The Summer Infant Monitor Baby Touch Digital Color Video is perhaps the most feature-packed video baby monitor on the market today. It’s high quality, high tech, and high priced.
Coolest Features
What’s so impressive about the Summer Infant monitor? I noticed two great features that set it apart from most other monitors. One is the touchscreen parent unit. It works like a smartphone display, and I found it very intuitive and user friendly.
The second great feature is the ability to remotely tilt the camera up and down or side-to-side. At this price point, there aren’t many other baby monitors of comparable quality that have this feature. The remote control feature would be perfect to use in playrooms where you want to see what’s happening in the entire room, not just the crib. The pan is quiet, too, so you don’t have to worry about waking up your baby if you need to remotely reposition the camera angle while she’s sleeping.
Video Quality and Audio Quality
The meat and potatoes of the video monitor is, of course, the video and sound quality. So how does the Summer Infant monitor rate? It provides excellent quality for both sound and video. Keep in mind that the video quality is not perfect, especially on night vision mode, but it’s much more than adequate for checking in on your little one.
Extra Features
I like the large 3.5-inch LCD video display, and the sleek design is nice. But I find the monitor a little awkward to hold and use with one hand. The reception range is completely sufficient for my wood frame house. I’ve never had a problem with losing the signal.
The battery life is about average, lasting longer if you don’t use the video much. The monitor will not last all night without charging, however, so you must plug it in before bed. I’ve found this to be the case with all the monitors I’ve tried.
The ability to add multiple cameras is another very nice feature of the Summer Infant monitor. The monitor will scan between cameras, showing intervals of each video feed with both video and audio. Most monitors with multiple camera capability scan between cameras with audio only.
Downsides
I’ve told you what a great monitor this is. So what’s the catch? There are a few features I’d like to see improved upon. The monitor scratches easily so you might want to purchase the Silicone Protector for $14.99. I’ve also found that the monitor interferes with the wireless signal in my house more than some other monitors I’ve tested (especially compared to the Motorola MBP33). You can solve this problem by purchasing a better router if you’re so inclined.
My main gripes, however, have to do with two missing features. One is that there is no temperature sensor on this monitor. It’s something I’ve grown used to on my previous monitor, and I really missed it in this one. The second feature I wish Summer Infant included is an audible low battery warning. If the battery is low, you get a visual warning, and then the monitor turns off. This would be a problem if you forget to plug in the monitor for the night before falling asleep, which I’ve done before.
What’s the bottom line? This is an outstanding monitor, made particularly wonderful by its multi-camera options and ability to remotely control the camera. Summer Infant has made a monitor with great video quality and great features at an expensive price point (but not unreasonable).
