Philips Avent Digital Two-Parent Baby Monitor with Zero-Interference DECT Technology

We have 3 baby monitors--two Graco and this Philips Avent monitor which we love. Our Graco monitor is the digital and works pretty well, but we needed a second one that would not interfere with the Graco for baby #2. We were worried after reading reviews about the battery life and volume, but have been very pleased! Just yesterday I was able to go 5 houses down outside with my 2 year old while the baby napped and got no interference or static! We have had no problem with the batteries either, although we were very careful to follow all of the step up charging instructions. We have both parent handsets off daily and they have never died on us yet. The volume is quiet until the baby makes a noise and then it is plenty loud at it's highest setting. It is well worth the money!

My husband and I have been through several baby monitors. We had 2 rounds of the First Years 900 MHZ, and no matter what we did, we always had static or interference from somewhere. It was so bad that it was impacting my husband's sleep. We read the reviews on this one and decided to try it - even though it is more expensive than all of the others, we were desperate. I have to say it has totally lived up to our expectations. It NEVER has any interference, but when our son does start making noise, we most definitely hear him. It has a soft, amber nightlight for his room which isn't like a beacon by any means (many of the other monitors have a "power on" light that is bright, bright, bright! This is a fantastic monitor, I wish we had bought it a couple of years ago.

We loved this monitor when it worked, but didn't realize you had to put rechargeable batteries in it. My husband replaced them the other night, and it ruined the monitor. The batteries were partially melted and acid was coming out of them. When he took them out, he saw the note that said only rechargeable batteries. This is our fault - we should have read more carefully, but wanted to help others learn from our mistakes.

On a positive note - we loved the fact that it let us know what the temperature was in our daughters room.

I also have the Graco Vibe, but I like this monitor best. It delivers as promised. I had a couple of concerns after reading other reviews (batteries and volume) I found that the battery life works as promised; I followed the manufacturers instructions for charging/discharging. The volume, with sensitivity and volume turned up,is adaquate for me (I want to hear everything), though not quite as loud as the Grace Vibe. The sensitivity is excellent; the volume is good if your surroundings are not too loud. THe range and lack of interference for this monitor however are much better than with the Graco vibe so it is worth the extra money. Also the Graco battery life is only 1-2 hour compared to 7-8hr with the Philips ("on"). I like the intercom feature for communicating between parents in a multi-level home. Also the lanyards (and belt clips) are a nice touch, and I like that the moniters charge in bases for easy drop off and pick up.

This monitor is absolutely fantastic. We live in a rambling house that's well over 4000 square feet, and have several acres of property as well. I believe the range of the monitor to be much more than the 900 feet claimed, as I have yet to go out of range while outdoors. The monitor does take some getting used to, and you DO have to read the directions before use (as you should with ANY product), but once you understand the machine it's simple as pie to use and does its job perfectly. Make sure to use rechargeable batteries ONLY, and charge the batteries and discharge them several times prior to use, as stated in the instructions. We have had zero issues with battery life because we followed the instructions.

For those people complaining about not being able to hear their kid, I suspect that they did not understand the way the sensitivity adjustment works--you change it on the handset itself by pressing Sensitivity and then using the volume + or - buttons to adjust it. We actually have to keep ours on 3 or 4 instead of all the way up, because it's so sensitive.

For the lady who complained that she didn't know her baby was awake because he didn't make enough noise: no monitor is going to alert you to a silent but awake kid! Count your blessings, LOL!