) and less comfortable to hold. And because you need to hold it length-wise (buttons on the top of the unit get in the way...), it's a little harder to balance than a touch phone that you may be used to holding.
The SI comes with a cordless click-on base for the camera. It takes 4 AA batteries, advertising a 10hr battery life. The batteries do NOT come with the unit and we think that you CANNOT use the power cord to charge the base, eg rechargeable batteries need to be taken out of the unit to be recharged. This is different than stated on the Amazon description. We have not tested this, but it's directly from the manufacturer info.
Motorola has a temp gauge. Never had it before and it's a nice feature to have. The temp of the Motorola is accurate since the camera doesn't run hot (goes up a few degrees temporarily when you move the camera) unlike reviews of other brands.
Motorola has an audible beep when the battery is low. Most people like this. We do not. A flashing light is adequate. We'd be pissed if this woke us up in the night, so any monitor stays plugged in during the overnight hours for this reason. (Plus the manufacturer recommends running the battery down during the day and charging at night to keep the battery life optimal.)
SI turns the video off in 3min if not plugged in. Motorola takes longer by about 1-1.5min.
Again, both units are great for a pan/tilt multi-camera setup. What you're used to in a monitor and what makes life easier for you in daily use will tip your scales one way or the other. But you cannot go wrong with either of these choices. We hope these little itty bitty details of these two units help someone.
*UPDATE* 11/10/11 We really wanted to like the Motorola because it had a more compact and nicer camera and the monitor design was superior to SI and had a great feel to it, but the accessibility of some features won out on the SI vs the Motorola. We've had the SI monitor for a month now and everything is still behaving. The only thing to add to the above information for the SI is that the touch screen is a little better than expected. As stated above, it is activated only if you push the menu button on the right side of the unit (very inconvenient location for one-handed use) or tap along the bottom/right of the touchscreen (like old-school digital picture frames). The nice thing is that once activated, the screen is very responsive to one-handed touch when sitting upright (eg on a nightstand). It's very easy to reach over and adjust brightness or use the arrow buttons with one finger and not knock it over. The only negative is in selecting items. Once you select the menu item (eg Brightness or Camera), you need to use the arrow buttons in the popup menu to get to and highlight what you want. For example, under Brightness you cannot just tap a higher level and have it go from 2 to 7. Instead, you have to tap the arrow up incrementally. The menu items of Brightness, Scan, and Switch Camera do this. (FYI in comparison, the Motorola has the same menu system but instead of tapping on the initial menu icon you needed to arrow thru all the menu icons to get to what you want. As mentioned in the original review, the VOLUME was one of these embedded menu items so it took 3-4 button clicks to adjust volume once you pulled up the menu.) Too bad these two monitoring systems can't have a child and make the PERFECT user-friendly system.
Buy Summer Baby Touch Color Video Monitor Now
So I will start with the fact that I have purchased 4 different monitors :
1) 2.4GHz DIGITAL WIRELESS BABY VIDEO MONITOR SYSTEM WITH NIGHT VISION -2.4" Color LCD Screen (Two-way Radio communication) by Smart AV ,
2) MOBICAM DXR DIGITAL MONITORING SYSTEM,
3) SAMSUNG WIRELESS VIDEO SECURITY MONITORING SYSTEM w/ 3.5" LCD,
4) SUMMER INFANT BABY TOUCH COLOR VIDEO MONITOR by Summer infant.
I have a 3yr. old and I was still using my Sony baby call monitor which I still love, but now I need to see when she gets out of her bed and I wanted the two way feature "talk to the baby feature" so I could talk to her and tell her to get back in her bed. I should also say that I want to see as much of her room around her bed as I could her room is 11 ft. by 12ft I put the camera in the corner on a shelf eight feet off the ground about 10 and ½ ft away from her bed, so if she got out of her bed I could see where she was. I could also see her during the day playing in her room. Well, let me say that they at least at this moment they don't make a monitor with a 100% "clear" picture for day and night vision.
First up, I bought the 2.4 GHz MONITOR by SMART AV: It was good I could see her ok during the day, and at night with the night vision and I could hear her and she could hear me when I talked on it.
CONS: Not the best picture but it was good enough. The camera did not adjust down far enough I had to put a coaster under the back half to get it to angle down some more and no sound bar (the lights that light up according to how noisy it is in the room). The big problem was it did not have the rechargeable batteries the other reviewers said it had. (Amazon told me it was probably because they bought it from a different seller not DBroth.) You can put regular batteries in it but if you want to plug it in you have to remove the batteries first. I tried to purchase the rechargeable batteries from them it has been a week and a half they still have not answered my emails. I returned it. Update: I never received a response.
Next up, the MOBICAM DXR DIGITAL MONITORING SYSTEM: it had a ok picture during the day a little grainy but you could see. Night vision was grainy but ok.
CONS: No sound bar, grainy day and night vision, when you touch the talk button to speak to the child it did not always work I would have to let it go and press it again to get it to work. I had it replaced with a new one thinking it might have been that one and the new one did the same thing. I called Amazon and they said they are not selling these directly anymore because of that happening to the batch of these they had maybe a bad batch they are investigating it, but you can still buy it from third party sellers on Amazon. UPDATE: Amazon is now selling them again.
Next up, was the SAMSUNG WIRELESS VIDEO SECURITY MONITORING SYSTEM w/ 3.5" LCD: this one had the best picture of them all but only for during the day (although it had a yellow glow at the top of the screen from the light in the room but the light was not in the cameras view I adjusted the camera down even further and it still remained. It has a nice night light and music that you can turn on and off from the monitor. I really, really wanted to like it.
CONS: The camera did not adjust down far enough for me on my shelf, so I put a coaster under the back half to angle it down some more, There were also some "delays" (like when walking or just moving fast the screen would "miss some frames/some of the movement" in the picture.) The temperature gauge was not correct, the alarm for detection of sound in the room was a pain to adjust, I did not like that when It went in to sleep mode (the screen goes black to power save) the volume would shut off, till it heard a sound, I wanted it on unless I turned it down, (which is how the baby touch monitor operates in sleep mode the sound does not shut off but you can turn it down if you wish), the zoom function was a BIG pain you have to go into the menu out of the "picture screen" and put it on zoom then go back to the "picture screen", the volume was not very loud at all my husband was like it doesn`t turn up louder than that? The "talk to the baby" function was "choppy"(not as clear as the summer infant baby touch) and my absolute deal breaker was, I would think the MAIN REASON you would purchase a monitor like this the night vision: at night with and without a night light on in the room I could barely see anything much less my daughter in her bed you would really have to stare and look good to make any thing out, the infrared led's must not be strong at all. (If you want it for close up it might work I don't know never tested close up tested all of them in the same place about 10 and 1/2 feet away from her bed up on a shelf I need to see at least part of the room around her bed.)
I was so aggravated by this search, I printed out a twenty percent off coupon from the internet for Babies R Us and went and bought the SUMMER INFANT BABY TOUCH MONITOR, the new one they have with the touch screen monitor and pan and zoom camera. I put it to the test compared it to the SAMSUNG and MOBI. My two most important things were the night vision to see her at night and the "talk to the baby" function so I could talk to her. This summer infant model has a secure private connection unlike the other summer infant monitors. Its picture is ok (not HD but none of them are) slightly, slightly, slightly grainy during the day but still really good, and its night vision although a little grainy was the best out of all of them for the distance, (again I did not test close up) plus I can move the camera around remotely from the monitor to see where she's at in the room and I can zoom in easily the functions appear below and to the right of the picture when you touch the screen although the closer you zoom in the grainier it got but that was with ALL of the models I tested.
AFTER A LOT OF TESTING AND DEBATE, I RETURNED THEM ALL EXCEPT FOR THE SUMMER INFANT BABY TOUCH MONITOR. I really like it. I am glad I just went ahead and spent a little more money and bought it. The pan and zoom features work great. (THIS IS THE ONLY MONITOR OUT OF THE ONES I TESTED THAT HAS THE ACTUAL PAN FEATURE. THE ABILITY TO MOVE THE CAMERA AROUND THE ROOM REMOTELY FROM THE CONTROLS ON THE MONITOR. The Samsung does not have the pan feature.) I can see her WHOLE room day or night. After a certain amount of time it goes into power save mode when it is not on the charger and turns off the picture but you can still hear the sound you can still adjust the volume and if you want to see the picture again just press the button on the top. If it is on the charger the picture will stay on unless you press the button on the top to turn the screen back off. The monitor has a lithium-ion battery and the camera has the option to put regular batteries in it if you can not plug it in a outlet. The monitor also has a belt clip that doubles as the stand for it when the monitor is not on the charger. I called summer infant to ask about recommendations for the rechargeable battery for the monitor the company says not to charge the battery more than eight hours and let it run down before you put it back on the charger for maximum battery life.
Read Best Reviews of Summer Baby Touch Color Video Monitor Here
Pros:
Good video quality, even when the room is totally dark, I can still see my son. I can even tell whether his eyes are open or closed because it picks up light reflected from inside his pupils.
Sound quality is good.
I like that I can hook it up to my TV using a USB port and watch him on the TV. This of course only works if you don't want to watch TV at the same time. I use it while I'm working on my computer. Video quality doesn't translate as well to the TV, but it's still a nice feature.
Cons:
I wish it had a belt clip or came with a holster so that it is easier to carry around with you.
Battery life on mine from the get-go was only about 6 hours (not the stated 10 hours). This was very disappointing and I am seeking a replacement from the manufacturer or at least a new battery.
When the battery dies, it shuts off without any audible warning. Maybe not a big deal during the day when you would notice if it turned off, but when sleeping at night, if the monitor turns itself off, you wouldn't know. They ought to add an audible low battery warning alarm to alert you that it's shutting off that would wake you up. My son was crying one morning after the battery had died while I was asleep and I didn't wake up -I only found out he was crying when I got up to use the bathroom. I have no idea how long he had been crying. This made me pretty upset.
When handling the monitor, the touch screen is easily accidentally activated because the screen is sensitive and covers almost the entire front of the monitor face. It's hard to pick it up without triggering the menu buttons on the screen to turn on and sometimes change settings. Also, if you put it in your pocket, the slightest brush of fabric against the screen causes the touch screen buttons to be activated, and can cause the camera to move around, the volume to increase or decrease, or other touch screen features to activate/change. Since there is also a button that activates the touch screen menu to come up, I'd prefer it if the touch screen ONLY activated when the button is pushed, not when the screen is touched, or that there was a way to lock the screen so that a touch wouldn't activate the menu, sort of like an iPod lock button.
Want Summer Baby Touch Color Video Monitor Discount?
For the past year, we've owned the Summer Infant Night & Day Video Monitor and the video quality is perfect (crystal clear). A couple of months ago, the volume didn't work at certain levels and the sound started to have more static, making it distracting during sleep for me.
We started looking at the digital monitors (as I've heard they will never get the "static" sound). We went for the Summer Infant BabyTouch. From the start we were in love with the sleek look and all of the features. Everything works great...except the video quality. If this is your first video monitor, you'll probably love this (you won't have anything to compare it to). If you've had great video quality before and are switching to this video monitor, it will be noticeable for you.
The video is grainy and the movement is somewhat choppy (think gas station video footage). You can still make out where the baby is and what's going on, but it's just not crystal clear like the picture on the box shows. I did call customer service at Summer Infant and was extremely impressed with their help. They made some suggestions and were extremely friendly and helpful, but their suggestions didn't help at all.
The features of this monitor outweigh the bad video quality, so we have decided to keep this monitor (we even exchanged it at our local store to see if there was a difference in them...there wasn't).
Pros -
Easy to navigate around (sound, pan, zoom, etc...)
Great sound
Great pan
Talk feature
Docking station (quick to put on and it's charging versus having to find the cord to plug in and charge)
Touch screen
Cons -
Lame zoom (but all video monitors have this zoom jumps straight to a closer view)
The "talk" button is located next to the on and off button. You have to hold the on/off button for 4 seconds and the "talk" button has to be held down (like a Walkie Talkie) to be heard. I've accidentally held down the "talk" button when I thought I was turning on/off the monitor and was talking (waking my son up). It's not the end of the world, but just a suggestion to the company to switch the location of this button (it's the same size as the on/off button too).
The video quality is a big disappointment
Save 26% off
We purchased the Summer Infant "Night and Day" handheld monitor when our baby was born (I'll get around to how this relates to the "Secure Sight" system you're expecting to read about). Around the 8 month mark the sound started to "go" ... we'd see the 'red' but wouldn't hear anything. Since the monitor was less than 1 year old I contacted Summer Infant customer support, and was told that if I could prove my handheld was purchased less than 1 year ago they would replace it with the "Secure Sight" handheld monitor. (for some reason they wouldn't send a new "Night and Day", and FYI: save your receipt!). Before agreeing to the trade I checked it out and saw that the Secure Sight unit itself was/is more streamlined than the "Night and Day" model, but noticed the price was a bit less. Giving them the benefit of the doubt, I agreed to the swap. We set it up and I couldn't be more disappointed. The picture isn't nearly as sharp as the "Night and Day", it's a step above poor and I can barely distinguish my baby from the crib mattress. With the Night and Day I could actually see his breathing if I wanted to with the Secure Sight it's more like looking at a fuzzy shape of what's most likely my baby.
