would like a good, inexpensive video monitor

[cchavez]

Does anyone have the 99.00 Summer CAre monitor from BRU...Or can anyone recommend a better one? OR better yet one that is just as good and maybe less expensive.

WE will be buying the Britax, a highchair and other misc. baby products in the near future that are going to add up so I know DH would not be that excited about adding another 100.00 to the total.....any suggestions

I had asked DH to set up a web cam in the nursery but it wouldn't work at nite since we don't have a computer in our bedroom and we only have a nite lite in DS room.

BTW, we already have the Bebe sounds monitor so I would have to lug around the video monitor and the receiver from the Bebe sounds monitor right????

TIA!~~

[jd11365]

We have the Summer and love it! We have a split plan house so baby is on the opposite side of the house. It's nice to be able to just click on the video to see if all is ok. I also hear it's nice when they are toddlers and you need to see their every move!


Jamie
Mommy to Kayla
5/1/03

[naomi01]

It depends how technologically astute the two of you are - DH took a surveillance camera and wired it into the house cable, so that either our bedroom TV or the one downstairs can be switched to DS. Unless you already own some of the tools it is not going to be cheaper than the summer but does give you two screens, remote control access (a pleasure in the middle of the night when you just want to have a peak) and remarkably clear picture. I can get brands and places to order from if you are interested.

I can not stress enough what a wonderful thing it is to be able to see what DS is doing, even in the middle of the night (it has infra-red) without disturbing him. My only regret is that we did not do it sooner!

[houseof3boys]

Yes, Yes post more details about this!!! I have the Safety 1st 900 Mhz monitor and while I do like the video aspect of it (it's black and white), the sound is very staticy so I bought another monitor for sound. I would love to have it hardwired like you and then I don't have to worry about keeping up with both!

[cchavez]

Thanks....plz share the info!

[Karenn]

I don't know if it's better than the Summer monitor, but I have the Safety First 2.4 ghz monitor and love it! I rarely have problems with static. It gets better sound reception than my Fisher Price monitors ever did. I got it on sale with coupons, and I think it was around $120. In my opinion was worth EVERY PENNY!
HTH,

[naomi01]

Okay guys, my DH has just written down how he did it.... and I fear it may intimidate the less technically astute of you (including me!). However he assures me it is less complicated than it sounds and we really are thrilled to have a video monitor that hooks into every TV in the house.

Courtesy of DH:


1. Start with a night-vision enabled surveillence camera such as the First Alert FAC-200 ($60 including delivery from kmart.com).

2. Hook this camera into an RF modulator, such as the Radio Shack Modulator Cat # 15-1243
($25 at the store) which can convert the output of the camera into almost any cable TV or broadcast channel. Choose a channel that is not being used by your cable company (with 1 unused channel below it and 2 unused channels above it, as explained in the modulator directions).

3. Using a standard coaxial cable, feed the output of the modulator into a signal combiner, such as Channel Plus model 2532 (Radio Shack also sells them, probably for cheaper). The other input into the combiner should be come from your cable company.

4. Feed the output of the combiner into your TV or VCR and tune it to the channel you selected in step 2. You should now be able to see the video being put out by the camera.

5. If the image from the camera has static, you will need a filter that removes all signals from your cable company above a certain channel, such as the Channel Plus LPF-600 which removes channels above 86 (about $30). Insert this filter between the signal from your cable company and the signal combiner.

Notes:

- If you have digital cable the filter will probably block it.
- The filter shouldn't interfere with cable modems, though I'm not completely sure.
- This is all less complicated than it sounds, but if you prefer convenience, consider buying all the parts in a kit from AVTechSolutions (http://www.avtechsolutions.com/vavsk-001.htm). (I have no financial relationship with them, and this is not an endorsement. I decided their kit was too expensive and not quite what I wanted, so I did not get it.)
- I hooked the output of the modulator into the (previously unused) cable TV jack in the baby's room, and put the signal from his room into a combiner in the basement, where the cable company signal comes in from the outside. This means that every TV in the house can pick up the camera on the right channel. You may need to remove the "security shield" that your cable company put on your wires to prevent you from rewiring things. The tool to remove this item cam be purchased online for about $8 (for an example of the device, look here http://www.satellitedish.com/Page_43.htm; again, no endorsement implied).
- The sound stinks on mine, so we almost always leave the volume off. I don't know why, but there's a constant buzz which makes it intolerable. We leave the baby's door open. Others have recommended using an audio monitor in addition.

The night vision is a little grainy, but it gives you a fascinating insight into your baby's private life. It also changes how soon you go in when he stirs - we are able to see how often he puts himself back to sleep, vs plays quietly, vs stands at the side patiently waiting for someone to please pick him up.

Have fun!

[cchavez]

Thanks. We are going to give the Sharper Image video monitor a try. No it is not the cheapest but we have a coupon, if it doesn't work then we will try this. Thanks so much!!

[sbirmantaz]

I have also seen the Sharper Image monitor and would love to try it. Where did you get a coupon? PLease give an update when you get it, thanks!

[houseof3boys]

That is a cool monitor but so expensive! I hadn't seen it so I went online to check it out. Don't have a coupon for you, but I did see that Sharper Image is on ebates so you would get 6% back at least! HTH

[cchavez]

I didn't know about ebates...thanks for letting me know. DH is getting a gift certificate and we have a 50.00 off a 250.00 purchase coupon we got from the Passbook we just bought from our next door neighbor. She is six and selling them for the school PTA. So we should only wind up paying around 200.00 for it.

I hope it works for us. The guy at sharper image said they were currently out but hope to get some in by Friday. It has 4 frequencies as opposed to the other monitors we have tried only have 2.

I'll let you know how it works.

[julierobin]

Thank you and DH for the information! I am going to have my DH look into this!

Julie, Mommy to Ben 8/7/03

[sbirmantaz]

I just went to Sharper Image last week to look at the monitor in person. It was great! The picture is really clear in the store and when you walk around with the monitor it stays clear. I was very impressed, but then again for the price it should be that good! I just don't know if I can justify the cost. I would need 2 cameras so the whole system would cost about $420. You can get 15% off online when you register with Sharper Image, but then you pay $20 in shipping... I don't know what to do! Anyone with a video monitor already, think it is a really good investment especially for a toddler? I am not a good decision maker! Thanks!