Which features do you think are best on these 2.4 Ghz monitors?

[bathbody]

We want to order a baby monitor now so that we can play with it for awhile and take advantage of the return policy in advance just in case there is too much interference with the monitor.

I'm torn between two systems.
One has a CCD camera (higher resolution). The monitor has to be plugged in (no batteries), and we'd have to buy one receiver for every TV/VCR that you want it to be hooked up to (so I can tune into baby on the TV in another room). I'm thinking that I'd want two TV's hooked up, so two receivers.

This other one doesn't have a CCD camera. The monitor and camera run on batteries (no wires), and we'd have to buy a kit that enables all TV's to be hooked up to this system (doesn't take just one receiver for each TV).
AND we'd have to have an available cable jack (not hooked up to any TV) for this kit.

The lady at the website highly recommends the second one.
I think that the CCD camera on the first one is nice.
I think that the fact that the wireless monitor on the second one is nice.

Bottom line is that the second one costs 16% more, although it would be nice to have that wireless monitor, but is it worth spending that much more ($50) to have EVERY TV in the house hoooked up to it?

Does this all make sense?
Help me make up my mind.

[Karenn]

Hi,
I don't know much about the technical aspects that you're looking at, but I have found that I really like to be able to plug in my monitors. The portability of batteries is nice, but I can't imagine how many batteries you'll go through if you use the monitor every time baby is sleeping. Our monitor is on about 14 hours a day including night time.

In the beginning, I really wanted a wireless monitor too, but after going through a pack of costco batteries within a couple of months, I started plugging it in more frequently.

Hope that helps a little.

[juliasdad]

My only thought is that while CCD cameras are indeed higher quality than CMOS cameras, I don't think the difference merits consideration for this kind of application. You're not capturing pictures to make glossy 8x10s, after all! A CMOS-based should be just find for the task pf looking in on your baby. I'd base the decision on all of the other factors.

-dan

[bathbody]

>My only thought is that while CCD cameras are indeed higher
>quality than CMOS cameras, I don't think the difference
>merits consideration for this kind of application. You're
>not capturing pictures to make glossy 8x10s, after all! A
>CMOS-based should be just find for the task pf looking in on
>your baby. I'd base the decision on all of the other
>factors.
>
>-dan


Thanks Dan. That's very true. The CHEAPEST of the cameras is the one with the CCD camera.

[juliasdad]

Oh, I missed that part! Well, my other feeling is that the less things that are battery-operated, the better. But I think you need to decide based on your setup. Will it be inconvenient to plug the monitor in, in the location that it will be set up? Do you actually have a cable jack in baby's room or would you have to install one? Etc.

-dan

[akc]

We plug in our monitor (have the 2.4 Mhz Safety1st model with the 5 inch tv) and prefer that to anything on our tv set. I'm just not a believer in that phenomenon. If I wanted tv's on all over the house, I would have done that before. With the little plug-in monitor, you can move it wherever you go easily (which includes other places - when we go to relatives, vacation, etc. we take it) Also, if we actually go to watch tv, I don't want to have to switch to the baby and then switch off of her. We just keep the monitor plugged in on the end table and can watch her as often as we'd like AND watch tv if we can stay awake!

If you get a monitor that plugs in - I would either recommend contacting the company and ordering a second plug if there are two rooms that you frequent. When my daughter was born, that was our room (she was in her crib on Day #4 b/c we could see her on the video monitor!) and the den. It is a big plug and we got sick of schlepping it back and forth (We live in a 3 story house). The other solution we used was just to keep extension cords plugged in an waiting by the side of the bed. My hubby and I would switch off and the monitor would either go on his side or my side, so there was always an extension cord waiting for that big 'ol plug.

I can't imagine how long batteries would last in this situation. If you grow to love the video monitor, you just sort of leave it on so you can look over at your baby sleeping.

OH - on interference - If you have 2.4 Mhz phones, they will interfere but it depends on how many you have and where they are located. We got a new Panasonic system for Xmas (the kind that has additional handsets that just plug into an electrical outlet, not a phone line) and that system wreaked havoc on our monitor b/c it was also 2.4 mhz. BUT, we found if we moved the base to another room, it worked fine. AND, this is the big tip, I actually spoke to Safety1st the other day and brought this up. She said that it is a myth that the phones and the monitor are always going to cause interference. She said that what happens is that the monitor system is knocked off signal by the completing appliances - kind of like if you were trying to listen to a radio station but were .2 off on the actual number. You could hear it but with static. Anyway, she said that what you need to do is UNPLUG or TURNOFF ALL of your competing electronics (including wireless systems for Internet or a security system), PLUG in the camera and monitor, turn both on and keep it on for 30 minutes with no competition (it should be a perfect image). That will set the channel signal to match. After the 30 minutes, you can go back through and plug everything else back in. It worked for us!

Hope that helps -
Alexa

[akc]

Hi there -

Don't know if you are still around the boards, but I was curious which video monitor set you went with and what brand it was? We accidentally blew our Safety1st and need a new one, so I'm checking into various systems. Was the above an AVTech Solutions system? I'd love an update on what you got and how it worked - thx.

Alexa