Philips AVENT Digital Screen Baby Monitor with DECT Technology

by Philips Avent

Product Features

• Zero Interference DECT Technology
• Crystal clear sound
• Room temperature sensor and lullabies
• Sleek parent unit
• Simple to use and easily mobile

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 12 x 5.3 x 7.4 inches ; 2.7 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 2.7 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S. and to APO/FPO addresses. For APO/FPO shipments, please check with the manufacturer regarding warranty and support issues.
• ASIN: B001COPE86
• UPC: 075020005465
• Item model number: SCD520/00
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #16,338 in Baby (See Top 100 in Baby)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (145 customer reviews)

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

The Philips AVENT baby monitor offers DECT (Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunication) technology that guarantees a secure, private connection with crystal clear sound and guarantees zero interference to give mom and dad complete control, comfort and assurance.

The DECT monitor has a 1,000ft range and a talk back feature so you can hear and comfort your baby from anywhere in and around the home. A nightlight and lullaby feature is available as well as temperature range settings that can be controlled and monitored with the parent unit digital display.

Highlights include:

A secure, private connection and crystal clear sound with DECT. Always zero interference, automatic channel switching and two-way communication

Keeps baby's room comfortable. Personal temperature range settings alert you to adjust the climate

Easy to read digital display on parent unit.

Philips AVENT DECT Monitor Features:

Always feel connected to your baby with the Philips AVENT DECT baby monitor

• Zero interference guaranteed with DECT technology
• Temperature Sensor - adjustable sensor monitors baby's room for optimal comfort
• Digital Display with remote control on parent unit - easy to read and operate
• Portable - Small, rechargeable parent unit to roam freely with compact, cordless monitoring
• Extra long range of 1,000ft/300m - confident mobility in and around the home
• Automatic channel selection - uninterrupted secure connection with excellent sound quality
• Digital signal confirmation and sound level lights - constant visual connection even if volume is off
• Soothing lullabies and nightlight - comforts baby to sleep
• Adjustable sound sensitivity - fine tune volume to hear your baby clearly
• Volume control and talk back - two way communication at all times even if volume is off
• Low power indication - illuminates to recharge or replace batteries
• 24-hour monitoring before recharge

What's in the Box:

• 1 Parent unit with Charging Base
• 1 Baby unit
• Rechargeable batteries
• Belt clip
• Neck strap
• Full 2-Year Warranty

Product Description

Avent DECT Baby MonitorEnjoy complete peace of mind with the new Avent range of DECT Baby Monitors you can relax, safe in the knowledge your baby's happy even when you are out the room. The adjustable sensor monitors baby's room for optimal comfort and the personal temperature range settings alert you to adjust the climate when needed. This baby monitor indicates a continuous connection between the baby and the parent unit with visible and audible link indicators. It also guarantees zero interfe

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

68 of 69 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars One of the best I've seen yet..., November 25, 2008

By 

Biblioholic Beth (Portland, Oregon USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Philips AVENT Digital Screen Baby Monitor with DECT Technology (Baby Product)

(What's this?)

Our video monitor had finally bit the dust (the charge would last, at most, about 5 minutes from unplugging the unit), so when the opportunity came to try this one, I jumped at it. We've gone through 2 or 3 monitors, so I was curious to see how this one would compare...

It's a nice little monitor - the portion that goes into the baby's room (or small toddler in my case) is rather like a 3-dimensional triangle. It has a small nightlight built in, plays several different tunes, and has a volume control as well. It has a fairly small footprint, so fits well on top of furniture.

The parental unit is light and easy to carry, even without the included belt clip or "necklace". The display is extremely easy to read, with the temp. being the most visible. A little ear above shows if you have the sound on, and the battery life is above and to the right of the temp. Those are currently the only ones I have on.

It's fairly intuitive, though I broke out the (short) instructions anyway - this monitor is much more sophisticated than our previous one and I wanted to make sure I was doing it right for the review.

I have used it around the microwave, the cordless phone, and the old monitor with absolutely no interference. I literally had the monitor sitting right next to all three with no issues.

I know there are some that will believe it is silly to have the temperature setting on the monitor - however, we have recently been having issues with the heat in our daughter's room, so this helps us keep an eye on it. She tends to be extremely sensitive to having her room too warm, and will not be able to sleep if it is (which means mommy doesn't sleep either!). I have no way of truly testing the accuracy of the temperature function, but I can say that I have watched the temp. go up on the monitor when the heat in the house has come on, and then slowly drop back down again.

The sensitivity control on this thing rocks! We tend to have low music and a fan running in the kids' rooms pretty much all night and during naps...so, during my daughter's nap time, I did a test. I had noticed this disturbing tendency for the monitor to just go completely *silent*. I had my son run upstairs and whistle, while making sure that I would only hear the noise from the monitor. I could hear him, so I knew it worked, but found it strange that I couldn't hear any of the "white noise" from the bedroom. So, I did another test (all completely unscientific!)...At intervals of 5 minutes, I would lower the sensitivity one step...sure enough, at the middle step, all background noise completely disappeared while still being completely functional. WAY better than the last monitor we had, where there was absolutely no way to get rid of all the background noise.

The volume works great - even with all the "white noise" that goes in our daughter's room all night (and the fan that runs in ours), I had no problem hearing when she woke me up this morning at 3AM! I was also able to hear my son's whistle as he stood *outside* the closed bedroom door, with all the white noise running IN the room, during our sensitivity "test".

The only real "con" that I have is that the lights are VERY bright in a dark room! It's a small complaint, and it was easily solved by placing a small washcloth over the top to block the lights. However, now that I've solved the sensitivity issue, if there is no sound - there is no light! That should no longer be an issue at night. It would be nice if there was more to the nightlight, but we use one of those star turtles anyway, so it's not a huge concern...

Long review, short answer: I highly recommend this monitor. It does what it says, and it does it quite well. The battery life, so far, has been terrific and the adjustable sensitivity pretty much makes the whole monitor. The rest is just gravy...

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally!, November 14, 2008

By 

Scott "LA Dad" (Los Angeles) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Philips AVENT Digital Screen Baby Monitor with DECT Technology (Baby Product)

I hated my old monitor (which was not a cheap one) because of the static, muffled sounds, and general inability to keep a signal from the babies room to my bedroom. Many a night as it beeped at me I wanted to throw the thing out the window.

I gave in and decided to spend some real money and hoped that my frustrations would be solved. And, they are!

I waited for the new Avent monitor after reading the mixed reviews about the old one and I am very glad I did. The big issue that people had on the old model was that the unit was not loud enough. Parents complained that at full volume they still couldn't hear if their kid was still breathing. That problem has been solved. I have no problem hearing every breath. You can control the sensitivity of the parent's unit - so it can be on all the time, or if it quiets down, you don't hear a single noise out of the unit. No static, no beeping, no hum from the cordless phone - pure brilliant silence.

My child is older now, so I have the sensitivity low enough that unless she starts crying I won't hear her. If she turns over in the bed, I hear nothing. But, when I have another baby I am sure I will crank it all the way up to hear every little breath.

The unit allows me to talk to the babies room - which I thought was a bit silly. But, I don't use the function to talk to the kid (she is still confused as to why she hears her dad's voice from the bookshelf) - I use it to talk to my wife. "Do you know where the clean socks are?" - "yes- in the bottom drawer" - and I never left the master bedroom to help!

It has a music feature (which you can't control from the parent's unit). A night light feature (which isn't really bright enough to be of use). And it has a page function if you lose the parent's unit.

Long story short, great unit - worth the $. If you want to actually enjoy the baby monitor experience - this is the one for you. I can finally sleep in peace.

27 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Nice in many ways, but not enough functionality and versatility for general use, December 5, 2008

By 

Snap, Crackle and Pop (United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Philips AVENT Digital Screen Baby Monitor with DECT Technology (Baby Product)

(What's this?)

QUICK TAKE: This Philips Avent monitor has a lot of nice features, design and functionality (as discussed toward the end of this review). But at two to three times the cost of other audio monitors, the added features don't add enough value to earn a recommendation. And even setting aside price, the very low volume on the parent unit limits the usability and versatility of this product for general use.

The biggest issue is that the volume on the parent unit, even when set to the maximum (and with the baby unit sensitivity at maximum), isn't loud enough for everyday situations. For example, with the parent unit five feet away while feeding a not-very-noisy two year old. And so forget about the flexibility (which other monitors have) to turn it up loud enough to hear a child crying while you're in the shower, or during even a quiet-ish get-together. To be really useful, a monitor should go from very quiet to very loud, with lots of steps in between. But unless you keep it next to you and are in a quiet room, the Philips Avent is just not loud enough.

If you only want a night-time monitor, or otherwise always keep it close to you in a quiet situation, this works well. Also, if you have a toddler, who needs less frequent monitoring and can make herself heard when needed, this may work. (Though at the right price the Philips Avent Basic Baby Monitor w/ DECT Technology, without the temperature feature, may be the way to go.) But as a real-life, wide-range-of-situations monitor - this Philips Avent doesn't make the grade.

Another issue is the thermometer, which is not very useful for two reasons: First, it always reads 5-7 degrees high, which is at a minimum annoying, and also hard to explain to a babysitter, and can run into the pre-set limits to the temperature range alarm feature. Second, the temperature reading unit is on the back of the monitor. That of course assumes you want to measure the temperature in the same place the monitor is - but depending on the your setup, that is often not the case. The temperature on a high shelf five feet from the baby (where you want to put a monitor) might be very different from the temperature where the baby is. If they really want to offer this feature, it should be accurate and ideally use a separate unit for reading the temperature (and humidity, as on their top-end monitor). (We use the Oregon Scientific BAR638HGA Weather Forecaster with Temperature & Humidity, it works well.)

That being said, there are lots of things to like about this monitor:

+ It uses DECT technology to transmit, which is a secure, static free digital technology with great sound quality, not robotic like some digital audio. (The best new cordless phones use this, too.) It operates at 1.9Ghz, so it won't conflict with anything in your house. It connects well and stays connected (though we don't use it over long distances).

+ The ability to adjust, from the parent unit, the sensitivity of what sound gets picked up in the baby's room is a very nice feature.

+ The parent and baby units are smaller (and more attractive) than you'd guess from the photo. The parent unit is 2+" wide by 4" high by 1+" deep.

+ The battery life on the parent unit seems very long.

+ The nightlight is appropriately dim for a baby's room, maybe the first time I've seen one that wasn't too bright.

+ The music on the baby unit is the first I've heard that I like, though the fact that you can't turn it on and off from the parent unit limits its usefulness.

+ The ability to talk from the parent unit to the baby unit is a nice feature, both to talk among parents and to let a toddler know you're on the way.

There are also some negatives. In addition to the major issues with the volume and the temperature, and not being able to control the music from the parent unit: The power LED on the front of the baby unit is too bright. (I'm getting a lot of use out of that roll of white electrical tape.) It's lame that the power adapters can't handle 230 volts (as well as the US 115V), it limits this monitor's usefulness as a travel monitor. And the menu system is a little cumbersome.

I can definitely understand the issues people have with the screen. It's really hard to read. Luckily we just don't use it much, since the temperature readout isn't useful, so it hasn't been an issue for us except when using the menu system for the controls.

It is important to fully charge and discharge the NiMH (nickel metal-hydride) batteries the first couple times you use it.

As far as alternatives, I've used and reviewed several other audio and video monitors, only one of which I'd recommend - the Summer Infant Best View Color Video Monitor. There are two others that seem to get good reviews, and may be next on my list to try: For an audio-only monitor, the Safety 1st High-Def Digital Monitor. Or, if you're going to pay $100 plus (or give a gift), a better option might be to jump to a video monitor, like the Summer Infant model above or the Safety 1st High-Def Digital Video Monitor. Video monitors turn out to be more useful than most people would think.

UPDATE (September 2009): Having used this more has confirmed my sense that it is not a monitor I'd really recommend.

SCREEN: The screen really is very poorly designed and hard to read.

BEEPING NOISES: I just don't understand why they thought it was a good idea to make it beep when you adjust the volume. (Maybe because the screen is so hard to read?) When you hear a child at night and want to turn the volume down to minimize the number of people who are disturbed, it beeps! That's ridiculous.

INFLEXIBLE ADAPTERS: This is a product that really ought to have a power adapter that can handle international voltages.

FEATURES NOT USEFUL: We've never used any of the sounds, lights, alarms, etc. The controls and features don't make them very useful. As noted, the temperature feature could be very useful, if it actually worked properly.