Change-Diapers received this product at no cost for review purposes. We were not otherwise compensated and all opinions are our own. I’ve never owned a video monitor but after playing with the Summer Infant Sharp View HD Video Monitor before passing it along to contributor Amii, I wish I had!
The monitor has 100% digital technology for privacy, and has a range of up to 600 feet. One feature I really love is that you can add up to 3 additional cameras and auto scan between rooms.
The 5 inch color LCD display has HD video, and the camera also has black & white night vision (automatic) for low light or dark rooms.
The package comes with a camera which allows you to move and zoom the camera remotely via the display unit and there is a soft glow nightlight at the base. The handheld display unit has a “kickstand” so you can set it down to view and it comes with rechargeable batteries. The unit has volume and brightness controls, as well as a visible LED light volume monitor. Menu settings allow you to set alerts for minimum and max temperatures, control additional cameras, turn video off but have it activate when sound is detected, and it even has 2-way communication. The package also includes instructions, camera mounting hardware and clips to secure the cord to the wall for safety.
When you continuously pan the camera it isn’t completely smooth; I noticed a bit of hesitation. Even so, the picture is quite good, the viewing range is impressive and really beats a stationery camera.
Amii loves the movement of the camera, the zoom feature and the image resolution. The temperature alert function is really helpful for her to monitor Oliver’s room. Since he’s a preemie that’s even more important to her than it would be to the parent of a typical newborn. The talk function is really neat and reminds her of a Walkie Talkie. She joked that she needs another by the fridge so she can tell her kids to say out of the string cheese & save room for dinner when she’s in the other room with Oliver. 😉
Amii thinks she could use one more volume notch to make it a tiny bit quieter, and since outlets are at a premium in Oliver’s room she could use a little more cord length to get it plugged in and also mounted where she needs it to be. She had a little bit of trouble turning on the voice activation (without it, the screen goes black after about a minute to conserve power and you have to manually turn video back on.) Once she realized that when the menu said “on” what it really meant was click to turn on, she didn’t have any trouble. (I didn’t try this feature myself.) Overall she’s very happy with the monitor!
See the monitor demonstrated below:
The Summer Infant Sharp View HD Video Monitor package retails for $289.99 at Babies R Us and additional cameras are $129.99 each.
Check out all of Summer Infant’s Video Monitors and keep up with Summer Infant on Facebook, @SummerInfant on Twitter, on Instagram, on Pinterest and on YouTube.
Have you used a video monitor? What do you think of this one?
Maria wants to live in a world where cloth diapers are the norm and moms can make parenting choices without judgement. When she’s not chasing her 18, 14 and 11-year old kids around, you might find her checking out the latest gadgets, organizing something (again) or exercising in the fresh air. 
