Customer Reviews

Mobi Mobicam Digital Wireless Video Monitor

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(16)
1 star:		(16)

 

 

This monitor will interfere with your 2.4GHz wireless router unless you change the channel your router is on. I changed mine from channel 6 to channel 11 and now the monitor and my router work perfectly. Actually now my internet is faster than ever since it's no longer interfering with anything else in the house. I do like how compact the monitor is and the fact that you can have up to 3 cameras since we have three boys under age 2. I do not like the video on/off mechanism. I think it should have a button with automatic off after a minute or so instead of the switch. I also don't like the volume control. If the LCD is off you can't see the volume level. And I have turn the volume up every time I turn on the monitor instead of it staying at the level I leave it on. Overall it's a great product, they just need to tweak a few things.

We have used this product now for 1 month, and it has fallen short of expectations so far. I expected slightly higer quality for the price. We purchased an additional camera and it paired easily so we can watch both of our children simultaneously. The automatic channel scanning feature is nice, so every 8 seconds you switch between the cameras. The audio is dissapointing, as we were used to the Philips DECT technology, which is far superior. However, there is very little hissing or other static which is nice so you can leave the volume turned up all the time. Screen has large visible pixels if you look closely. Battery life is excellent so far. The Channel switch is becoming loose and I believe we will need to have a warranty replacement on the monitor unit soon. I will update with their response and service. The cameras are not wall mountable, but you can order a mounting bracket directly from Mobi for $3.00 shipping. Nightlight on camera can be turned on or off. This does interfere heavily with wireless internet in our home, on the 2.4 Ghz channel. The voice activation feature turns off both audio and video, so you can not watch you child sleeping quietly.

This monitor is the best video baby monitor out there if you have more than one child you want to keep an eye on. It can automatically switch between up to 3 cameras every 5 seconds or so, the batteries are rechargeable, it has great battery life (I switch to audio only at times to save battery - but it lasts me all day), there is no static, the picture is as good if not better than others (I can see if my baby's eyes are open or closed), it's small but has a large screen given it's size, and the range is good (works two floors down). The cons: 1. The volume level drops (not completely off but very, very low) whenever it is turned off, so you have to remember to turn the volume up every time you turn it on. 2. I've had trouble getting the screen to pop out for tilting (I just placed a piece of thick tape behind it to put a little pressure and help it pop out). 3. It interferes with the wireless unless you change your channel (I changed mine to 11 per H. Gaskill's recommendation...thanks!) 4. Finally, occasionally my monitor turns off for a second when changing from audio only to video or vice versa...which wouldn't matter except that the volume drops when this happens and sometimes I don't realize it and can't hear my baby very well when he cries. Yet with all these cons, it is by far the best out there...and I've personally tried 6 before it and researched dozens.

The video is very nice but I cannot access the internet on my computer or iPhone when it is turned on. As soon as I turn off the camera, my internet comes up immediately. I am not sure if it has to do with my internet carrier (Verizon FIOS) or the camera's WIFI. Just be weary of this possibility. Also wish it came with a mounting bracket for the wall, it is a little bit of a pain having it sit on the dresser as that kind of defeats the purpose of trying to get a good angle on the whole room. It does give you a website that you can send away for a bracket but who wants to do that.

replacing the Summer day/night handheld model 02090, which was a great monitor for 18 months then the sound started to go bad and I was getting a lot of interferance. this monitor appealed to me because of the multiple camera capacity and the auto scanning, I have 2 kids under 3 and need to monitor both rooms. The scan option works great, I love that the monitor only picks up the noises the baby makes, and not any white noise in the room. I have a fan in both rooms and musical soothers which do not activate the monitor. Some things I am not happy about, the camera does not adjust side to side only up and down this makes it hard to angle the camera so the camera is pointed directly on their beds when I had hoped to see more of the room to monitor playing and sleeping. Plus the cords are really short I had to purchase extention cords in order to mount the cameras high enough on the wall to get a good view of the kids beds. the Lcd screen on the monitor is a little grainy and not as sharp as my previous monitor I have trouble seeing if their pacifer is still in their mouth. Over all Im pretty happy with it. I think it was expensive and other reviews that I have read make me nervous about it breaking. So far I dont regret my purchase and I hope I dont.

Well I purchased this camera because it was the only camera setup that allowed me to add an additional camera and scan automatically between one camera to the next. I have a newborn and a 2 year old, and I needed to install a camera for my newborn near his crib and for my 2 year old in her room. The setup is simple. The first camera automatically was detected. To pair the second camera you need to press a button on the additional camera and the light will start blinking, once you have selected the channel you want to assign to this camera on the monitor you press the + on the brightness button on the monitor while turning it on. Thats it. It automatically paired the camera to the 2nd channel. The monitor has a switch on the back that lets you select which camera you want to view (up to 3 cams) or if you want the monitor to automatically switch between cameras, it does so in about 5 seconds each camera which is perfect. The monitor brings it own rechargeable battery and it allows you to adjust the brightness and volume. I read some people complain about the sound quality which I would deny. This is a video monitor, not a sound monitor. The sound has good enough quality to hear your baby cry or complain, but its not too loud that it won't let you sleep like some monitors out there. I used to own a Safety First Hi-Def monitor, but the camera died on me just after the year, and it was far beyond Hi-Def, which brings me to the video quality. In my opinion it is average, not the best but good to the point where I can clearly see my baby and my daughter even in the dark. The cameras have an auto-detection option but haven't tried it yet, I have them set at auto night vision. Another criticism has been the blue light ring that turns on during night vision. Some people complain its too bright but I can't complain about it. It doesn't bother my baby or my girl at night. It even works as sort of a nightlight. Another criticism is that the cameras didn't bring wall mounts, but mine did. They come with a wall mount that included screw and all. The great thing about the wall mount is that the camera is just set to rest upon the wall mount in no way is the camera screwed into the wall, which is great since you can move the camera without any problems. Also the camera hasn't affected my WiFi and the range hasn't been a factor. The Monitor actually includes signal bars measurement just like those on your cell phone to indicate if you're getting out of range. I have a one story house and the rooms are next to each other. There are few camera options out there, and even for the money you really don't get much, you would think most of these options the MobiCam has would be standard on all of them, but their not. I really don't know how long this camera and monitor will last but if they break within a year I would probably buy them again.

We bought this monitor a few months before our 2nd daughter was born. We started using it with our oldest, who is 3. We bought the second camera for the nursery and stopped using the product within a few months. The volume did not pick up sound well, unless my 3 year old was screaming. Each time I turned it on, I had to remember to turn the volume back to maximum. If my husband went into my daughter's room, I could tell that they were talking, but couldn't make out anything that was being said. The video part of the monitor was clear, when it worked. We finally gave up on the monitor after battling with the video freezing to where it held the exact same picture for 5+ minutes, before it would lose picture all together and then come back. It left me with zero confidence that what I was seeing on the monitor was current, and not from 5 minutes ago.

We've since bought another monitor, and although I'm not thrilled with it because of audio, I at least know that the video is good.

This is an exceptionally easy-to-use video baby monitor. Plug in the camera and point it where you want it, turn on the monitor, and you're good to go. No complicated menus, no fuss.

Pros:

- Great value - this is a very reasonable price.

- Secure digital transmission that cannot be picked up by the neighbors.

- Good picture image. You can see better the closer the camera is to the baby (obviously), so you're going to get a better image of a sleeping face if the camera is closer rather than mounted on the other side of the room.

- Night vision displays a surprisingly good image, in my opinion.

- Rechargeable lithium ion battery with excellent battery life.

- No flashing lights or anything else on the camera to distract baby.

- Easy to position - just place it and angle the camera - no need for it to be mounted.

- Now comes with a bracket for wall mounting if you want to do that.

- Has a "vox" control that allows you to have the sound and image off until a sound triggers the camera and sound to come back on at the monitor. Good if you have this in your bedroom at night.

- Good transmission from upstairs to downstairs on opposite end of large house, as well as to the backyard.

- Shows transmission signal strength on the monitor just like your cell phone.

- Monitor screen tilts to various angles, so you can put it on the coffee table and adjust it for viewing. Will fit in most pockets.

- Because it really is easy to make this camera mobile (even with the wall mount, it just snaps in), it's useful for parents who don't have baby sleeping in a crib in a separate room. It can be used to watch while baby naps or plays, or if baby goes to bed before you in a co-sleeping situation (obviously, also good for toddlers). It's not limited to crib-mount or wall-mount, so it's functional for a variety of uses.

- Will cycle through channels if you have more than one camera set up.

- Has an internet connection option that you have to buy separately, and which comes with a monthly usage fee. Might be useful if you are operating a daycare and want parents to be able to observe, though?

- Has an AV output to connect to a TV, if you wanted to see baby on the big screen. I haven't tried this, but it might work with your TV's picture-in-picture.


Cons

- The sound is terrible, though this does seem to be a persistent problem for video monitors. The microphone is on the base of the camera and does not point in the direction of the camera, so you are picking up ambient noise rather than noise from the direction of the camera, which could be part of this problem. Depending on where the camera is placed, you most likely will not be able to hear your baby breathing with this camera. It seems to have technology that mutes out low-level repetitive sounds so that you're not getting a lot of noise on the monitor, but this makes the audio from baby's room eerily silent. I had baby asleep in a room with the radio on low, and could not hear the radio even with the monitor volume turned up to max. Oddly, though, I could hear all kinds of sounds from the house through the monitor, even when those sounds did not originate from baby's room. It's extremely weird to hear myself pop open a can of soda in the living room through the monitor, but not be able to hear the radio playing in baby's room. You will be able to hear baby start to cry, but I'd rather hear when baby starts flopping around in bed or making early signs of waking up, so that I can maybe soothe him before he's into full-on crying mode.

- If you want to use the VOX option, you need to turn it on at the camera, not on the monitor, and it's on the bottom of the camera base. This is not user-friendly, because in my experience you probably want to actively watch baby sleeping while you're awake, and then switch to VOX when you go to sleep, but probably do not want to risk waking baby by going into the room to switch the camera over to VOX.

- Would be nice if it had a belt clip. Even though I view it by putting it on a table or counter, for the most part, it's annoying that I can't clip it to me while carrying laundry or walking outside to the yard.

- You do need to remember to turn the volume up each time you turn on the monitor. I get why the volume is always reduced to low when the monitor comes on, because I do like check on the monitor that the camera is positioned right, and you'd get significant feedback that would wake the baby if the volume were up on the monitor. But if you have the camera wall-mounted or always in the same place, I could see that this might be annoying. I do think the camera is advertised as being "mobile," and we do tend to set it up in various locations (even just to point at baby playing in living room while my back is turned making dinner), so this is not a big problem, but it might be nice if the volume reset were an option triggered by a button on the monitor.

- There is some static noise in the picture with the night vision that can sometimes look like baby moving out of the corner of your eye. This is a minor annoyance.

- The battery indicator on the monitor is a bit weird, there's a red light that will start flashing when the battery is low, but the battery indicator on the screen sometimes still shows a mostly full charge.

- Displays a flashing "no signal/VOX mute" message (white letters on black screen) when the camera is off or on VOX mute. On the pro side, it's good to know that your monitor isn't dead. I can see that if you had this in your room at night, though, it might get annoying and you'd probably want to turn it away from you. This one's a toss-up. From a safety standpoint, I think it's good that they have this display, so you don't assume that the screen is black because nothing is going on in baby's room and fail to notice that the monitor's battery died.

The camera stopped working after only two weeks!! The camera worked fine this morning and now just won't turn on. Besides the fact that it died after two weeks of night time use, I hated how the volume went to zero every time I turned it off. I hated that every time I turned it back on, I then had to REMEMBER to turn the volume up!! What a piece of garbage! $$ does not equal quality in this case. (wish I could give it NO stars!)

I obsessively poured over the Amazon.com reviews for video baby monitors before finally deciding on the Mobi. I purchased the monitor in June, 2010 and initially my complaints were:
1. The audio quality is poor. My original monitor was audio only, the Sony 900 MHz BabyCall Nursery Monitor, and I could hear my son breathing. I certainly can hear when he's crying on this monitor but that's about it.
2. The camera is difficult to position to get a good angle into the crib. We prop it on something to tilt it downward towards the crib. Oh well.
3. Interference with wireless internet in the home but I realize this is a universal problem with the digital video monitors. The room below his nursery is a complete internet dead-zone, we simply cannot use our laptops in there.
4. It would be nice if the camera would zoom in and out but that wasn't a deal breaker.
5. A very bright blue light at the bottom of the camera would entrance my son. I finally just put a washcloth in front of it and the problem was fixed.
6. Everytime the power goes out you have to turn the camera power back on. I usually discovered this had happened after I'd already put him down and then tried to turn the monitor on. I'd have to wait until I thought he was asleep so I could sneak in and turn the camera on.

Last week, however, the monitor began showing a just an outline of objects in the crib, and the surrounding area is lit up in an electric green color. For the first few days I could give it a good thump on the side or bottom and it would show the correct image for a few minutes. That no longer works. I cannot make out my child in the crib so I'm essentially using it as an audio monitor until I get the issue straightened out with the company. I contacted them with my problem and was told that typically their warrenties are only 90 days (really?) but that they would have a technician look at my unit. If he/she could not repair it, I would be sent a replacement unit. These are my questions:
1. What am I supposed to do without a monitor in the meantime?
2. As I've read several other reviews which site this exact problem, has the company fixed the issue in the replacement unit they would be sending me? I really don't want to go through this in another 6 months. I was looking forward to simply purchasing a second camera when baby number 2 arrives this spring. I would hate to not have a functioning monitor for either baby should the problem occur again.

I have written the company back and expressed my concern about being without a monitor while we ship the unit back and forth to each other. I'm hanging onto my now audio-only monitor until I get an answer. The sad thing is, if you read through the reviews for other video monitors...they aren't much better. Even though I'm tempted to just buy a different monitor altogether, I'm not sure I'd be much happier with what's out there.