With a second baby on the way, I have been planning to buy a video monitor.  However, we were recently traveling out of town and I knew my 2-year-old would be napping in a room where I would prefer to keep an eye on her with a video monitor and not just our regular monitor.  We did some online shopping and decided on a Defender Phoenix1 Wireless Video monitor.

"Freedom and security are two things that we strive to have for ourselves and our loved ones, but it's hard to feel both secure and free when many wired surveillance systems leave you confined to one viewing area. The PHOENIX1 is the answer to this issue. The PHOENIX1 is an easy to use, wireless, color handheld monitoring system which can be used indoors or outdoors to keep your family and belongings safe and secure." (Walmart.com)


The Defender PHOENIX1 Wireless Video Security System

We purchased this online on Walmart.com for $150.  We were able to get overnight shipping (of course once the order was processed for several days) and returns can be made directly to the store.

With this system, you get a 2.25" color LCD handheld monitor/screen with charging base, the actual monitor itself, and some audio/video cords.

- transmits over a 900mHz frequency
- equipped with infrared night vision
- Indoor or Outdoor Use
- easily connects to your TV or monitor (RCA wire included)


My Thoughts

This video monitor was easy enough to set up, and I only made some quick references to the manual along the way.  You set up the handheld monitor in the charging base, which plugs into the wall.  The actual camera needed to be screwed to it's base.  You can permanently mount the base somewhere with screws.  Otherwise it is a little "tipsy" depending on the angle of the camera.

Operation is simple enough - the power button is obvious on the front of the handheld monitor.  There are volume control buttons, contrast, automatic vs. manual control, and sensitivity.

The screen is a nice 2.25" color LCD screen.  I had to laugh when I saw the description online with a brilliant, clear, color image shown on the screen of this monitor.  The only thing I ever got on this was a black and white image with a touch of color.  There were no brilliant colors!  Definitely not like something that looked like a gorgeous color photo printed off my digital camera!

The other issue with the screen/images was clarity.  The images were always fuzzy.  We used this as a baby monitor, and I could tell what was what, but there was very little detail, and everything was fuzzy.  Basically it was like an old black & white tv with poor reception. 

Additionally, the sound was bad on this.  There was always that static noise going as a constant.  I didn't feel like I could really rely on this product just based on sound.  Compare to my sound-only Graco monitor that I already have, the audio alone was horrible and crackly.  On my Graco, I can hear my daughter rolling around, her sleepy-time CD clear as day, and so on.  On the Defender, there was a constant loud hiss, and it masked a lot of the sounds.  It was disturbing because when my daughter was taking her 3-hour naps in the middle of the day, I basically felt like a prisoner that I had to watch the monitor for movement and not rely just on sound.  (Again, when we were out of town, it was not safe if she woke up and started walking around - there was a flight of stairs she could have climbed and fallen on).

The "sensitivity" setting didn't do much to help with the situation - the image and the sound was still staticy and not clear.

Additionally, we tried this monitor in several locations.  The product specifications say "Both audio and video signals are able to pass through floors and walls within the 75 foot optimum range.", and I can't agree we got anywhere near that quality or reception.  We tried in our house - directly below my toddler's room, and even 3 feet away just on the outside of her bedroom wall.  Again, the images were not clear and there was static (and no color).  Out of town, the monitor barely made it up a set of stairs, and I was "imprisoned" to sitting at a kitchen island for 3 hours while I read a book and constantly kept the monitor in my periphery.  If I took the monitor any further, it started beeping that it was losing it's range.  It would even let out a loud static hiss or beep when someone walked past the side of the monitor ("blocking" the signal).

Therefore I felt the range was ridiculous.  Just a matter of feet from the camera, the monitor was fuzzy.  Directly up or down a floor in the house meant the monitor could barely function.  Like I said, we tried it in different houses and locations, so it wasn't due to some other interference (appliances, concrete walls type of thing).

I thought both bases could have been a little more sturdy - both the camera base and the charging base for the handheld monitor.  The camera base barely stays stable unless you permanently mount it, but for many people I imagine it would be more practical to be able to move it.  For example, my daughter sleeps and naps in different spots, so if we had kept this monitor, I would have liked a more sturdy option for a temporary location.

It is nice that the charging base for the monitor portion is small and has a small "footprint", but it felt a little wobbly at times, and the monitor didn't really click into the base.

We did use the monitor in dim and dark rooms and I felt it performed well - comparatively - because the images were as viewable as compared to daylight.  The infrared portion of the camera picked up the images well, perhaps with a little more contrast as you see with night vision, but what I expected from what I had seen during daylight/lighter times.


Overall

I didn't feel comfortable using this video monitor for monitoring my toddler.  The quality just wasn't what I expected.  The images were not very clear and the audioe hissed/crackled too much to be able to pick up any more subtle sounds.  We tried this in a variety of situations and locations for a few weeks and then returned it. 


Defender: http://www.defender-usa.com/

Recommended: No