VTech DM221 Audio Baby Monitor with up to 1,000 ft of Range, Vibrating Sound-Alert, Talk Back Intercom & Night Light Loop, White/Silver

This monitor replaced an older 49mhz analog baby monitor that we have had since our three year old was born. We still like to keep a monitor in his room just in case he wakes up before us or calls out in the night, which is rare. The old monitor was picking up interference quite a bit and was beginning to have problems, so it was time for an upgrade. This unit uses encrypted digital technology on the 1.9 GHz spectrum. Theoretically this should give increased range and eliminate any possibility of casual eavesdropping. Compared to the old monitor which had a single on/volume knob, this one is much more high tech. With that, however, comes a lot more settings that you have to (or get to) fiddle with. In addition to dedicated volume and power buttons, there are also menu and select buttons with which you can navigate an on screen menu of settings. This unit has a sensitivity setting, which is what Id call a digital squelch, a term from my old ham radio days. It lets you have complete silence until the signal breaks a certain threshold. Only then do you hear it over the speaker. This is disabled at its most sensitive setting. You can set a vibrating or audio alert to go off if the squelch is triggered. There is even a way to remotely trigger the nightlight LED on the base and a button to talk back to the child. This lets the unit function as a simple 2-way intercom, which is helpful for us in certain situations. There is no doubt that this is a full-featured baby monitor, or that it gives you a lot of value for your money. Each of these features works as advertised, and once you get it set up like you want it the menu and its settings arent that much of an issue. Even with the squelch on its second highest setting my bedside table has gotten a whole lot quieter thanks to its digital technology. However, I do wish that the transmitter unit had a battery backup that would allow for operation in a power outage or for easy placement during nap time. I also wish that the monitor had a back-lit screen or LED that let you know it was on. As it stands now, I have to turn on my bedside lamp to look for the word LINKED on the screen to make sure its on. My only caution here is that it may be a little bit much for a parent looking for a basic, reliable digital unit without all these literal bells and whistles. We have another digital unit made by Graco for our younger baby, and all it has is an on switch, volume buttons, and a physical vibrate switch. Theres no screen at all to fiddle with, and it has proven to be a reliable tool. If you are a technophile and want a value-priced device with intercom features, however, this unit hits the sweet spot. In my opinion, its silence and intercom more than overcome its minor shortcomings.

The baby monitor allows me to head my child for almost a block away. It has great sound quality but the second unit has to be charged everyday.

Gift

I am hearing impaired and wear hearing aids so I really needed an audio monitor that I could hear. Once I take out my hearing aids I can still hear my granddaughter if she wakes up and cries during the night. This is a great monitor. I am very happy with my purchase

Just buy it, you know you will use it. We also have a camera but this helps with sound since the camera isnt the best running all the time.

Good

We originally registered for a video monitor for our nursery and got it, but once the baby came, we realized it was really inconvenient not to have a monitor in our bedroom since he was sleeping in there in his bassinet. We also found ourselves needing a monitor when we went to our families lake house and wanted to sit on the patio after putting him to bed in our bedroom. These monitors are fantastic. The baby monitor has to be plugged in, but the parent monitor does not. It has chargeable batteries. My mom had an older model from vtech and the parent monitor has to be plugged in too. We love that the parent monitor is able to be charged and portable. It creates so much more flexibility. I find myself putting my ear to the monitor to make sure it is still working even though it is linked, but every time Im linked and realize what a great feature it is, they dont make the background noice like a sleep machine loud on the parent monitor, it only reacts when a loud noice happens like the baby moves or cries out which makes trying to hold a conversation so much easier. I would highly recommend these monitors. IT has been key while our 4 month old continues to sleep in our room and any trip they are the first thing we pack into the diaper bag. Hope you enjoy them as much as we have!

Only the receiver unit, not the baby unit is battery powered. They should have made both battery powered. Finding a plug every time is a hassle.

This monitor works great. We use the medium vox setting and its the perfect amount of noise activation for us - the white noise machine and other background noises dont trigger it but even a soft cry will. Sound quality is solid, battery life is good. If you dont need video (and for infants weve found we really dont), theres no reason to buy anything more expensive.

This is the perfect monitor that I needed for my Mom. She lives with me now, and I am her care giver. A monitor with a camera would be out of the question. She is 85 yrs old, and has fallen 4 times since living with me. The last time she fell she was screaming for help a couple of hours before I heard her. I bought her a Ive fallen and cant get up device, but she takes it off at night. We also use walkie talkies during the day, but if it is out of reach when she falls, that dont work. One time when she fell, my Hero Dog came and got me right away, but the dog prefers to be outside most of the time, so I cant count on that. Ive never used it while unplugged, so I cant say how good it is on battery power. I really like the push to talk button on my end, my Mom can talk to me without the need to push a button, and I can hear whats going on in her room at night. The sound quality is not superb, but it is loud enough to wake me if she has a problem. One reviewer said he uses this device to monitor his goats, so we call it the goat monitor.