To keep a watchful eye on their sleeping babies, many parents turn to video baby monitors. Today’s models offer plenty of other features besides a video feed—including two-way audio, temperature readings, and zoom. The Babysense Video Monitor (model V24) offers all of these features at a budget price tag. To see how this affordable baby monitor performs in real life, my husband and I gave it a go during our 1-year-old son’s snooze sessions. We were interested in how easy it is to set up, how the monitor performed, and if it could stand up to the competition. Read on to see what we thought.
Setup Process: Quick and easy
The Babysense monitor is very easy to set up. It consists of a parent unit, a baby unit, and two power adapters. The parent unit has a built-in lithium-ion battery so we could charge it and carry it around, as well as a kickstand. We made sure to charge the parent unit fully prior to our first use (more on charging and battery life later). Parents have the option of placing the baby unit on a flat surface such as a dresser or shelf (self-explanatory) or mounting it to the wall. We opted to do the former, making sure it wasn’t up against a wall or too far from the monitor, as the manual recommends (we’ll come back to this in a minute). We were disappointed to see that there were no instructions in the user guide on wall installation, but if you have any other issues during setup or use of the monitor, there is an included troubleshooting guide.
Design: Simple with a too-small screen
The Babysense Video Baby Monitor has a very simple design. The face of the parent unit features only a few buttons: up and down for both volume and brightness, a magnifying glass for zoom, and a microphone for two-way talk. At just 2.4 inches, the LCD color screen is small—not the best for keeping an eye on our sleeping baby. And the unit itself is very lightweight, making it ideal for travel, but it didn’t feel very sturdy to us. When plugged in on our nightstand, it was a bit off-balance and seemed like it could be knocked over easily. We could zoom in up to two times for a closer look, but that’s about where the camera capabilities end. Whereas other models can be adjusted digitally via the parent unit, this one offers only manual pan (360 degrees) and tilt (60 degrees) on the camera itself. You can also expand your view of one room or of different rooms by connecting up to four cameras, but we didn’t need this expandability for our purposes.
Features: Temperature but no time
This baby monitor has basic features including a sound-activated LED indicator. But one of its best features is the temperature display. A thermometer on the camera unit monitors the temperature, which is then displayed on the parent unit. Even better, there’s an alarm function that will go off if the baby’s room is too hot (over 90 degrees) or too cold (below 55 degrees). However, we did notice this number would fluctuate often, giving us doubts as to its validity. You can also set an alarm to go off at a later time interval, but we wish that the actual time was displayed on the monitor. There were times when we woke up in the middle of the night to our little one making noise, and it would have been convenient to see the time right on the video feed instead of having to reach for our phones in the dark.
Video and Audio Quality: Wasn’t good enough for our daily monitor
Again, we felt the screen was too small for us to properly monitor our child. Also, the video quality was pretty poor compared to other monitors we’ve tested. Yes, we could see our baby at night thanks to the monitor’s infrared night vision, which kicked on automatically, but we couldn’t see as much detail as we would like when checking on a sleeping baby. The audio was fine; we were able to hear when the baby woke up without issues. This monitor offers two-way talk, as well as pre-programmed lullabies to soothe your baby if needed (which we did not).
Range: Subpar
In short, we were disappointed with the performance of this monitor. We installed the camera in an ideal location according to the manufacturer’s directions: on a flat surface and away from walls but not too far from the monitor. We did multiple test runs, and each time we were having connection issues within minutes. The video would flicker, the feed would go black, and then a “Connection Lost” message would appear on the screen. Reviewing the instructions to see where things might’ve gone wrong, we were puzzled by the following note on placement: “Avoid installing the camera where there are thick walls or obstructions between the camera and the monitor.” Isn’t that the point of a monitor? In our opinion, having the camera in the baby’s room with the door closed and the monitor in the living room (which was a very short distance on the same level) shouldn’t cause so many issues. Additionally, the instructions stated that “Any large metal object, like a refrigerator, mirror, filing cabinet, metallic doors, or reinforced concrete between the baby and parent unit may block the radio signal.” Basically, a lot of what you have in your home could cause connection hiccups. Perhaps this unit would be ideal for someone in a studio space where the baby monitor and camera are in the same room with literally no interferences. If you live in a home that is any bigger, get ready for issues.
Battery Life: ECO mode saves battery
Charging this baby monitor requires plugging it into a wall outlet, as there is no option to charge via USB. A full charge took about eight hours, which is a little longer than some other models, but it lasted a full day without having to charge until nighttime. A battery-saving setting called ECO mode causes the screen to shut off during quiet times, but it lights back up when it detects sound again. A battery level indicator shows how much juice is left. In regular mode on a full charge, we charged the monitor when we went to sleep to ensure it didn’t die overnight. In ECO mode, we were able to make it through the night without the battery dying, but we did have to charge it in the morning.
Safety: Private transmission
Instead of Wi-Fi, which is susceptible to hacker interference and Internet outages, this baby monitor operates via 2.4GHz digital wireless transmission. Of course, no Wi-Fi means a less reliable connection, as we discussed earlier, and no checking in via an app on your phone, but for some parents, this loss of convenience is worth the added peace of mind.
Price: Affordable, but comes at a cost
If you’re looking for a budget baby monitor, then the Babysense Video Baby Monitor will check the box for affordability. At about $80 when full-priced (and even less on sale), this monitor is easy on the wallet, but as we discovered, tough to use in real-world scenarios.
Babysense Video Baby Monitor vs. Infant Optics DXR-8
We also tested the Infant Optics DXR-8. At around $165, it is the pricier monitor option, but we found that it excels when it comes to video quality, connection success, and features like digital pan and tilt and interchangeable optical lenses for a closer, sharper view. It also has a larger screen than the budget-friendly Babysense Video Monitor. We’d go with the Infant Optics model given the choice. The Babysense Video Baby Monitor is a budget-friendly but flawed model that we wouldn’t use every day. However, thanks to its lightweight design and low cost, we might consider packing it for a trip or keeping it on hand as a backup.
