There are now many types available and this article summarizes technology available and what a buyer should look for.

Baby Monitor Buyers Guide

What is a baby monitor & why do I need one?

It might seem like an obvious question these days, but baby monitors are a relatively new innovation. At most basic

level they give parent freedom from keeping a constant vigil at their baby's bedside (cot-side or Moses basket-side!). A baby monitor normally consists of a transmitter and a receiver unit. The transmitter is placed near baby and

parent keeps receiver unit. This way parent can hear instantly if their baby needs reassurance while doing other

things around house - or maybe catching up on some well needed rest!

Baby Monitor Types

Baby monitors now fall into three main categories. There are traditional audio baby monitors. These alert parent if

the baby starts to cry or seems restless or uncomfortable. Audio/visual baby monitors take this a step further by letting

the parent see and hear their baby. These consist of a camera unit with a microphone and a receiver unit with a TV screen

and speaker.

Lastly, there are sensor baby monitors (also called respiratory baby monitors). These offer peace of mind by immediately

alerting parent if their baby's breathing becomes significantly uneven or even stops completely.

Audio Baby Monitors

Audio baby monitors fall into two further types: analogue and digital. Analogue baby monitors traditionally were subject to

lots of interference from other household items that gave off a wireless signal. While this still can be true of cheaper

analogue monitors, today most have more than one channel enabling you to select one that is interference free and

incorporate technology that lessens outside interferences such as Philips Cordless Babysitter.

To guarantee an interference transmission and reception you will need a digital baby monitor. Remember that a baby monitor

is essentially a radio transmitter and receiver and digital radio (should you have one!) is superior to normal radio

reception. The higher-end digital baby monitors use something called DECT technology. This technology came from digital

walkabout phones and stands for Digital Enhanced Cordless Technology.

DECT monitors will select a channel automatically from 120 channels and often encrypt channels to stop any

eavesdropping. Because of this technology these monitors are normally more expensive, but (like Philips Digital Baby

Monitor and BT Digital Monitors) they guarantee interference free transmission and often come with several useful extra

features: