Customer Reviews: Read 16 more reviews...
 Seemingly Nice, But Needs to Improve Audio December 25, 2008
As a couple that is planning on having children, I was excited to thoroughly test this monitor because we're very picky electronic fans. And, for something as important as baby's safety, we expect not only quality, but reliability and functionality.
Here's the downside to this review: I have not had experience with any other baby monitors, and we don't have a baby yet. This was tested purposely on each other (and our pets), with relation to sound, reception, etc.
I won't go into all the features it includes, and will instead skip to my review of each one.
Design: Appealing. Neutral color of a pastel lime green. Not my favorite color, but it should fit with any blues or pinks of usual baby rooms. I thoroughly enjoyed the magnetic base - it was very easy to position the angle of the camera. But, towards the battery compartment, the magnetism weakens, and even the manual notes to watch out for this.
Size: Great! Camera isn't obtrusive, even while mounted. Monitor fits nicely in your hand with a good size screen. You can mount the camera on its stand, the crib (with the incl. kit), or upon a wall. The hand-held monitor can be hung by its belt clip, or flip the clip and it's now a stand. (I really like double-usage.)
Video Quality: Good. (Cheaper monitors are probably lower quality, so I took into consideration that more expensive monitors should have awesome video.) The range was pretty amazing. We have a two-story home and it didn't drop the video even when I was downstairs or outside. It did get more choppy at those distances though. One reviewer mentioned not seeing anything like continuous motion, but my experience differed: I was able to watch my tank of fish with fluidity.
Audio Quality: Subpar. Audio cut out often and entirely dropped once I moved downstairs. The VOX feature, where you can have the monitor only turn on when sound was detected, was a nice idea. But, it should have an option to change the sensitivity. We had placed our camera facing a tank of fish, and the sound of the filter would cut in and out. I would walk into the room and clap my hands - the monitor would sometimes turn on. It seemed as though the camera settled in to realize what was considered "ambient noise," but didn't always turn on when a louder event occurred.
My husband did go in the room and "cry," while I went into another room on the same floor. The VOX feature turned the monitor on and I could clearly hear the "crying." But, the audio did cut in and out a little, while the video remained strong.
This VOX option seemed to be the most important feature in dealing with a baby monitor, so I was disappointed that it didn't work consistently. But, I didn't hear any interference, which Levana seems to push. Kudos to them.
Oh! If you don't use the VOX option and just continually have the monitor turned on, there is always a humming noise. Constantly. Well, unless the sound cuts out. Then it's quiet.
Night Vision: Great; quality was just dandy, video didn't cut out. I watched my cat, my husband, my fish - all in a completely darkened room. The red LEDs are not bright, so I wouldn't worry much about a baby or child being bothered by them.
Nightlight: Um, cute stars, but fairly useless in illuminating anything but the camera's body.
Music: Three lullabies are available to play in low quality sound. The quality seemed worse than some toys I've come across. If this had the option to load my own mp3s, that would've been amazing!
PROS: Video Quality, Design and Size, Certain Features, Very Easy Setup
CONS: Audio Reception, Intermittent VOX, Crap Music, Second-Story Houses
I give it 3.5 stars. Perhaps really excellent baby monitors are just not in a nice price range?
 I must have gotten a lemon December 21, 2008
I was so excited to try a digital baby monitor and the reviews I had read on this model were good. When I got the actual monitor it was very flimsy and the camera CAN NOT be mounted to the wall, which wasn't made clear in the description online. BUT it never worked. After a full charging and doing everything "right", we never got it to work. The instruction manual is not helpful, barely any directions are given and I didn't bother contacting the company. I just sent it back and chalked it up to getting a broken model.
 Good reception/decent video quality. Simple to use. November 28, 2008
5 out of 8 found this review helpful
Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R36L3YS2VNQUAB The most important factor about these devices are not having any dropped receptions, etc. Carrying a video signal wirelessly seems like a pretty hefty task. The Levana Babyview20 *INTERFERENCE FREE* Digital Wireless Video Monitor does a good job carrying a consistent signal; I haven't experienced any major freezes or losing video signal. However, I did notice some very brief pause when there's fast motion during night vision, but it is very brief.
The night vision works very well. The camera contains 9 infrared lights. In the dark, you can actually see it glowing red, but it is pretty dim (the green power LED is brighter); hopefully, that's not something that would scare the baby at night. You can see the actual infrared lights during the video I've uploaded, but it is actually not that bright; that is how the digital camera sees it -- not to the human eye. But from the video, you can just get an idea of how much infrared lights are in there. According to Levana, the infrared lights are 100% safe to the baby.
There is a VOX (Voice Operated eXchange) feature, which allows the monitor to be off and only turns on when there is sound detected (for example when the baby starts crying) on the camera. This is a nice feature, but it would have been nice to be able to adjust the sound sensitivity to even detect lower sounds.
The monitor comes with a rechargeable Lithium-ion battery. According to Levana, it takes 3 hours to fully charge; blue LED means it is charging and when it goes off, it means fully charged. The camera requires four AAA batteries (not included) if you don't connect it to an AC adapter. Levana claims the camera can operate for 4.5 continuous hours with AAA batteries. (and about half if you use the night light) So obviously, it's best to have an outlet nearby the camera to use the AC instead or be sure to buy some rechargeable AAA batteries.
On the left side of the monitor, it has a PLAY/STOP, NEXT, and VOX button.
On the right side of the monitor, it has ON/OFF dial (which also controls the volume), and BRIGHTNESS UP/DOWN button above it. The power adapter jack is also on the right side bottom.
Below the LCD screen, it shows the POWER/LINK/VOX/MUSIC indicator; there's also an audio level indicator between them with green LEDs. And of course, there's the speaker below it.
That's all it is. It is really basic and simple.
* Takes about 3 seconds for the monitor to turn on
* There's four levels of brightness.
* 3 lullabies can be played on the camera. You can play/stop/next from the monitor.
* There is a Night Light switch on the camera, which just turns on three star-shaped lights on the camera.
* The camera comes with two mounts. One is for clamping on a crib and the other is a magnetic cradle. The cradle is actually pretty nice, which will allow you to rotate the camera in many directions freely with ease.
Careful with the magnetic cradle! The magnet is pretty strong, so you'll want to keep sensitive electronics, especially hard drives away from it.
Sure, in today's HD world, it'd be nice to have everything in great quality. However, higher quality videos will obviously take higher bandwidth to transmit and more battery power. The video quality is pretty much what one would expect with low-end/average webcam. It's not horrible, but you have to be realistic. Overall, it's decent since you can still tell what you're looking at.
Pros:
- Good range for around the house (100-150ft)
- Have not lost any reception.
- Design is fit for a baby's room.
- Pretty close to real-time (about approx 0.5 second delay - not a major big deal)
- Night Vision works great.
- Night light
- Monitor can be clipped on to your belt or as a stand
- Comes with two AC adapters for powering camera or charging monitor
- Basic, very simple to use.
Cons
- No color adjustments; you get what you get. (webcam quality)
- Could use wider lens to see surroundings. (perhaps have an add-on to attach easily to screw on to the lens)
- There should be a button on the monitor to turn on/off the night light.
- The camera could use rechargeable lithium batteries like the monitor.
- Should be able to adjust sound sensitivity for VOX
- Would be really nice to have an automatic panning/zooming capability
- Sound can echo.
I give this product a 3 1/2 stars, but will be a bit lenient and give it a 4, since I have not tested other baby monitors.
 AMAZING!!! November 26, 2008
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
This monitor is perfect for a first time mom. I am always so paranoid about not having my baby sleeping in my room right by my side, but now I can sleep tight. My 2 month old is already in his own room because of this monitor. The image is so clear and so is the audio. There is absolutely no interferance and the image is perfectly clear in the day and night. It is worth the extra money knowing my baby is safe.
We loved it November 20, 2008
0 out of 6 found this review helpful
Frankly excellent picture. Not so many distortion. Much better than other products at the same price range.
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