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February 9th, 2010 | 
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- 100% digital technology for a secure and private connection up to a 350′ range
- Small, lightweight size with a 2.5” color LCD screen with B&W night vision, LED sound lights, and one touch video on/off for night time convenience
- Remotely pan, scan, and zoom camera
- 10 hour rechargeable battery, auto time-out feature
- Belt clip and flip stand included
Product Description
Keeping an eye on the nursery is easy with this convenient handheld monitor. Clip the monitor to your belt while you work or rest it up to 350′ away from your baby thanks to the 100% secure digital transmission. Pan, scan and zoom remotely using the controls on the monitor to see everything that’s going on, then when it’s time for bed, turn off the LCD so you can monitor only sounds throughout the night…. More >>
Summer Infant Best View Handheld Color Video Monitor with 2.5″ Screen
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I thoroughly researched all available audio/video monitors, and loved the features of this particular one; however, none of the reviews or specs mentioned that it did not have a battery backup in the camera. So, if you have a power outage, the monitor stops tracking your baby, and doesn’t even alert you to “out of range” failure other than shutting off the picture. So, if you lose power at night, the monitor will stop working WITHOUT ALERTING YOU! Since this device is marketed as a safety and peace-of-mind item, it is basically a non-starter that it can die on you without an audible warning signal of some sort. There are so many monitors on the market that have this important security feature that it’s extremely disappointing that Summer Infant has been unable to deliver. The Philips monitors, for example, although not video, have a dual backup system — if power goes out to the base, it has a built-in battery backup – and if that fails, then the parent monitor beeps loudly to notify you.
If it weren’t for this serious flaw, I would have given this monitor a 5-star rating (great reception, picture, zoom, battery life, etc.); however, the flaw renders it completely unreliable.
Rating: 1 / 5
Ok, here is the straight scoop; This is really a set for even the electronically challenged! Plug and play, really is that easy. Just be sure to hold the power button for at least 2-3 seconds before you actually see the screen come on.(from the monitor end) then on the base of the camera is the switch cleverly enough marked ‘on-off’ slide it to ‘on’ and away you go, it IS that simple! Joystick style remote that is really easier to use that your basic cable remote control. Just press the joystick center in and you have your 1x zoom. It does a good job at this too! The camera itself is very smooth (and quiet) movement up/down side to side and you can really see just about all over the room if you wanted to. (good for monitoring a toddler’s play room also!)
Display size is good, and very clear image too. No problem seeing all the little details you need to. Sound pick up is excellent, effortlessly detects small sounds from across the room and even displays in a color sequence to the monitor. A single green will light up for slight sound all the way to Red for loud sounds in case you have the volume down.
Night vision is automatic; this unit really is user friendly! The night vision is very good to excellent picture image. I can’t imagine any negative complaints to this unit unless it is from a really bored knuckle head with nothing better to do, or you have interference from an external network of some sort. I have 2.4Gz frequencies all around our house and have no troubles at all! Highly recommended!
Rating: 5 / 5
We have used this unit with our son since he was born six months ago, and I LOVE it. OK, I have to admit that as a first-time mom, I am super-paranoid. But, who isn’t?
My prerequisites for an infant monitor was 1) it needed to be video so I wouldn’t wake the baby with my paranoia, and 2) it needed to have night vision — especially living in Oregon. (Half the time during the day, it switches to night vision because there’s just not alot of sun here… nice to have!). This has many more features than I required, and has surpassed my expectations!
This video monitor ROCKS! Yes, there are a few drawbacks, but I don’t see them as debilitating, so I still gave this a 5-star review. Here are the pros and cons:
Pros:
great feature!
1) (Biggest pro!) This is the only camera I could find that had pan AND Zoom. We rotate the way our baby sleeps to prevent flat-head syndrome and the camera is literally RIGHT next to the crib, so with the pan feature, I never have to adjust the angle of the camera. — super awesome! And, the zoom was useful when he was teeny, or else I couldn’t see him that well. Now, at six months, he more than takes up the whole screen so I don’t really use it anymore. Which brings me to my next point
2) I love the big screen (relatively speaking). There’s no way it would be big enough if it were less than 2.5″. As it is, it’s small enough to be portable, and big enough to still see the baby.
3) The night vision works REALLY well. There is, as some people have indicated, a slight pulse in the light (rumored to have been fixed by now), but it is not that bad, and doesn’t keep my baby from sleeping.
4) The microphone amplifies even the smallest sound, so you know what’s going on in there. I can hear my baby breathing, which totally eliminates my fear of SIDS. (See paranoid disclaimer at the top!) It is interesting that when the monitor is in our room (across the hall), and I am in the nursery with the door open, I can sometimes hear things louder on the monitor than in the actual room…
5) This unit does not interfere with our wireless network, and it doesn’t interfere with our cordless phones. The only time it has any hiccups is when we’re using the microwave and the monitor is in the kitchen. The video/audio will get really choppy, but comes back immediately when the microwave is turned off.
6) No static seen at all on this one! I’ve been really happy with the video/audio quality.
Cons:
1) The battery life is not great. It has just about enough juice to make it through the night. However, if you use it at all during the day, the battery won’t last. And, since you’re supposed to totally drain it before charging it up again (to improve the battery life), this can get problematic. I usually keep it plugged in at night on the night stand because it has turned itself off on me a couple of times. Baby was fine, but freaked me out a little. If I use it during the day, I try to keep it on so it completely drains the batteries before I go to bed. On the plus side, the replacements are AA, so easy/cheap to do!
2) The volume is a pain to adjust — you have to go several levels in to a screen menu. It seems like one of those things that should be readily available like the pan or zoom. (Should be fixed in future models).
3) Not a huge deal, but the monitor does flicker every once in a while and it makes a slight *pop* sound. (*pop* not audible if video is turned off by the button on top). Some find this really annoying, but it doesn’t really bother me. I have read that the issue may be fixed with the newer ones out, but it’s not a big enough issue for me to replace it.
4) It is a bit expensive. Definitely worth it for the technology, but I can’t wait for the price to go down.
The best thing about this is that I can see my son when he’s in his crib (or playing on the floor when he’s older) without going into the room. It’s great that I can pan around and see what’s going on! And, since he rarely cries when he wakes up, I can see if he’s still sleeping, or if he’s awake and I need to go in there.
I wouldn’t trade it for any other camera because I believe the pros outweigh the cons — especially the pan feature. In fact, I would love another one!
If only it were cheaper.
Rating: 5 / 5
Priceless just to see my son wake up from his nap after a birthday party then turn his hands up in the air and say, “Where’s my cake?” Second priceless feature just to see my son pick up the monitor in my room and ask where he is.
My old audio only baby monitor was dying and didn’t do much good, since my son is loud and I can hear him anywhere in the house. Video is useful since my son cries/snores/talks/moves around in his sleep, so I can see if he’s just sleeping or really awake.
I plan on having my infant and toddler share a room, so the pan feature is useful for checking in on both of them. Also useful for checking out my son’s wanderings around his room. I mounted the base on the wall, so I have no problems panning around the entire room.
Video and sound quality are fine for me. Those looking for HD quality may be disappointed. Color feature doesn’t seem useful, since I’m usually checking in at night. I haven’t had feedback or interference issues, even with cordless phones and wireless internet in our home.
Some reviews I’ve read say that the circle of red lights and the green light on the front of the base monitor are bright and distracting, that the base makes noise when panning, and that it’s a pain to adjust volume/brightness. I don’t think the lights are any brighter than my son’s nightlight. When he finally noticed the lights, I just told him that they were the baby’s nightlight and now he just calls them “baby’s light”. The base does make a little noise when moving, but it’s barely noticeable to me and I have the radio on in the room anyway. Adjusting the volume seems a no brainer to me, but I don’t think it’s any harder than using a cell phone or using the menu on your TV.
I haven’t needed it, but I think being able to add monitors for different rooms is great.
The things that aren’t so great are the battery quality and the price. The batteries don’t last very long. After one night, I do have to recharge, and if I forget, then the monitor dies. The price seems expensive considering the quality of the video, but then again, for me it was worth it just to see my son ask for cake.
Rating: 4 / 5
I thought I did my homework when my brother came to me about buying this camera and since I handle his wireless network and CCTV Network I was the one to ask.
Amazon has the product listed as 900mhz. Summer Infant has no info on spectrum.
This is dead wrong this is a 2.4 mhz setup. It will interfere with other 2.4 mhz. It’s channel is hard set and can’t be adjusted.
Disappointed in the lack of literature on this unit from Summer.
Rating: 2 / 5