Looking for a video baby monitor solution. I'm not sure if we want one that we can access the feed anywhere (via our phones), or just one that has it's own, local, non internet connected monitor.

Any recommendations?

We use Summer video monitor. It can have up to 4 cameras and we've been very happy with it.

It has really good coverage in our two story house

Nest cam, at least you'll continue to have a use for it afterwards

Close the door, go to sleep and don't get up every time the baby cries! It took me a year to learn this lesson, don't make the same mistake!

Will Google be watching our baby? I didn't realize they had this. Kind of pricey, but I'll look into it.

We had nestcam for a day then returned it. Good camera but it was nearly useless unless you paid their cloud fees and the fact you can only get one notification every 30 minutes. We went with the samsung option which is fine but logitech's new camera looks promising and has a 24 rewind option included.

I'll just leave this here if you're considering an internet connected device.

Watch out, new parentsinternet-connected baby monitors are easy to hack

I like my summer video monitor. I like the fact that it has a dedicated viewer that only requires the touch of a button to view. There is no jacking with a phone app or worrying about an internet connection, it's just always on. The PTZ functionality works pretty well too, but it's a digital zoom and there is only two settings all the way out and all the way in. The unit itself is pretty tough as well, my 17 month old steals it off my bedside table all the time and has yet to break it. The battery life and range of the monitor is excellent as well.

First Years Talk & Sooth. Wireless camera and monitor you can talk two ways through, built in night light if you want, and it doesn't connect to your network to be hacked.

We have a Summer Infant video monitor. Works perfectly, no issues. Having the video monitor has actually helped us learn which noises from one of our twins require a visit and which do not.

We are rolling with this one right now. We picked it because the reviews are decent and the price is low (relatively speaking). It has a zoom feature, temperature, night vision works well, and it performs fine in daylight. It also has the talkback feature which I really like. I anticipate using that more in the future when the little one is playing in bed instead of trying to go sleep.

There are definitely nicer video monitors out there with more features and connectivity, but I don't need to watch my kid sleep from the internet, and this one does what we want it to do (let's us know the kid is alive and whether or not she is awake or asleep).

Recent thread of user exploring options of using IP network cam as baby monitr:
https://texags.com/forums/30/topics/2621184/replies/42889089

Another thread discussing typical options:
https://texags.com/forums/30/topics/2624914/replies/43000208

We have the older version of this guy and really like it. Use the video and remote tilt/move much more than I thought we would:
http://www.toysrus.com/buy/baby-video-monitors/motorola-digital-video-monitor-mbp41s-mbp41s-53376716

we have a Foscam FBM3501 that we have been really happy with

Thanks Aggie_MHA - I swear that I did do a search for recent posts on this before posting, but completely missed these.

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Close the door, go to sleep and don't get up every time the baby cries! It took me a year to learn this lesson, don't make the same mistake!

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For me that was why the video monitor was so helpful. Hear the baby, roll over to check the video, and go back to sleep. Being able to see that she was ok made much easier to deal with the crying.

If I have a wireless router that only broadcasts on 2.4ghz, can I expect there to be interference even if a model says "2.4 GHz FHSS technology allows the wireless transmission to be securely private and free of interference"?

If your bedroom is close to the baby's bedroom I don't get the point of video monitors. Leave the doors open and if the baby is screaming, get up. If I looked at a monitor every time the baby made a noise, I would never get any sleep. Babies make noises all night long.

We too had an older Motorola that I just decommissioned this past weekend now that #4 is old enough. It is a great unit and I experienced very little, if any, interference issues with it in a couple of two story homes along with WiFi, mobile and DECT phones. If you're interested I could probably sell it to you on the cheap. I actually have two MBP36's - while you can't use both screens at the same time, the two cameras can pair to one screen. I just had the second screen as a 'backup' unit.

On the subject of IP cameras, personally I haven't found the use case that works in the baby monitor arena. You probably want something that has constant audio, and at times persistent video. Unless you keep your phone in the charger all of the time (and/or carry it with you) I don't think it's ideal. We tend to use our mobile phones a lot and the interruption for calls, etc. while the baby is sleeping (and let's admit you're not making many when the kid is awake at that age) isn't particularly useful. Perhaps if you only use it for bedtime and not nap time.

Even then, IP cameras in my estimation are probably best for the family pet and not the best solution for kids at that age, considering how inexpensive dedicated monitors are.

Just my 2 cents.

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If your bedroom is close to the baby's bedroom I don't get the point of video monitors.

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Our bedroom is not very close to where the baby's bedroom is. I've seen friends who spend the entire evening staring at the monitor, and I don't intend to do that. But I would like to be able to visually check on the baby without having to enter the room the whole time.

And I've pretty much decided against an IP based camera.

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If your bedroom is close to the baby's bedroom I don't get the point of video monitors.

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Our bedroom is not very close to where the baby's bedroom is. I've seen friends who spend the entire evening staring at the monitor, and I don't intend to do that. But I would like to be able to visually check on the baby without having to enter the room the whole time.

And I've pretty much decided against an IP based camera.

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The bedroom proximity argument ignores the fact that babies don't keep regular sleep schedules - they don't only sleep at night while the parents sleep (as much as we all would love that). They sleep a lot and even nap daily up until around the age of two, so unless the plan is to always be in your bedroom when the kids is resting (or keep portable cribs following you around the house) I don't know why this always gets brought up as some criticism.

Are monitors a luxury? Sure they are. But they make for much more productive parents during the infant years.

Technology.

We just ordered our 4th monitor and these are my thoughts on the ones we have tried so far:

Quick note, our house is pretty big but the nursery is just on the other side of the house and still on the first floor

• Infant Optics DXR-5 - Only $99, not a lot of features but a really good range and decent picture quality for the price. No extra features but for a basic video monitor, works pretty well
• Motorola MBP854CONNECT $270 from amazon and probably my least favorite monitor. We never hooked up the wifi so I can't comment on that feature, and it had decent range. The buttons to do anything are the touch screen type on the side of the screen so if you go to pick it up, you are going to hit a button, Annoying, but not a deal breaker until the down arrow stopped working. I called Motorola customer service and they suggested I do a hard reset which required using a screwdriver to remove the back to pull the battery and reset it. It worked for about and hour before the button stopped working again. Sent it back as I didn't feel like having to unscrew the back to reset the unit.
• Samsung SEW-3041W BrilliantVIEW $220Probably my favorite monitor for features and ease of use. We were going to keep this as everything seemed good enough. Decent picture quality, VOX mode (which is a must have IMO) and a controllable camera but the range isn't good enough for our house. It worked fine in the nursery on a table to the side of the crib, but once I mounted it on the wall, the range dropped off significantly and it doesn't work in our room
• Summer Infant Sharp View $170 Just bought this and we will receive it on Wednesday. If I remember Ill post an update once we get it.

We have a dropcam we use for our dogs when we are at work, and the picture is great, we love the thing, but I just don't see how you could use it as a baby monitor. Maybe to watch a toddler, but to notify you in the middle of the night, I don't see it working.

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If your bedroom is close to the baby's bedroom I don't get the point of video monitors.

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Our bedroom is not very close to where the baby's bedroom is. I've seen friends who spend the entire evening staring at the monitor, and I don't intend to do that. But I would like to be able to visually check on the baby without having to enter the room the whole time.

And I've pretty much decided against an IP based camera.

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The bedroom proximity argument ignores the fact that babies don't keep regular sleep schedules - they don't only sleep at night while the parents sleep (as much as we all would love that). They sleep a lot and even nap daily up until around the age of two, so unless the plan is to always be in your bedroom when the kids is resting (or keep portable cribs following you around the house) I don't know why this always gets brought up as some criticism.

Are monitors a luxury? Sure they are. But they make for much more productive parents during the infant years.

Technology.

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Nobody on this thread said they were against monitors. I just said I didn't see the point of video monitors in most cases. We had a sound monitor that fit in our pocket that we carried around while the kids were sleeping during the day. I just know far too many parents who were glued to the video monitors at night, and ended up getting far less sleep than they would have without it. Every sneeze, gurgle, and whimper during the night had them staring at the video. I've known parents who would check for breathing every few minutes on their monitors during the first few nights the baby was home. That's not healthy for the parents. I can see where video monitors could be useful in certain situations, I just believe that the majority of parents would probably be better off without them.

You don't leave the monitor burning all night. Just flip it on when you hear the baby crying to make sure they aren't in distress.

Video is so much better than audio alone.

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If I have a wireless router that only broadcasts on 2.4ghz, can I expect there to be interference even if a model says "2.4 GHz FHSS technology allows the wireless transmission to be securely private and free of interference"?

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We notice interference when using our iPhones or a computer in close proximity to the screen (receiver) or camera. Otherwise, no issues.

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You don't leave the monitor burning all night. Just flip it on when you hear the baby crying to make sure they aren't in distress.

Video is so much better than audio alone.

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Agreed.

@ Josepi: The monitor is audio only until you flip video on. The unit is smaller than my phone & fits in my pocket.

Let's be honest, mom has better motherly instincts than dad & it's their first response to check on baby during the night. The video allows her to roll over, flip on, see baby is okay (face not buried in blankets or crib padding, breathing ok), turn video off, go back to sleep. Entire process being 5 seconds versus getting up. That monitor has helped my wife get much better sleep, even though the baby room is close.

Also, it's a must for a two story house & baby naps. I can cook, watch football, etc downstairs & visually check on him if he's crying versus walking upstairs.

We're not constantly watching the screen.

We have this one. Highly recommend.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00ECHYTBI/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1443891285&sr=8-1&pi=SX200_QL40&keywords=infant+optics&dpPl=1&dpID=41L9Fp-Dt1L&ref=plSrch

Another nice feature I just recalled: the units we have contain temperature sensors that display on the monitor screen. We found that useful on more than one occasion. Additional food for thought.