How to Choose Baby Monitors
If you have not shopped for a baby monitor before, then the vast array of devices available may overwhelm you at first. Some are battery-powered, some plug into any wall outlet, some receive more interference from other devices, and some even include a camera that transmits video to your smartphone. Keep this simple step-by-step guide handy to combat that overwhelming feeling. It can help you navigate your options, and choose the perfect baby monitor for your situation.
First: What do you need?
Do you only need an audio feed from a microphone to a transmitter a few feet away? Great, plenty of those are available, and they are inexpensive. If you need a video feed, do you only need to transmit the video to a TV in some other room of the house, or do you need to have the ability to check live video from your smartphone? This may cost a bit more, but give more peace of mind to an infant's parents.
Second: What other wireless devices do you use at home?
Find out what frequency other devices in your home use to transmit wirelessly, such as cordless telephones or wireless video game controllers. Choose a baby monitor that transmits in a different frequency from all of these if you can. This eliminates interference from other devices. Many manufacturers have produced monitors that use the 1.9-GHz frequency because it is not often used by other household devices. Other common frequencies available to consumers include 2.4 GHz, 49 MHz and 902 MHz.