Analog And Digital Baby Monitor Types

Advocates of the baby monitor say that these systems allow parents to better meet the needs of their children, as they can see or hear everything that's going on even when they're out of the room. Special devices placed beneath the crib mattress can even track body movement to alert parents of any abnormal activity or Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.

However, critics claim that even the best baby monitors only provide a false sense of security and have not been scientifically proven to benefit babies or parents. It all boils down to parental preference about whether they want to "spy" on their infants or not.

Analog and digital are the two main baby monitor types. Analog monitors transmit signals straight across a frequency band, much like a radio, whereas digital monitors encode the signal prior to transmission for greater privacy. Generally speaking, the digital variety are top-rated, although there's no guarantee that interference can be completely prevented.

Even video monitors can fall prey to interference, particularly from microwave ovens, so it's buyer beware for many of these products. It's important, then, that parents check the warranty policy to ensure they can get their money back or exchange the monitor system, if need be.

There are many different brands of baby monitor systems available today, with some of the most popular being Graco, Philips and Summer Infant. The Philips SCD 589 ($200) has a ton of features and has had many positive reviews, where customers say they suffered no interference.

The Graco iMonitor ($90) has two parent receivers and is also rated good for reception. Similarly, the Summer Infant Secure Sounds ($50) offers a lot of privacy, without all the special features of the more expensive Philips baby monitors.

For pet owners, the Evenflo WhisperConnect Sensa ($50) will detect motion around the baby's crib to alert parents when the cat or dog is nosing around the crib. The high-tech Mobicam ($190) lets parents tape their video monitoring or watch the videos on the TV screen.

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