reviews on amazon 3/5:

http://www.amazon.com/Motorola-Digital-Video-Monitor-Screen/product-reviews/B004VL2VS8/

A friend bought this last time it was available. It's an ok monitor for the price but the viewing range of the camera and the night vision are horrible. Placing the camera all the way across the room still won't allow it to see the whole length of the crib and you'd be hard pressed to tell it was a crib at all.

Oh, I see Mandy the Mannequin appearing in the monitor screen so she can rob me of sleep again.

Well Woot two can play this game!

p.s. Enjoy your lack of sleep tonight...

I read the reviews on amazon....they were not good at all.....think I will be skipping this "deal"

Bought this 9 months or so ago. Great for my sneaky 2 year old that likes to get out of bed at bed time. After realizing that we somehow see her through that magical thing we set on her dresser, she spends more time staring into it than trying to escape her bed! Thank goodness she looks nothing like the model on here, I'd be trying to escape my bed from the nightmares I'd be having!
Not a crystal clear picture, but you can see enough, sound quality is great and the ability to talk back is fantastic for "GET BACK IN BED!" Would definitely buy again and recommend!

With a little one on the way, I'll happily take this over a fully featured monitor at 4x the price.

Oh boy! A previous woot:

March 2, 2012:
http://kids.woot.com/Forums/ViewPost.aspx?PostID=4891289

Another previous woot:
http://kids.woot.com/Forums/ViewPost.aspx?PostID=4662992

My previous comments included:

froogled

I can't transfer the long set of previous comments I collected easily, so:
http://kids.woot.com/forums/viewpost.aspx?postid=4768326

Not so happy reviews at mothercare:

http://www.mothercare.com/Motorola-MBP20-Digital-Video-Monitor/dp/B005LCYX9G

Others had mixed reivews about picture quality, customer service, etc., including

anja3000 wrote:An Honest Review:

I bought one of these the last time around (before the last woot-off), and I will say first and foremost, this was the bet purchase in baby monitoring we have ever made!

The Good:
-The quality of the screen, dispite what the Amazon reviews state, is actually very good, along with screen size!
-The two-way communications is great for some late night shushing
-We have at least 20 wireless devices, from PS3/Xbox 360 to numerous computers, with multiple wireless routers and networks on 802.11g/n, and we have never had a communication/range issue
-We have had the video unit outside the house, at least 75 feet from the base, and it prforms flawlessly
-It comes with everything you need, and the base of the camera mounts nicely to any wall using a screw or two

The Bad:
-With the video on, the video unit only lasts ~2.5 hours, which is definetly long enough for any responsible parent
-With the audio on, the video unit seems to last for ~18 hours, after 3 months of use
-There is NO WAY to restart the music remotely
-No zoom on camera
-No way to mount base to crib (although you would not want cords in a crib anyway)
-The camera moves easily on the base, so kind of a pain when hitting the play button and getting the F out of the room



Overall, this is a MUST BUY for the price, and is absolutely amazing!

Now woot needs to sell the next few models Motorola has made since (with zoom, and remote music playing, and the wifi models), and all would be perfect!

And

eno45 wrote:We are expecting our 2nd in March. I bought a video baby monitor from Woot back in 2009 for $105 and it was hands down one of the very best parent gadgets to own. When she is napping I could actually get stuff done, head out to the garage, rack some leaves all while keeping a very close eye on her.

This time around I decided to look into IP cameras so I could hopefully monitor from one of my many PC's in the home and hopefully my Ipod touch & Ipad.

I ended up buying a Trendnet TV-IP121WN and it works well from within Internet Explorer to view the camera. Now what really made it a good working baby monitor was using the Ipod & Ipad combined with "LiveCams Pro" app ($2.99). (there are other cameras that actually support baby monitor software so search for the apps before buying a camera)

I almost returned the camera since I realized there are cameras like Foscom 8919 that you can buy deditcated software for. I read plenty of reviews stating how poor quality the cameras are so I just stuck with the 3yr warranty Trendnet and turns out this works very well w/ the Ipad/Ipod/Iphone.

The sensitivity can be set for audio so the audio only kicks in when she makes a noise or wakes up and the screen doesn't auto pop on like it does on my baby monitor but I can still hear the audio and manually turn on the screen if desired. This actually turned out to be much nicer then the screen lighting up the room at night, now I just hear her and I can choose to turn the screen on.

I think I will buy a 2nd camera so I can easily toggle between them within the Livecam Pro software. I can monitor away from home even, and when they grow up these will be moved out of baby cam duty and put on home monitoring duty. The night vision works great for within their apprx 15x15ft rooms.

Sorry for the long post just wanted to share what I figured out and actually works well for an IP baby monitor camera. Last the Livecam Pro software supports a ton of cameras. You might look into the Foscam 8919 since you can buy $10 apps that have more baby specific features. I just wasn't impressed with the customer service and longevity reviews I read so I ended up keeping my Trendnet.

Welcome to shoot me an email at enoeno45 at yahoo dot com and I could answer some quick and basic questions about this option.

and when I quoted metallady above, her response:

metallady wrote:You quoted my review, I am metallady. I am sitting here online looking for…a new baby monitor! I gave it 5 stars but that is going to change. I have the monitor sitting on my side and have been looking on Amazon for about an hour for something else. Sadly, the monitor does not hold a charge. The page on Amazon states 2 hours. I usually keep mine plugged in but it will not stay charged longer than 30 mins. I have not owned it a month even. You have to have it plugged in all the time. I work for a few hours after my daughter goes to bed and need one to last for a couple of hours, this does not. I pulled out the book and sadly it does not state how long the charge is, nor does it state why the charging light never turns off of red. I loved it at first but it is going back. I need to be able to carry it around if needed and for only 30 minutes, that will not work.

metallady
Alison

last thing: since it's $10 cheaper tonight at $49.99, than March, you can buy this:





Option to purchase Mandy(several out there):
http://www.mannequinmannequins.com/servlet/the-308/Female-Mannequin-Head/Detail

Bye
P.S. Bluejester got to bring his scream back, I brought Mandy back. Neither of us will sleep now.

Wow, this is a great deal for a video monitor. We've always used one in conjuction with a sound monitor and it was so easy to check when the babies fussed without having to go into the nursery. Everyone got a good night's sleep thanks to the video monitor!

And now that they're toddlers, we still use it just to see what kind of shenanigans they get into during "nap time". It only took a few times of "we saw what you were doing instead of sleeping...!" before they believed we were watching ALL the time.

I have this and finally using it right for our child. I would look to buy another one. This unit is junk. Wish they made a way to clip the camera to the crib. The battery life sucks and the sounds of the button are so annoying. I was about to smash it the other night, but my anger management class kicked in high gear.

I have this same unit from a previous woot and I have to say that this is a terrible video baby monitor. Night vision is probably the most important feature of a baby monitor, and the night vision on this monitor is a joke. To have any hope of a discernible picture, you must mount the camera extremely close, within 3-4 feet of the baby. But from that distance you cannot view the entire crib, as the camera has a very narrow field of view.
I just use it as an audio monitor. Oh well. Buyer beware.

One of my top five recommended items is a VIDEO baby monitor. The peace of mind that your new baby is sleeping properly without having to walk down the hall each time you feel like a quick check is priceless. Remember you will be VERY tired and it benefits your child that you be well rested so whatever can help give you the edge on sleep helps that much more.
I have bought two different video baby monitors now from Woot. The first one was a Firsl Alert brand that I really liked at $105, descent screen, auto screen enable with noise, remote music launch. Strong night mode. This Motorola model I bought less than a year ago. I don't like this one nearly as much.
The good, 2 way voice and room temp. The bad, terrible screen, very small field of view, very poor night mode, no auto screen enable when child makes a noise.
The main concern with this model is the very poor video quality. I remember reading another persons review saying the screen was like a postage stamp and the narrow field of view. You have to set it back further than normal to get the entire area in frame but then have poor quality at that distance and poor IR blasters night vision.
We decided to use the much better First ALert for our 2nd child once he goes to his own crib and use this Motorola for the now 3yr old since video isn't as important. The 2way audio feature is nice to be able to talk to the 3yr old.
My recommendation is to NOT waste money on a cheap monitor like this. Video monitor is one vital piece of baby gear, get one with a good screen that works really well at night. You will get so much use out of it and even as they grow, now you can actually get house work done or work on the yard while the child naps as long as you have good audio/video of them. Spend more money, get a quality model. TRUST ME!

Poor video quality. Video monitors are a very useful tool. Save money in another area and shop for a higher end model.

A tip to other parents out there. My daughter was starting to take her pajamas off in her crib which could sometimes mean a mess to clean up. Super simple solution is to put their jamas on backwards. As long as they are a little baggy the legs have no problem rotating once. Their neck line is a hair higher but o well. Jamas stay on, and less hassle for us. Remember to make it a cool thing for them to do, not as a punishment. My little girl just thinks I am being silly and I don't tell her it's to keep her from getting out of them. Zipper in the back, no way to take em off.
Another tip is place a towel on the side of the tub with the excess portion out of the tub. Place child facing away from you on the towel, pull up the remaining towel over the top of them and now you have a quick and grippy way to pick up wet child. They stay warm in towel and you have less chance of dropping that slippery fish of a child. Good luck!

eno45 wrote:One of my top five recommended items is a VIDEO baby monitor. The peace of mind that your new baby is sleeping properly without having to walk down the hall each time you feel like a quick check is priceless. Remember you will be VERY tired and it benefits your child that you be well rested so whatever can help give you the edge on sleep helps that much more.
I have bought two different video baby monitors now from Woot. The first one was a Firsl Alert brand that I really liked at $105, descent screen, auto screen enable with noise, remote music launch. Strong night mode. This Motorola model I bought less than a year ago. I don't like this one nearly as much.
The good, 2 way voice and room temp. The bad, terrible screen, very small field of view, very poor night mode, no auto screen enable when child makes a noise.
The main concern with this model is the very poor video quality. I remember reading another persons review saying the screen was like a postage stamp and the narrow field of view. You have to set it back further than normal to get the entire area in frame but then have poor quality at that distance and poor IR blasters night vision.
We decided to use the much better First ALert for our 2nd child once he goes to his own crib and use this Motorola for the now 3yr old since video isn't as important. The 2way audio feature is nice to be able to talk to the 3yr old.
My recommendation is to NOT waste money on a cheap monitor like this. Video monitor is one vital piece of baby gear, get one with a good screen that works really well at night. You will get so much use out of it and even as they grow, now you can actually get house work done or work on the yard while the child naps as long as you have good audio/video of them. Spend more money, get a quality model. TRUST ME!

I think you were recalling this from October:

(expletive deleted)odBoy wrote:Got ours and tried setting it up tonight.

We put it on a chest next to the crib and only see about 20% of the crib.

I hold it up above my head (I'm 6'1") above the crib and can see about 60% of the crib.

We tried putting it on the wall across the room, but then we can't aim the camera effectively to see the crib at all... we even tried rotating the base 90 degrees to be able to go up and down by rotating the camera on the post.

It seems like the camera is too 'zoomed in' to be able to see a normal sized crib at a reasonable distance. I don't mind the postage stamp sized picture, but I can't stand not being able to see the whole crib. Is anyone else having problems like this?

Tony

Good night.

whatsamattaU wrote:Good night.

I've been meaning to thank you for all your contributions for several months now. I'm equally grateful for the posts of support you've given me in response to people who are inappropriately insulting. Soooo .... thank you!

And have a good weekend!

Picked one of these up at a previous Woot. Monitor worked for all of 5 minutes and then flat out died. Motorola customer service is non-existent. Took 3 days just to get in touch with someone as they don't answer the phone. They promised to call back several times and never followed through. Was unable to get a repair/replace through them, and had to get a refund from Woot. Only buy this if you truly don't care to be able to get customer service if it doesn't work - as you won't be able to get service of any kind from the manufacturer.

We have this and it's awesome!

Bought this a few months ago and it's average at best. The battery life is terrible, you'll need to have it plugged in at night or it will die on you. If your little bugger moves a lot then he/she will be out of frame since it's not a real wide camera shot. The mic and talkback feature work well. The night-vision is adequate, I'm not lookin for 1080p on that, just enough to make sure the baby is alive and moving. For $50 it's not the worst deal ever, but I'd probably spend more money on a better monitor

Will this work with my analog baby?

Bought this last time. Here's what I think after a few months of use:

Cons -
The video stinks at night. It isn't much better during the day. We placed it camera in the same spot as two previous monitors... we see NOTHING at night and a fuzzy picture during the day. I wouldn't use this with an infant!

The "music" option sounds like a midi file.

Pros - The talk back feature is very, very handy! The audio is clear on both ends.

The battery life of the handset is pretty good, though we usually just keep it plugged in during use.

I'd recommend this for people looking to monitor someone over 1 1/2 or 2... you'll benefit from the talk back option.

Do not buy if you REALLY want video, because it is pretty useless on that note!!!!

I bought these monitors and quickly returned them. I read the reviews on Amazon (which is not where I bought them) and it sounded great so I bought two of the monitors. I received them and couldn't see a single thing when it was dark in my kids' bedrooms. Nothing. I even called Motorola Customer Support to discuss it to see if we were doing something wrong, but we were doing everything right. I went back to the reviews on Amazon and realized the title and narrative description of the product seem to be this monitor, but comments made reference to specs that were for a different monitor. We returned the monitors without once being able to use them.

Why by a dedicated video monitor when you can buy a wifi / network enabled monitor? It will allow you to view your child from any device both on your home network (laptop / smartphone) or while at work or on date night. I recommend that for $20-40 more buy a better mouse trap.

Great for the price. We paid more last time it was listed. We've used it since starting at 8 weeks and now the baby is 5 months old. Night vision isn't the greatest, as listed on reviews but it works, I don't watch the video all night long, just take a peek from time to time. Camera is set above crib, fairly close. Not good from across the room. I don't actually leave the screen on any more because it would glow so bright in the bedroom, and the speaker is loud and clear. I would recommend this product. Battery life when screen is on is short, but that's expected. Can turn off the screen to save battery, and just use sound. Overall satisfied customer!!

I don't have a digital baby, just an analog one. Will this still work or is it like the whole PC/Mac thing?

Ok I bought this on the last round. Sound quality is great. Funtions are great. even has a digital lullaby it plays. VIDEO IS AWFUL. CANNOT SEE ANYTHING AT NIGHT. Daytime not bad/not great. Its dissapointing because the main reason you buy is the worst part.

I bought this the last time around and was very disappointed. The video quality is BAD and the monitor is ridiculously small to the point of uselessness. I actually wrote to Motorola expressing my disappointment that would make such a bad quality product. Yes this is cheap but you get what you pay for. I would highly recommend paying a little more for a monitor that will actually be useful.

Several people have said the sound quality is great which is true, but it's worth noting that the volume is very low. There is a feature which mutes unless a volume change is detected, which is a great idea, but unless the room you are listening from is otherwise quiet, you won't be able to hear anything. (We use a secondary audio-only monitor to solve this problem.)

Purchased this a few woots ago, and have been pretty happy with the results. We've found the night vision just fine, but we can put the camera pretty close as we only have a 7 week old. The battery life on the handset stinks, but since our child only sleeps 2-4 hours at a time it's not an issue for us. The range is good, we have a 3 floor townhouse, and since we've had the unit (6 months now) it's worked perfectly.

Really no complaints as long as the charger is near for the handset. Otherwise we're very happy with our purchase. The unit works very well (although it seems like our experience is not the norm) and we're very happy with the purchase!

Can't decide if I should buy or not...what is Woot's return policy?

ytsimgirl wrote:Can't decide if I should buy or not...what is Woot's return policy?

We're glad you asked!
If you buy something you don't end up liking or you have what marketing people call "buyer's remorse," sell it on Craigslist or at a garage sale. It's likely you'll make money doing this and save everyone a hassle.

Now if it shows up entirely busted or broken, or not at all, that's a service@woot.com issue.

MAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANDYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!

SO creepy that photo on the monitor...scary creppy

This thing is worthless. It focuses on about a 1'x1' area at 15 feet. You can't change the focus at all. I can't believe they ever manufactured these things. Complete waste of money.

sdc100 wrote:I've been meaning to thank you for all your contributions for several months now. I'm equally grateful for the posts of support you've given me in response to people who are inappropriately insulting. Soooo .... thank you!

And have a good weekend!

You're welcome. We don't all have to agree, and we're not right all the time (I'm certainly not), but respect others and be ready to back up your arguments is all I ask for, and you certainly do that. If people want good contributors to stay, they need to make sure the good contributors aren't rejected by spite. I appreciate your contributions, too. I'm going to try to get some work done to enjoy at least some of the weekend--the estate stuff kicks in again in a week, but I've been able to get back here and help out for now. Take care.

calebmitchell wrote:MAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANDYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!

They weren't lying. The viewing range is very narrow, but the unit seems to work well. The night vision is very Blair witch.
Woot only took 22 days to ship it to me..from TX to CA.

yzingerr wrote:They weren't lying. The viewing range is very narrow, but the unit seems to work well. The night vision is very Blair witch.
Woot only took 22 days to ship it to me..from TX to CA.

I was just coming to see if anyone had received their monitor yet. I'm in Ohio and don't have it yet - and the tracking info is a joke.

mlbrady03 wrote:I was just coming to see if anyone had received their monitor yet. I'm in Ohio and don't have it yet - and the tracking info is a joke.

looks like the tracking number info is moving along. might have needed time to update, but it is all there now.