Customer Reviews

Philips Avent Digital Baby Monitor with Zero-Interference DECT Technology

5 star:		(42)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

We recently moved our daughter to her big-girl room, which is quite far away from our bedroom. We keep doors closed at night so as not to disturb her, so we need a monitor that we could keep on all night at our bedside in case she wakes up or cries for help.

Performance
The Philips SCD 589 works perfectly as advertised. With the sensitivity set to normal (3 of 5 bars), the receiver always come alive virtually instantly and transmits every noise in her room clearly without any popping/cracking sounds. But as soon as the room is quiet, the receiver mutes to complete silence without even a hum or buzz. We have tried a number of other monitors and none have come close audio-wise. We leave the receiver on overnight at the nightstand and you'd forget it's there unless sound is transmitted.

Features
The UI is simple and intuitive, while the physical design is elegant and tasteful. For example, soft amber signal lights, rather than giant red glow (you know the brand), are used to indicate sound transmission. The receiver is small enough to fit in your pocket to help you look less like paranoid parents. The two-way communication feature could come in handy with spouse or older children. We are not using the lullaby/nightlight feature much, but that maybe useful for younger babies. And the remote temperature display is a rare advantage over the competition that further sets this product apart. The docking/charging simplifies daily operation significantly. The receiver uses 2 AAA rechargable Ni-MH and could be replaced with standard AAA's in the event they run out. From the small dimensions to industrial design to build quality, the product is top-notch.

Summary
The SCD 589 performs outstandingly. And with the thoughtful and well-implemented feature set, this product truely shines as one designed by those who understand parenting challenges. If they could somehow squeeze in video transmission (I realize DECT is only spec'ed for audio transmission) this product would put all other baby monitors to rest.

I highly recommend this product to anyone with, but not limiting to, child-monitoring needs (even for older children -- see 2-way feature).

Note
We used to use the MobiCam video monitor, which worked well for seeing what the baby is doing. However, the audio was interference-ridden due to the sheer number of 2.4GHz devices in our house. With the SCD 589, we now keep the MobiCam turned off until we hear something that needs verifying visually.

I was a little apprehensive about the price tag, but this thing really does work as described. It is well worth the $200 bucks. We had a cheap FisherPrice baby monitor that was unusable because of the static. This one is completely quiet unless the baby is making noise, and then it is crystal clear with no background hiss or static. You can adjust the microphone sensitivity, but the default setting was perfect for us, and allows you to hear small sounds clearly. I also like the room temperature monitoring function.

We had an 8-yr-old baby monitor that had an intercom feature we had come to consider essential. But the unit we had from our 1st baby had a broken button on the receiver and buzzed like crazy all the time so we wanted to replace it. This was the only monitor that was 900mhz (didn't want to interfere w/our 2.4 wireless network in the house, & more powerful signal is a bit scary to put by your heads as you sleep & overkill to boot) & also had an intercom feature. We have 3 children, 1 baby still in our room with us & 2 in their room down the hall. This is both highly sensitive to the slightest noise from their rm. and completely silent when there isn't any sound to broadcast. The remote features e.g. turning on lights or lullabies for the baby/child's room are neat & nice, the adjustable sensitivity is great- really will respond to the slightest sound if you have it at a lower sensitivity, or can be set to broadcast constantly & will do so w/o extra noise. The intercom is nice for letting a child know you're coming, or asking if they need you at all, or of course, playing around. Battery life has been fine but we hardly use the receiver out of the charger. Completely fulfills its claims.

We bought this to replace the Graco iMonitor (see my review for why we didn't like that one). I wanted a digital monitor to avoid interference with all our wireless gadgets and neighbors baby monitors...plus I didn't like the idea of someone being potentially able to hear *my* baby on the monitor!

All told if you are a light sleeper and don't want to hear static, beeping, and extraneous noise - just when your baby needs you! - this is the perfect monitor.


Pros:
- Zero interference or static in two months' use
- Never lost signal
- Adjustable sensitivity. The monitor ONLY broadcasts when the baby makes noise! It can detect things like the A/C and even the mobile music and recognize them as background noise and not broadcast them. (If you are paranoid and want to hear all sounds from the room, just set the sensitivity to maximum and it will broadcast constantly).
- If it does lose the signal (I had to turn off the base to test this) it doesn't start beeping right away. It tries to reconnect for about 30 seconds, and then beeps if unable. (The iMonitor started beeping immediately which was not really helpful in the middle of the night. I can cope without hearing my baby for 30 seconds.)
-Temperature monitoring and alert
-Lullaby - we don't use this much but it is nice to be able to turn it on remotely if the baby wakes up unexpectedly - it has helped settle him a couple times
- Uses regular AAA rechargable batteries. You can put regular batteries in it too - just do something to remind yourself NOT to put it in the charger if you do that!

Cons:
These are not so much reasons not to buy as things that were either pointless or should be better designed on a $200 monitor
- The charger is a little temperamental. I thought we had battery problems or a bum charger at first, but what happens is it's possible to put the unit in the charger, have the charger light illuminate, but the unit is not charging. Always look to see if the battery icon is inidcating charging to ensure it's properly seated in the charger. I supspect this is the problem some other reviewers had.
- Base and monitor should have pads to prevent sliding
- The "starry night" night light is just lame. I was expecting it to make little stars on the ceiling, but basically the base just glows.
- Separate attachments for neck strap and belt clip. Seriously, who can keep track of these? We just took the neck strap off and looped it around the belt clip so we can use either/or
- Volume is a little lower than on most monitors. This is fine by me - Level 2 will wake me up - but hubby needs to set it on MAX.
- Battery life is kinda short - much worse if you turn up the sensitivity. It would be nice to be able to get a separate charging base. If this is a concern and you can do without the temperature & lullaby features, get the model with two parent units. On the other hand the fact that it uses regular AAA batteries means you can always have a spare set in a regular charger.

Here are some things I like and dislike about this Philips Digital SCD 589 monitor.

PROS:
1. I love the look and functionality. It charges easily into the holder, and it's very easy to figure out. Very user friendly, but you do have to read the directions. It comes with a lanyard or a belt clip, and it's very lightweight.
2. It has more bells and whistles than you'll ever need. It has a baby's room temperature monitor (and you can set the range--it'll alert you if it's not within the range you specified), a soft glow nightlight, you can speak into it to talk to the baby, and you can make it play a lullaby; all from the parent unit.
3. It's got ZERO interference. Period.
4. It's got the longest range of baby monitor I've ever owned.

CONS:
1. It's incredibly expensive for a baby monitor.
2. The range is not 900 feet as described. With trees and walls (other houses, etc), it's probably more like 450 feet.
3. Even with the sensitivity and the volume all the way up, it's very quiet. Sometimes I like to hear the baby breathing, and it doesn't pick that up, unless the baby unit is right on top of him. Of course, when he's screaming, it's loud and you can't miss it.
4. This is small, but every time I control the volume up or down on the parent unit, I hit the "talk" button that you can talk to the baby with, and I'm afraid I'll make more noise and wake him up...
5. I've never used the bells and whistles.

So, good luck deciding on a monitor. I really do like it, but can't give it 5 stars because I don't think it's perfect.

Although there is no interference at all, I would not buy this product again. It is not worth the price as the battery life is about 2 hours and it needs to stay on the stand charging to use it at all. The volume on this is way too low and there isn't anything you can do about it.

Several of our friends have Fisher Price monitors and other similar brands. Those other monitors were constantly recieving interference and broadcasting static. We heard of the Philips with DECT technology and read some great reviews. Let me say that the Philips with DECT is in a class all its own, along with the price. The monitor is outstanding and worth the 200 dollar price. This monitor, unlike other cheap monitors, is able to lock and keep one of 60 available channels. The technology is amazing! My wife and I have premie twins and keep a very close eye and ear on them. We are able to use the monitor and hear them even while in the shower, out infront of the house, or back by the pool! We can activate the nightlight, play lullabys, and adjust sensitivity all from the remote. The monitor even tells room temp and alarms if it gets too cold or hot! Take my advice and don't spend less money on the other analog/radio type monitors, the Philips is the one and only truly digital, interference free monitor available! Be sure to take the time to properly charge the included rechargable batteries and read the manual. Enjoy...HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

5 Stars and worth the cost. Crystal clear quality. You do not even know that it is on because it does not produce any backgound noise. We purchased a Fisher Price model that was inexpensive and it picked-up all kinds of interference from portable phones, the neighbors baby monitor, low frequency radio stations, and more. We thought all monitors were the same. This product is far superior and worth the money! New Mom with a 6 month old who doesn't sleep thru the night. LW

While I still use this monitor, I only use it as a supplement to my video and cheap Greco monitor. When I first got it, I returned it because you couldn't hear anything, not even the baby crying!! The second one works better, you can hear him crying if there is NO other noise in the room. This is the the highest sensitivity. I kept it because our house has a problem regulating temperature in the rooms, so I liked the fact that I can monitor the temperature in his room at all times. Otherwise, it's not worth the $200.
Also, the battery life is a joke. It maybe lasts 4 hours, MAX, off of the cradle. I don't really ever take it off the cradle anymore, and just use our cheap $35 graco monitor when I'm walking around the house. That monitor will last days with the batteries without having to replace them, while the Philips is basically useless unless on the cradle. (It takes a LONG time to recharge). Honestly, what's the use of a monitor if you can't take it around the house with you?

We tried many others but this was the only one that truly performed as advertised.
My sister talked to a friend who had a house where the master suite was on the other side of the house from the children't rooms and recommended this unit.
Sound quality is excellent, NO STATIC
Sensitivity is excellent - we could hear breathing
You can control the monitor from the portable monitor. You don't have to enter the children's room
The portable monitor is a godsend. We have a rambling ranch house and most of the other units could not get half way through the house. This one did get through most of the house and was clear
Being able to talk to the other end on it's speaker is also a great feature

I'ts expensive but if you truly want a monitor that works this is the one.