We’re taking a look at the popular CasaCam BM200 baby monitor and whether it could be right for you. For us, it’s one of the best video baby monitors out there.
Keeping your little one safe is the most important thing for any parent. Nighttime and naptime can be worrying as we have to leave them in another room, sometimes in another part of the home. It’s a great time to get on with other things, but how can we do both, always making sure that baby’s okay?
A baby monitor can provide this peace of mind by being your eyes and ears in your baby’s room. But they aren’t just about knowing when he or she is crying. Today you can see what’s going on in their room, check how much they’re moving and even soothe from afar.
Audio baby monitors don’t tell you anything apart from the sounds in the room. Other noises can interfere, and you can’t know the cause of the crying. For example, your baby might be uncomfortable or hot, which you can’t see on an audio-only monitor. Audiovisual monitors give you a picture of what’s happening and how your baby sleeps.
Let’s check out some of the different types of baby monitors and how they work.
Types Of Baby Monitors
There are two main types of baby monitors:
- Audio – sound only
- Audio/video – sound and pictures
What you’ll go for depends on your needs. If your baby is relatively calm when sleeping or your house is smaller, audio-only might be fine. If you’d prefer to check what’s going on in the room as well as a host of other features, consider a combined audio/video model.
There are also less common health-tracking monitors which can check heartbeat, movement and oxygen levels. However, these are usually for babies with specific health conditions. Unless you really need one they may make you worry and obsess more by introducing new elements you don’t need to monitor.
All baby monitors operate within a radio frequency band to send sound from a transmitter to a receiver. The transmitter will pick up sounds and pictures in your baby’s room and the receiver allows you to see and hear them where you are.
This means that other devices can interfere with the signal. Certainly with other wireless analog models but even some you’d consider digital. These include Bluetooth devices, other monitors and even microwaves! Older cordless phones at 2.4GHz are also a common culprit.
Digital Enhanced Cordless Technology (DECT) ensures an encoded, dedicated connection which can’t be interfered with, so look for this when choosing.
As all of these types of baby monitors have basic components in common. Here are some of the features to look out for and why they could be important to your buying decision:
- Frequency band: 1.9GHz is desirable as it gets around the interference of most other devices. It uses DECT and has been reserved for voice-only applications the Federal Communications Commission.
- Power: is the device battery, cord powered or rechargeable as well? Consider where it’s going to be in your home and whether you’ll want to move it around. If the power source differs between transmitter and receiver think about whether one part is ok to be more stationary or not. Also look for a battery level indicator if you’re a heavy user.
- Receiver: particularly if choosing a video device, consider screen size, color quality, portability and brightness control. How clearly do you need to see the room and where and when are you going to be checking?
- Night vision: this seems obvious if the camera needs to pick up movement at night, but it isn’t always present. Auto-switch mode is also useful if your baby sleeps across day and night. You don’t need to go in and disturb by switching the camera mode.
- Temperature sensor: it’s a handy extra feature which can affect your baby’s sleep. Crack a window, get an extra blanket or turn on the heating.
- Motion and sound sensors: some of these clever cameras can filter out the “normal” range of sound and only turn on and alert you when needed. This also increases battery life.
- Volume and light alerts: the quality, range and adjustability of these notifications are important if you’re going to need the monitor in a variety of situations. For instance, light alerts for a noisy receiving room.
- Range: depending on the size of your space, consider the maximum distance at which the monitor will work. Some devices will alert you as you approach maximum range so you don’t move to a place where it doesn’t work.
In addition to the basics, some nice and useful extras offered by the best video baby monitors are:
- an extra receiver for another caregiver or if one’s charging
- expandability to receive pictures from other cameras or rooms
- connectivity to other screens like a TV or computer monitor
CasaCam BM200 Baby Monitor
The CasaCam BM200 baby monitor is a great option which covers many of these useful and time-saving features.
Here are the main benefits of this video baby monitor:
- 5-inch portable LCD screen
- Supports up to 4 cameras and has a single or quad display
- Six language options
- Nightlight
- Rechargeable battery and power-save mode
- Digital wireless range up to 900ft
- Wall bracket
- Pan and tilt camera with remote adjust
- Zoom function
- Auto-switch night vision
- Sound trigger
- Lullabies
- Temperature monitor
- Two-way audio
- 100-day warranty and tech support, with guarantee up to one year to cover malfunctions
There are some particular features which make this one of the best video baby monitors. We love the nightlight and lullaby – they’re such a useful way to soothe remotely. It means that you don’t always have to enter the room potentially make your baby think it’s no longer sleep time. The two-way audio is also a great way to do this.
Being able to move and tilt the camera remotely is also a huge plus. The scope is 110-270 degree turns. If there’s a lot of movement you can look around the room or check where a noise is coming from.
CasaCam BM200 Reviews
But what do the most important people think? Mothers love the CasaCam BM200 baby monitor for its ease of use and the range of control functions.
Users praised the large screen and remote camera control, highlighting the ability to tilt remotely and 2x zoom. It’s great for seeing what’s going on regardless of where in the room or the time of day.
That always-helpful auto-switch night vision is also a favorite along with the nightlight, thermometer and lullabies.
Touchscreens are responsive and the device charges quickly. There’s also free cloud storage of the footage and no subscription fees. This is great if you want to check the development of specific behavior over time and isn’t an element a lot of consumers think about.
Overall, it’s the ability to just get going, with the CasaCam instructions clear and minimal setup and fuss, which users love.
In our opinion, it’s the best baby monitor for the money.
Read more CasaCam BM200 reviews here.
Where To Buy Baby Monitors
When looking for where to buy baby monitors, start by deciding which kind of monitor you want to buy.
Think about your baby’s routine and temperament and how much time and money you can actually dedicate to this device. A monitor should ease your mind and make life easier, not be a constant source of more worries.
A big consideration should be other devices in your home and what frequencies they’re on to minimize disruption. Some monitors have a channel-change function.
Your lifestyle and the size of your home is very important. Do you make a lot of calls and have constant noise in the rest of your home? Or is your house small with not much space between baby’s room and where you usually are?
Crucially, read lots of reviews. As we’ve said, real-life mothers are the experts and they know what really works and doesn’t. But again, don’t get swayed. If your home is small and you just need a simple alert, don’t set up the pentagon in your family room!
In general, look for quality – read trusted reviews of the retailer as well. Check prices from a variety of sources to make sure that you’re getting the best deal. The other element to a quality retailer is their return policy and warranty separate to the manufacturers.
What’s the verdict on the CasaCam BM200 baby monitor?
This is a great, mid-range audio/video baby monitor. It offers a variety of features which are specially catered to those looking for superior video control and options.
The remote lullaby, temperature and auto-switch night vision are perfect for those that want to stay in control without disturbing baby.
Have a further look at this and some of our other favorite baby monitors on the market.
What do you look for in a baby monitor?
Tell us in the comments below!
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