Customer Reviews

Graco imonitor Digital Color Video Baby Monitor

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

I bought both this Graco color video monitor and the Summer Infant Day & Night Handheld Color video hand-held monitor 1.8". I had to test each one alone (not both running at the same time, because they interfered with each other's reception). The Summer worked better as described below: They booth worked pretty well, but the Graco was not really showing the color, even in broad daylight next to a sunny window with bright colors on my test subject (my husband), whereas the Summer had great color. Also I asked him to take some deep breaths: Graco didn't show the movement in his chest, but the Summer monitor did. I walked across our house, out the garage, down the driveway, across the street, and into our neighbor's driveway with each hand-held monitor. The Graco lost reception at the garage door of our house (about half a soccer field length away). The Summer still had reception at our neighbor's drive way (about one soccer field away from the video monitor). We have wireless internet and 5.8 GHz phones and had no interception problems with either monitor. I would not have been unsatisfied with the Graco, but the Summer was much better.

My wife and I decided that we wanted a video monitor. We were on the fence about just an audio versus a video, and with some of the horrible reviews of the different video monitors, we really weren't sure. But we decided to take a chance on the Graco iMonitor Video Vibe. Yes, it is expensive...but so are all decent color video monitors.
The Graco monitor was super easy to set up. The best thing is that the video is crystal clear and the audio is nice and loud and clear as well. This monitor does operate on a 2.4ghz signal, so some people have expressed concerns of it interfering with their wireless internet. We have not had that issue and we live in a building with a bunch of people with wireless. We don't have a 2.4ghz phone, so maybe that is why it is so good. Either way, the belt clip monitor is awesome.

If you read different reviews on different websites of this product, it is amazing to see what some people are being super critical about. Here's some examples:
1) The batteries for the parent unit only last 3 hours per charge: People, this is a small device about the size of a cell phone streaming constant video over a digital signal. Of course it only lasts 3 hours. If you don't need the video all of the time, it lasts much longer. Otherwise, leave it plugged in by your bedside at night.
2) There is a 2 second delay on the audio feed: Is that really a big deal? Can you really react to your crying infant in another room in less than two seconds? Not unless you're superman, so relax, the audio is clear, the video is clear, who cares if there is a 2 second delay!
3) Pricey: Have you seen the price of other color video monitors? Yes, you can buy a Summers Infant black and white video monitor for less, but it has a giant tv screen you have to lug around. This monitor is right in the middle of its range for the features and size.
4) Poor Graco customer service: I haven't had to use their customer service yet, but I find that most companies have decent techical support or customer service if you're just patient. It's people who hang up after being on hold for 3 minutes to complain that no one helped them.

That's it. Give it a chance. Normally I don't care much for Graco products. I find their strollers/car seats cheaply made and boring, but this is a nifty little device and worth a shot.

We have the Summer video monitor and are having a second child. The summer one doesn't seem to be compatible with two in the same house so we tried this Graco video monitor.
The Graco is alright. The sound and video have a distinct delay. The video quality is grainy and when you use the zoom it only gets worse. The concept of the vibration and zoom are great, but they are implemented poorly. The video is the worst at night, but isn't as bad during the day.
The Graco does not get interference with other items like the Summer sometimes does, but I would still recommend the Summer.

At first Blush this may appear to be an expensive investment, but I can say that for my entire family, this technology has been a life saver, a time saver, and has given us added piece of mind.
My wife and I initially went the 'cheaper' route with an audio-only monitor. After countless sprints upstairs to our daughter's nursery to investigate a noise, only to find that she was still sound asleep, we began to realize that there is something to be said for a video monitor. We purchased this Graco video/audio monitor 15 months ago and have literally used it every day and night since. It is comforting to be able to visually check in on her with out disturbing her sleep, confirm that she's OK, and travel freely around the house. In regards to it's durability, it has been dropped, kicked, chewed on, and every other imaginable thing that could happen to it and it is still going strong. We couldn't be happier.

I reviewed this product awhile ago for the previous model that I shelved. Since then they came out with an updated model and customer service, which is one of the best I have ever experienced, readily replaced the old model for the new one. It works amazingly well and the monitor has many more pixels so far superior picture. Also, the vibrate mode is excellent. Reception is very good as it appears they have produced an exceptional product.

Revised rating:

The battery life on this SUCKS. It doesn't even last an hour.
There is a time delay as the other reviewers have mentioned.
I like the vibration feature though.

When I initially wrote this review I was upset about the extra short battery life and had planned to return it...which i never got around to doing.

Now I think it's pretty cool once you can get past the poor battery life....just keep the charger with you.

New rating = 3 stars.

(Initial rating was 1 star )


UPDATE nov 2010: Seems it has finally seen it's days cause now it just beeps that there is no signal and I can't see or hear anything. Guess I need to look for a new one. My son is now 1.5years but i still use this monitor because when he wakes in the morning he just sits there quietly waiting for me to get him or says dada but he doesn't scream so i cant hear him unless I stand outside his door and place my ear to the door.

The battery life still lasts avg 30minutes with the video streaming but i have always just made sure I kept it plugged in.
I just feel better having a video monitor because i want him to sleep properly so I don't want to go into his room while he is asleep because he will wake up ( light sleeper)...

If i do get another video monito I will probably look at reviews to see if there's something better... I still stand by my 3 star rating.

I purchased the Graco Digital iMonitor and have used it for lack of anything better on the market for 1 1/2 years. This is a terrible monitor. I can now recommend the Safety 1st High-Def Digital Video Monitor 08280 instead.

Due to the layout of my home, without a monitor, I cannot hear a crying child unless that child is in full-blown, screaming hysteria (especially if I am alseep myself). For each of my kids, I wanted video and audio monitoring in order to give myself the greatest peace of mind possible. I prefer digital technology to 900 MHz for safety reasons (don't want someone else looking into my kids' rooms or listening to the happenings inside my home).

First, my complaints with the iMonitor. The parental unit shuts itself off with no warning of any kind and at any given time. At first I thought that perhaps the battery was dying, but as it turns out, the battery beeps loudly when it is running low, so that wasn't it. I wondered if it had to do with having the monitor open or folded closed, but that wasn't it. Graco's customer service was very unhelpful when I repeatedly called to ask for troubleshooting assistance. They essentially denied that I was having this problem. The monitor experiences frequent interference resulting in severe tiling of the image, so that you cannot see the child at all. The monitor also tends to show the child for a few seconds or minutes, then the screen goes blue and a message comes up that reads, "initializing video..." No video or audio monitoring is available during the initialization process. Since this process can take 10 seconds for every 1 second of actual imaging, the monitor can be completely useless for extended periods of time. It also loses its connection to the nursery unit and must paired-up again. This also happens for no apparent reason, and without warning. Knowing that the iMonitor has these problems has caused me to sleep very lightly, even after my son started sleeping through the night. I frequently jerk myself awake to check to see if the monitor is still on, and if so, to make sure that the monitor is working properly. I paid $200 including shipping/tax for the iMonitor.

Now the Safety 1st monitor. I paid $192 including shipping/tax for this monitor in July, a few months after my daughter's arrival. I love this unit and have only 2 minor complaints, so those complaints before the long list of pros. The unit interferes with my wi-fi. If I use my laptop within a few feet of the monitor, I lose my wireless connection. I have found that my laptop must be at least 10 feet away from the monitor to keep my wireless connection. This is somewhat annoying, but I can live with setting the monitor down 10 feet away from my computer workspace, confident that I can hear my child through the monitor at that distance, even if I can't see her. Also, the light on the nursery unit is a large light in comparison to the light on the iMonitor. The light flashes and is very bright. Once my child is old enough to be annoyed by the light, I'll have to do something about it, but right now she is oblivious to the light.

This monitor is amazing. The monitor has a crystal-clear image, and has never tiled on me. The monitor nevers shuts itself off (unless the batteries die), and has never yet lost its connection to the nursery unit. The monitor can be set so that the image is always on (even when using battery power, which the iMonitor does not offer), or to remain on for a set number of seconds, up to 25 seconds. When using this option, the monitor can be set to bring the image on if the child is making noise (parent sets the noise-level sensitivity). If the child is not making any sounds, but you want to look in anyway, a push of the Video button on the front of the monitor immediately brings up the video of the child. The Safety 1st is very sensitive to sounds, so I rate the audio component as superior also, even when using it on its lowest setting. The monitor displays a color image when there is adequate light in the room, and then displays a night vision image when the room is dark. Both types of imaging offer superior quality video.

I have been using the Safety 1st monitor and the Graco iMonitor side-by-side for a few months and have noticed that when the two monitors are near each other, the Graco iMonitor absolutely cannot get past the "initializing video" stage, which means that it does not work at all. Even in close proximity to the the iMonitor, the image on the Safety 1st monitor has never so much as flickered. The Safety 1st is rock solid.

I have just ordered a second Safety 1st to replace the Graco iMonitor in my son's room. This time, the best price I could find was $230 including shipping/tax.

My Husband bought us this when we found out we were expecting. It worked really pretty well for the first 5.5 months over the last 2 weeks we have had a lot of signal issues. It continuely is refreshing looking for a new signal. I only use it at night, and everytime it looks for that new signal it beeps 3 times- talk about keeping you awake. The beep is now a dieing sounding beep. I am just waiting for it to completely stop working. We have tried multiple of things to fix it, reposition the monitor, move electrical appliances, even calling the company. It only has a year warranty, which was up in december, because the warranty starts from date of purchase. (go figure). We are not looking for a new monitor. Really really disappointed!

Great product, great picture, no static or feedback. There is a second delay but it does not bother me in the least. Highly Recommend.

I tried the new Summer Monitor as well and returned it after 1 night. Horrible feedback and static. Picture was nice but my sleep and sanity are nicer.

We purchased the Graco iMonitor a little over a year ago and it worked great, did everything you would ask of it including; a battery that outlasts our son's naps, reception anywhere inside a 3,400 square foot house, and even reception down the driveway to the mailbox.

Yes, there is a few second sound delay and the picture is a bit grainy at night, but looking back on it, we had all the information we needed to know our son was sleeping or not and breathing well.

Now, the real reason for the review is the Graco customer service. While I am not sure how it happened, the parent device broke, the receiver to the power plug came free and we were no longer able to plug in the device to charge it. We went online to Graco and submitted our issue. Within a couple of days received an email from a CSR and she asked a few questions. Finally, she sent us a pre-paid shipping label and we simply had to package the device and send it back in. The outcome was that it was damaged beyond repair and rather than sending a new unit, we were sent a check for the full amount.

All of these video monitors have pros and cons and you can drive yourself nuts reading reviews. I recommend this unit on its own merits and gald to know we have Graco's support. I think we are about to buy another one.