baby-monitor1.jpgIt’s pretty amazing to look back and see how baby monitors have evolved in the past 10 years. When I choose my first baby monitor, I was focused on finding one that would give me the least amount of interference from the neighbors, the widest range for transmission, and the best battery life.

Fast forward to when I had my 4th baby and video baby monitors had arrived. Now I had a direct window into my baby’s room, so video quality was my number one priority. Little did I realize that not even 2 years later baby monitors that connect to your Wi-Fi network and stream HD quality video straight to a receiver or smartphone would hit the market, and not only could you pan, tilt, and zoom in on your baby, you could also talk back and forth with him or her via 2-way communication and see your little one sleeping in the dark.

The latest baby monitors are packed with features designed to ease your mind and help you watch over your baby, but how do you choose the baby monitor that’s best for you? Here’s a look at some of the latest baby monitors:

Levana Keera 3.5 Digital Video Baby MonitorLevana-keera.jpg

One of the most stressful things about becoming a new parent is trying to keep a watchful eye on your baby while still going about your day. Taking the time to walk back and forth to your baby’s room to check on him or her can interrupt all of the other tasks you’ve got to do during nap time or at night, so having a full-featured baby monitor to watch over your little one becomes really important.

That’s where the Levana Keera video baby monitor comes in: it gives you that extra set of eyes you need to watch your baby, and because you can remotely pan, tilt, and zoom in via the 3.5” colour touchscreen, you get a full view of what’s going on in the room. It’s also got LED night-vision and two-way communication so you can hear your baby and talk to him or her.

summer-infant-sharp.jpgSummer Infant Sharp Sight Video Monitor System

Nothing gives you peace of mind like a live stream straight into the nursery, and that’s what you get when you have the Summer Sharp Sight Video Monitor System.

Older video monitors can give you a fuzzy picture, but with the Sumer Sharp Sight you can tune into your baby and watch him or her in crystal clear 800 x 480 resolution on a 4” LCD monitor.

If the room is dark, you can still watch over your little one with infrared LED night vision, and you can pan, scan, zoom, and even turn off a nightlight without going into your baby’s room. Plus, the Sharp Sight has a 2.4GHz interference-free signal, so you won’t be picking up the neighbor’s feed when you’re trying to watch your baby, and it monitors the room temperature so you’ll always know when your little one is too hot or too cold.

Motorola 3.5″ Digital Video with Pan/Tiltmotorola-digital-video-baby-monitor.jpg

I can’t imagine what life was like before you could pan and tilt on your video baby monitor, and judging from how parents are raving about the Motorola Digital Video Baby Monitor with Pan/Tilt, it’s a must-have feature for anyone who wants to stay in touch when their baby is playing, napping, or at bedtime.

With a 3.5” colour LCD screen and a range of up to 590 feet, you could be in the backyard or downstairs and still keep a watchful eye over your baby. Instead of racing for the door when you see your baby wake up or start talking, you can pan around the room, tilt the camera, or zoom in on your baby without disturbing him or her.

To soothe your baby you can play one of the 5 integrated lullabies, and if you’d like to add cameras to another child’s room, you can easily do that by adding up to four Motorola digital cameras.

D-Link-baby-monitor.jpgD-Link Day and Night Video Baby Monitor

You might know and love D-Link for the company’s routers and home video cameras, but if you haven’t checked out the D-Link Day and Night Video Baby Monitor, you’re missing out on a great way to keep eyes on your son or daughter.

The D-Link Day and Night Wi-Fi baby monitor connects to your Wi-Fi and streams video straight to your smartphone or tablet. That means you can connect to your child and check in even when you’re not home. You can watch a live stream of your baby, and if the camera detects motion or sound when you’re not watching, it will send you a notification so you can login and watch.

With 2-way audio communication you can talk back and forth with your little one, the camera has night vision so you can see in the dark, and you can also use the camera without Wi-Fi if you’ve taken it along with you on a trip.

 

There are so many benefits to video baby monitors, from reassuring you that baby is OK when he or she is sleeping to limiting how many times you disturb your little one while you check on them, and when you can pan/tilt, and zoom in, every detail of the baby room is available for you to view anytime.

If you’re looking for a baby monitor for yourself or as a baby shower gift, take a look at all of the versatile baby monitors available on Best Buy right now.

Shelly Wutke
Editor TV & Home Theatre
I'm a Vancouver freelancer and tech enthusiast. When I'm not writing you'll find me on my farm with my alpacas, chickens, and honeybees. Visit my website Survivemag