Secure Video baby monitor – AVENT

It’s not often I can write a review of a product after just hours of using it, but this one’s pretty close to home, so when impressed by the product I went straight for the laptop!

Phillips have just launched the SDC600 Digital Video Monitor, retailing at $269.95 it’s a hefty price to pay, but having used a stack of different monitors over the last 4 years this one has an impact on you from day one.

Out of the box, setup is easy – the Camera is a round shape, it magnetically sticks to the base allowing it to be rotated around with ease to point in the right direction – and the handheld receiver requires you to simply insert the battery and switch it on.

Click Continue Reading for more information…The signal is transmitted through a ‘100 % secure connection’ meaning no video snooping from rouge neighbours or anyone else.

You view the signal on a 2.4inch screen on the handheld, and while it’s not HD, the signal is quality enough to be able to see if your baby is unwrapped or the dummy has fallen out with ease..

The Camera itself has just two buttons, ON/OFF and a nightlight switch, which when turned on illuminates a set of LED lights around the camera to bring a night light to the room.

On the receiver, you’ve got a belt clip should you really want to be that attached, however more importantly you have a volume scroll for the audio being transmitted, and a brightness control for the screen.

Then, two of the smartest features of the system on the other side of the handheld are a button to turn on a low volume music piece from the camera for bub to enjoy – and finally – an option to only show video when noise is detected.

So, by default its just an audio monitor.  But when baby cries, the video turns on until there has been 30 seconds of silence.

This is a great feature, and also helps save the battery on the handheld.

There is also a row of yellow lights which illuminate with sound, so even at a low volume, you can see ‘activity’

For simplicity, this monitor is 5 stars.  For security, another 5 stars.

My only suggestion to Philips AVENT is to add a sensitivity control on the camera so that when there is underlying noise in the room, from, for example, if you have an air conditioner in the room, the video will always be on when on ‘audio alert’ mode – so it defeats the purpose of it.

It’s not cheap – but with a range of up to 150m, and so small and easy to setup, great for home and wherever you travel.