One can never have enough products that help spy on children and others. One such product is the Sony "Baby Call" Monitor that I reviewed last month. Another one of these wonderful products is the Summer Infant Baby’s Quiet Sound Video Monitor (aka: Day and Night Monitor).

My wife and I bought this because just hearing our daughter wasn’t enough. We wanted to be able to see her too. In order to visually spy on our little girl we need a device that aloud us to do that. The Baby’s Quiet Sound Video Monitor does just that.

What Comes in the Box?

For a cost of $99 plus tax you get one Video Monitor, a camera with night vision abilities, a power supply for the Monitor, a set of security clips, a screw with wall anchor, and instructions on using the product.

Tell me about the monitor, Please.

Because you asked nicely I will be happy to tell you about the monitor. The monitor is a small device that has a 5 inch diagonal screen. It is maybe 8 inches high by 8 inches wide. The length is maybe a foot long and weighs only a few pounds. On the right side is the power/ volume dial. On the left side is an A-B switch. I’ll tell you more about this switch later. On the front, below the screen is a set of LED lights and a speaker. On the back is the input for power and three dials; vertical hold, contrast, and brightness (just like old televisions). On the top of the unit is a handle, to carry the monitor, and a button to turn the video screen on and off.

I will explain some of the features now and some will be explained later (it will make sense to you later.) There are a total number of 6 LED lights on this unit. Two are green and five are red. The first green light (extreme left light) is the power light. As long as the unit is on it will be on. The second light is a video indicator light. It indicates that you turned the video screen on. This is helpful because it takes about 15 second before a picture appears on it. The last five lights are speaker lights. The more sound made by the baby the more lights illuminate. This is helpful if you have the volume of the unit down as my wife and I do. If you can’t hear sound you can see the lights and know your little one is crying or just making a lot of sound.

The video on/off button is just that. It turns the screen on and off. The three dials on the back are self explanatory, no need to elaborate on what they do (Vertical hold, contrast, and brightness). The power supply simply plugs into the jack in the back.

There is not much more to the monitor portion of the unit.

You got the monitor described now how about the camera?

The camera is a device that is a bit bigger than an average palm size. The flips up form the base. You can angle it to any position with in its 180 degrees of motion. It an also pivot form left to right.

The base can be placed on a table top or it can be anchored to a wall with an eye hold that is found on the base. If you wish to wall mount the camera just grab the screw and anchor and follow the installation instructions (if you don’t know what you are doing).
On the base is another A-OFF-B switch (I will get into that later).

Below the camera lens is a microphone and around the lens are 6 infra red LEDs. They are used for the camera’s night mode. Above the lens is a green power LED. When the unit is on the light will glow.

The power cord is permanently attached to the base. The security clips come in handy when dealing with the power cord. They have sticky pads to attach them to the wall. They are used to tie the power cord down to keep your child form getting tangle in it. Better a safe baby than a strangled baby. Yes, safety should always be on the top of your mind when dealing with a child.

In a nutshell that is the camera.

What do I need to do to use this product?

This unit works at a frequency of 900 MHz and has two channels, A and B (yeah, I finally got to the A-B switches). According to the box you can get a range of 360 feet. According to an insert it only works up to 60 feet. Anyway, set the camera up so that it can see your child. According to the instructions 4-10 feet works best. We have ours much closer and we don’t have a problem. Next, set the channel to A or B and then focus your attention the monitor. Put it on the same channel so that you will receive what the camera is showing. Once everything is set up properly you will be able to use your new product. Nothing more, nothing less.

How do you like the product?

I like this product a lot. Being able to see what my daughter is up to is wonderful. My wife and I no longer have to go into her room to see what she is doing. She would wake up and wouldn’t go back to sleep, when we entered her room. Now we can see her and not bother her. This is a great way to keep an eye on my daughter.

Now there are some things I don’t like. The first is the speaker. It stinks and I don’t like it. No it doesn’t smell bad; it is just awful when it comes to sound quality. Due to this I still use the Sony “Baby Call” Monitor. The sound on the Summer monitor is muffled at times and is some what distorted at others.

Another issue with the monitor is that it uses a 900 MHz frequency. Most portable phones use the same frequency. When our phone or the neighbor’s phone rings and is in use, the video on the monitor gets interfered with. Nothing can be seen until the phone call is finished.

A third thing is that there are only the two channels to choose from. This doesn’t give the owner much of a choice to choose form. If someone else, near us, buys one of these, we will run into the chance of interference.

Finally, I don’t like the conflicting documents on length. I am going to guess that the insert (mentioned earlier) is the correct maximum distance that you can place the two critical parts. If the user misses seeing the insert the units can be placed too far apart and won’t work. I can see how this will cause aggravation for users.

Final Thoughts

Despite the four things I don’t like about the product, I do recommend it. The good of the unit is much more valuable. It is a great product for keeping an eye on your little ones and others that must be watched (adults, pets, older children, the rowdy neighbors, etc). For peace of mind this product is another must have. Now I must get back to viewing my little girl.

Quick note
Don’t worry about focusing the camera. It does it automatically.


Thanks for reading
Brett :)


Sony “Baby Call” Review”:
A Must Have For New Parents and Those With Small Children.


Recommended: Yes