Monday, January 17, 2011 Levana BABYVIEW20 Interference Free Digital Wireless Video Baby Monitor with Night Light Lullaby Camera Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)When I got our first video monitor, I wondered if it would be useful, or just a gimmick, or one more way to worry about the baby!We've found it very useful.There are just some things that an audio monitor can't tell you. And being able to check on your child without the disturbance of going into her room can save a lot of trouble, especially in the transition times in the evening and in the morning, when little disturbances can lead to bigger ones.

The video was especially useful when our child was a little older and moving around more, and we had left her to settle herself - which sometimes can seem like crying herself to sleep! :-(We used the video monitor to see if she was just unsettled (so we very much did not want to go into the room, or she wouldn't learn to settle herself) or had gotten into a spot she couldn't get out of (stuck in the bars of the crib, or lost her lovey, so we needed to go in and set things right).Video monitors are also useful to see when a child is awake, and how awake - sitting, standing, lying down or trying to climb out of bed! - or on her way to sleep, or not.And they can be lots of fun, too, to watch and listen!

Our other monitor is analog, and once in a while we'd hear our neighbor talking on their cordless phone - which no doubt means they hear us sometimes!A digital monitor, like the Levana, should be private and static-free.

So, I really wanted to like this product.Plus, I really needed it when a new baby arrived.But while it has an attractive design and some interesting features, the Levana Babyview monitor doesn't seem especially workable or useful for us.

The main issue, of course, is the video and audio quality.Both are problematic on the Levana BabyView:

Video:The video quality seems barely adequate.The resolution on the baby's face is OK, but just.The frame rate seems too low - you don't get anything like continuous motion.Every several seconds, the video freezes.From time to time, it freezes for a much longer time.The video compression used results in a blocky, low resolution quality, though luckily that primarily affects low-contrast areas. Overall it's tolerable but not especially enjoyable to use, and lower quality most of the time than our analog monitor.

Audio:The audio had a persistent high pitched background whine when it was on.Also, it's apparently set to switch off and on at low volumes, so the audio is intermittent with lots of clicks, which is less than useful and more than irritating.The tiny microphone is in an odd location on the camera, it almost seems like an afterthought, perhaps that's part of the problem.Overall, much lower quality than our analog monitor.

Further, the user should be able to better control the audio - have a microphone that picks up even low level sounds, and have a volume control on the handset that you can adjust; then the user can decide what to hear.Good quality audio can add a lot of information to how the child is doing.You don't want to lose audio quality to get video - a monitor like this should have good quality audio and video.

Some aspects of the Babyview are well done:
- The design is fairly attractive and compact.(Handset is 5.8" H with the antenna x 1" deep without the clip x 2.5" wide.)
- The 2.3" screen is reasonably large.
- The auto-switching between regular light and night vision seems to happen quickly and effectively.
- The lithium ion battery in the handset is the best battery technology, in terms of power for the weight.(It's what's used in digital cameras and cell phones.)They claim over 4 hours of battery life.
- The power adapters work at US or international voltages.
- The included clamp for the camera is well made and seems likely to work well in a variety of setups.

Other features are good ideas that don't work well in practice:
- The voice activation feature, which leaves the screen and the sound off until it picks up some sound, helps conserve battery and perhaps parents' nerves and sleep.But it needs too much noise to switch on - it's either set to too low a level, or the microphone isn't sensitive enough.And again, this is something that the user should be able to adjust.
- The little curved base is clever, but doesn't work that well at the optimum focal range of 5 feet. When placed on a dresser next to the crib with the camera is tilted down enough to see the baby, the base blocks a big part of the image.In addition, when the camera is in the base, the camera starts to tilt due to the heavy filter on the power supply wire (a biggish black cylindrical part on the wire).So for both those reasons, the cute clever magnetic base isn't much use in practice.

Some of the features seem potentially nice but I'm not sure I'd use them - such as the nightlight and the music.I almost wonder if they added them to distinguish this product from their security cameras.

Finally, there are a couple elements of the design that aren't so great.Having a bright green power LED on the front of the camera is thoughtless on a baby monitor, though luckily it's easy enough to tape over (and there are so many lovely colors of electrical tape these days).And the glowing red night vision lights seem to have too much potential for distracting or even upsetting a child.

The wireless frequency is 2.4ghz, the same as wireless internet and some cordless phones.The Levana has enough channels (32, with auto signal hopping) that intereference shouldn't be a major problem, but I can't definitely evaluate that at this point.

The company's website is [...], though there's very little info there.Their parent company is SVAT Electronics, which makes security cameras and the like.So even though this is a new product from an unknown brand, they do have experience with this sort of thing.Perhaps their next generation of this product will have some of the wrinkles ironed out.

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Product Description:
There is nothing more important to you than your child's safety and security. You want to be with them day and night to know that they are safe at all times. But with so much to do around the house in an average day, you know that it isn't always possible. The BABYVIEW20 is Levana's easy-to-use video baby monitor that ensures you're always there for your loved one. This portable system allows you to watch over your child with a handheld monitor and be alerted whenever she makes a sound, even when the system is in standby mode. The night vision feature allows you to see your child when it's dark, and you can play comforting lullabies directly from the camera. The BABYVIEW20 is the perfect solution for every parent - now you can rest easy knowing your child is safe!