Infant Optics DXR-8 480p Video Baby Monitor, Non-WiFi Hack-Proof FHSS Connection, Interchangeable Lenses, Pan Tilt Zoom, LED Sound Bar, Night Vision, and Two-way Talk, low battery

I did a lot of research before making this purchase. We just had our first child in January. We wanted something that would give us a quality image with temperature monitoring. Of the monitors out there, it seemed that various models had something I wanted--but not the whole package. I loved the idea of a Nest Cam because of the superior video quality; however, it does not pan or tilt, and it does not display temperature. The iBaby series monitors came with stellar screen resolution (on the higher models), yet many complained about connectivity--especially when trying to stream 1080p video. Various monitors had this and that problem. None really seemed to be excellent in all or most areas. And then I had to decide on whether I wanted a wi-fi monitor or a closed-system monitor. In the end, I liked the reviews I read for this monitor. What stood out the most to me was ease of use and consistency of connectivity. Now that we own and use this monitor, I can agree that it is VERY easy to use and stays connected without issue. It was easy to setup--I could have done it without instructions it was so common-sense. And since it is a closed-network system, there were no potential wi-fi issues to worry about. The range of the camera's ability to pan and tilt is HUGE!!! I could not believe how much of the room I could view while moving the camera about using the arrows on the parental unit. So cool! What I would also love to see: - I would love to see this come in a higher resolution. The current screen resolution is more than adequate. I just happen to be a gear junkie and would love an HD screen. This is not a deal-breaker at all. I am just being picky. The option to have the higher resolution would be cool but certainly the lack of it does not take away from the excellence of the current product. - Is there a way to have alarms that correspond to temperature? Maybe this is already available, and I just overlooked it. If not, it would be a great feature to be able to be alerted to temperature swings outside of a preset range determined by the user. (Perhaps include a temperature guide for safe sleeping by the American Academy of Pediatrics?) - While I understand this intentionally is a closed-system, would it be possible to produce an app should the user decide to connect via wi-fi? Again, not a deal-breaker because I bought this knowing it wasn't wifi compatible. But again, for techies like me, options are always a good thing. The ability to decide whether to use open or closed connectivity would be really cool. (Make both options available in the same model--not two separate unit style.) In summary, none of the above points are problems. They are merely suggestions for future models. This is a great baby monitor, and I absolutely love it thus far. Thank you!

We've been using this product for a little over 4 months for our LO and it has been pretty perfect for our needs. We did shop around a bit to look for a possible wireless option afterwards, but ultimately ended up sticking with Infant Optics and purchased an add-on camera so we could cover both the baby room and our room. Thought we had a battery issue at one point, but that was quickly resolved by checking the battery and seeing that the cable had somehow come unplugged. Picture quality is great, love the features. Really the only thing I would love as an extra feature would be the ability to have a second monitor - I've been hogging the one monitor and I know my wife would love to have one also. When she demands it, she'll get it - but that will leave me without one! ------------- *update* We've been using the DXR-8 for over a year now and it's been the perfect solution for us. We've come to expect all of these features as standard, and recently even tried a different brand and found it lacking several of the features we assumed would be standard such as camera movement and temperature gauge. Anyway, I contacted customer support because we were thinking ahead to our next child (not even pregnant yet) - I worded my email in a way that merely said our existing unit was "starting to show some effects of use"...nothing terrible, just that we've had it over a year and wanted to see what it would take to purchase another monitor because currently amazon only offers the combo of monitor/camera and we already have three cameras for it. So in theory we should just be able to buy another monitor for a cheaper price. Anyway, customer service immediately asks what I meant by "starting to show some effects of use". I explain that I had dropped the unit recently and the antenna had popped out a little, didn't think it affect the functionality. The camera is working - but every so often it would pop an "out of range" kind of message. Usually normal when we're in the basement but it happened a few times recently while in the room directly below the camera. Long story short, customer support said we were just out of warranty service period, but that they understood our issues and would be willing to send us a warranty replacement. They detailed the process - which involves us sending back the unit first. This was the only tricky part because we'd have to find a temporary solution in the meantime since we only have one monitor at the moment. We gave it a couple days to find a temporary solution then mailed the unit back. I just got word that they're 2-day shipping the replacement to us. And, again, after using the temporary solution we're finding out just how much we appreciate all the features on the DXR-8 unit. I couldn't be happier with it. We'll probably still buy a second unit to have two monitors going for two kids (they detailed an option to buy just a monitor for half price of the amazon combo with a 50% discount coupon they would send us). Highly recommend this product and this company!

We have been using the Infant Optics DXR-8 video monitor for 1 year now and felt we could now give an accurate review. If you're in a hurry, the summary of this review is that this camera and monitor are great and the customer service provided by the company is outstanding (see below). So stop hunting and trying to weigh all the baby camera/monitor reviews and get this camera and monitor if it provides you with all the features you want. You really aren't going to find anything better. We initially purchased this camera and monitor after spending way too much time pouring over all the options available to us, trying to find the BEST camera and monitor for our new baby. Our main concerns were getting a good camera with quality night imaging, good sound and an easily viewable monitor. We also felt we didn't want a system that sent our image feed off to some remote server where it would be stored for some period of time for whatever analytics that the company performed. The Infant Optics DXR-8 fulfilled all our wishes. Set-up: Setting up the monitor and camera was easy. We followed the directions and had no issues at all pairing the camera and monitor. The camera was actually very light and we hung it up on the wall so it could capture the entire inside of the crib. Again, it was very easy. USE: The monitor had a clear picture in day light and more importantly, at night. The monitors range was sufficient for us and we had no problems even after we moved baby out of our room and into her own as our rooms were on different floors. The monitor always worked great and we could always see the baby when we wanted. The controls on the monitor were easy to use and the buttons were large enough to use in the middle of the night with no light or light from monitor alone. We appreciated the simplicity, particularly when sleep deprived. In terms of battery life for the monitor, we had no issues once we figured out our schedule. We used it pretty much throughout the day unplugged and kept it plugged in overnight night by our bed, pretty much like our phones. Occasionally we ran out of battery but not frequently enough where we thought there was something wrong. It was all we could ask for. Customer Service: Now for the best part. Coming up on a year of use, the power button on the monitor began to stick. We started having issues turning the monitor on and off and putting it to sleep. It got to the point where the monitor turned on and off by itself sporadically which was problematic at night. We wrote an email to Infant Optics explaining the situation and hoping for a repair or replacement. We received a response on the very same day we wrote (Sunday!) explaining that a replacement monitor would be easiest. So we sent the monitor back through the mail and sent them a picture of the package and the receipt. Given this proof, they were able to send out our replacement before they received our broken monitor and we received the new monitor in the mail in 2 days! But that’s not all. We accidentally sent back the battery for the monitor which we were instructed not to do (The monitor still works without a battery if plugged in). So we wrote again explaining our mistake. Infant Optics immediately got back to us again and sent out another battery for the monitor. 2 days later we had a new battery for our new monitor. Conclusion: Honestly, we could not ask for better treatment. This is the type of costumer service that actually makes you happy and reaffirms that the Infant Optics camera and monitor was the right choice for our family. You can’t go wrong with this camera and monitor. It works great and it is backed up by outstanding customer service that provides peace of mind all new parents should be afforded.

Okay, this is my fifth video monitor. Sixth, actually, because I replaced a Motorola one. I started with the Wi-Fi baby monitor, which my friends have liked. When I set it up it was easy but the camera wasn't very good. Also I needed a phone or some kind of device to check on the baby which didn't make any sense to me once I got it out of the box, because you want to monitor going all the time. So I returned that and I did a lot of research and ended up with the Motorola. The Motorola had a very good camera but it said pan and scan on the box and it was just a manual pan and scan. It had a temperature reading which I liked, and lullabies which is stupid. The reason the Motorola ultimately failed is the battery life And more importantly, the USB cable stopped charging that the damn thing. The connection was bad. So I returned that for another one, and that took even less time for the USB port to fail. Then I got a Summers infant wide angle camera, And the picture on that was truly craptastic. Maybe it was good for getting a wide angle of the room but you could make out almost no detail at all on the night vision. It was like watching my baby without my glasses on and I need my glasses. So finally I ordered this product and I also ordered one other video camera called easy at home. The easy at home camera was a lot cheaper; it was only $100 but it didn't have the temperature gauge which I decided I liked and there was a slight buzzing from the parent unit. That might've been solved with figuring out the interference, but then I realized I didn't need it once I opened this infant optics camera. So far I love this camera. It's got two lenses which is very cool, the pan and scan function is automated and can be controlled from the parent unit which is excellent. Before, with the Motorola, if the camera wasn't quite pointing at the baby, we would have to sneak in the room and move it and this one I can just do from the comfort of wherever I'm sitting. It's got the temperature function in the picture is very very very clear. The menu items and functions on the parent unit are very intuitive, and even better, so far it has a very excellent battery life. The Motorola, honestly, lasted about half an hour when not plugged in. This one I haven't tested to its limits but it's goes an hour or more without losing a bar. Plus, smartly, this one comes with a second charger, so you can leave two plug-ins in different places in the house where you normally will be in leave the thing plugged in all the time. The only thing that worries me about this one is it also has a USB micro charger, and that was such a disaster with the Motorola that I am wary, but hopefully this won't be a problem with this one. So I hope this was helpful for you. There are so many options out there and as parents we always want what's best for our child, but it's helpful when a product actually works and isn't garbage.

This monitor is decent, but I've decided that no monitor "has it all." Before my daughter was born, we did all of the reading and asking questions and everyone advised us that a good sound monitor is the most important because you want to be able to hear your child more than anything. We rarely are just looking at the monitor and often a sound is the first indicator that they are waking up. We bought the AVENT DECT Philips Avent DECT Baby Monitor with Temperature Sensor It has incredible sound quality, temperature seems accurate, and good range (I can go outside and do some gardening while she's sleeping). This monitor was perfect when she was a newborn. Maybe I have the strangest baby alive, but ever since around 7-8 months old, she would wake up happy and wouldn't make a peep. She would be quietly playing away with her pacifier and I had no idea when she woke up. I decided I had to be able to see in her room. We purchased an indoor security camera because they are cheaper, often better image quality, etc (sorry, I don't have the link or name, but it was just one of the first hits on amazon). This one works with an app on the phone. The problem here is that if someone watches the baby, you either have to leave your phone with them or download the app onto their phone. This creeps me out a bit because then they can either tinker away on your phone when you're not around or tune into the app whenever they please. When looking for the perfect video monitor, I wanted one that had a battery backup in the camera part so that if the power went off, we wouldn't be stranded unable to see/hear our baby like the previous two monitors do. I also wanted decent range and decent sound/video image. Apparently video monitors with battery backup in the camera unit don't exist, so I went with this monitor due to its super high ratings and bought a UPS so that I could plug all 3 of my monitors and the sound machine into the UPS and not have to worry about anything when the power goes out (which is at least 5-6 a year). Overall I like this monitor but there area a few things that I don't like. The image quality definitely isn't as good as the indoor security camera. The temperature sensory seems to be off by 2-3 degrees (higher than the actual room temperature). My bedside table is slightly higher than the bed. I place this receiver in the upright position using the stand but I cannot see the baby from that angle. It works best if your eyes are directly in line or slightly above the monitor, which would mean my bedside table would have to be lower than my bed. I have had the monitor for less than a week at this point and those are the big things so far. Between all 3 of my monitors and the UPS, I feel like I have all bases covered, but it would be nice if one monitor alone could function well enough that I didn't need 3! I will update if I encounter any other issues with the monitor.

UPDATE: I just wanted to add my recent experience with customer service to my review, because these folks are amazing! I had contacted the company about the parent unit no longer charging. I was wanting to purchase another parent unit but was unable to find it available for purchase here or on their website, so I contacted them to see how to place an order for one. Renee got back to me rapidly, and assisted me in troubleshooting to ensure it was the unit and not the power cable. She was able to look up our original unit and explained that it was out of warranty, which I knew. Then, she offered to send us a one-time replacement free of charge. The only hiccup was that we had to send back the defective unit before they could send out the new one (completely understandable, in my opinion). Renee did tell me that if I was able to send her the receipt with tracking information and/or a photo of the package, she might be able to get it out before they actually received it. On a Friday morning I dropped of the defective parent unit at the post office and emailed her the proof of it being mailed. By 6:30 that evening, I received an email from Renee stating that the replacement model was on its way and she was able to upgrade the shipping so it would arrive my Monday- still at no cost to me! After two years, we are still happy with this monitor- great picture and sound and it switches automatically between rooms for both of our kids. It's even easy enough that the grandparents can use it with no trouble when they babysit. We bought this to replace a Motorola video monitor that suddenly lost all sound during nap time one day after a year and a half of use. There were a few minor issues we had with that monitor so we researched and decided to purchase the Infant Optics DXR-8. We have only had it for a few months at this point, but already love it more that the first monitor we had! It seems to suffer less from interference, the stand to have it upright is much more sturdy than the other one, and we love the interchangeable lens! The fact that we can move the camera to get a better look at him if he is in the corner of the crib is very nice. The thing that really sold us was the battery life. This monitor only needs 7 hours to fully charge, as opposed to our last one, which needed a ridiculous 16 hours! The sound is perfect for us- you do get a bit of the 'white noise' sound if the volume is all the way up (which I actually prefer), but if turned down a few notches you can definitely still hear the kiddo when he makes noise and not have the background noise. The parent unit feels very sturdy and the camera is easy to position in our son's room and in the extra room when he goes to visit grandparents. We are expecting a second child this summer and plan on getting another camera so we can have them both on the same parent unit!

Top tier product. Extremely well thought out and designed. We have had ours for 6 months or so. I did a ton of research and review reading before we chose this monitor to include separate stand-alone video cameras and monitors with separate audio monitors. Here’s a summary of the best elements and why you would do well to buy this one. My brother bought a stand alone HD 1080p video quality camera to monitor his kids. However, you must have a WiFi connection to set it up on. They also needed a separate audio monitor solution with the setup they chose. Also, they have to monitor the camera with an app, which based on our real-life experience with the DXR-8 would no longer be a consideration for us. Having a self-contained system in the DXR-8 is absolutely the simplest and best option for a number of reasons in our opinion. Firstly, it is stand alone and does not require WiFi, it communicates directly from the camera to the monitor. Also, you don’t need to have an app on your phone which is soooo nice, because you can have the monitor up and listening to audio at all times and still have your phone free for all the things you do on there. Having this self-contained system is awesome, when we go to the Lakehouse or to a hotel when traveling the DXR-8 is small and a snap to pack up and set up in the new location - no trying to get WiFi access. It is - quite simply - effortless. Also, I cannot think of a practical need for a higher-resolution monitor (screen) for monitoring your baby while they sleep or play. The primary things we watch for is 1) are they breathing, 2) how are they positioned in the crib, 3) are they sleeping or fighting going to sleep. The resolution on the DXR-8 is more than adequate for all of those things. Plus, and one of the most exceptional feature - is the zoom feature. While they do have several different lenses you can put on the camera (which is awesome), we found that the standard lense works best for us BECAUSE OF THE ZOOM OPTION! So we can set the camera on the corner of the crib with some Gorilla tape underneath it to hold it in place, or we can set it across the room and zoom in and still see everything we need to see. Then of course you can pan left and right and tilt up and down, so you can do everything you can possibly conceive of with this system. Also, and we didn’t realize this being new parents when we bought this - most of the time, and throughout the night - audio cues are primarily what you will be paying attention to. You can flip on the camera anytime, and it has settings for staying on 3min or 5min before the screen blanks, or until you click the button again to turn the image off again. Having the camera off extends the battery life. If you need to keep the audio turned off, any sounds the baby makes will still register a color scale on the left side of the screen from red (low volume sounds) to green (high volume sounds) so you can still monitor audio activity without having the volume up. My spouse and I take turns having the monitor every other night, and if our son wakes us up initially with a sound, we can turn the volume off and continue to monitor the audio level with the led register. Also you can dim the screen, we have it on full dim at night so it doesn’t completely light up our bedroom in the middle of the night if we check on him. It brightens plenty to see it outside during the daytime as well. And I could write more great details on the night mode as well as day mode. Also, the camera pan and tilt is not noisy as I had read in one review. While it may not be completely silent, it it definitely not a significant source of sound and has never had an effect on our sleeping child. And on top of all that, their customer service is absolutely top-tier. Gladys has helped us twice since we’ve had the product. We have had a battery start to have issues with not holding a charge and they rapidly got the replacement process started the same day we reached out to them. I don’t know if you’ll get Gladys, but whoever you get will be as excellent as her I’m sure. There are real people in the support department and they treat you like a person; you’re not just another number feeling like getting real support help is more theoretical then it is practical with these guys. So, highly recommmend from A to Z. Don’t think you can go wrong with this! Also you can pair up to 4 cameras to the one monitor. We just move the camera around during the day, but you could install one in the nursery, on in the living room, and wherever else you like - and switch between them all with one monitor. Hope this has helped if you’re a research nerd like I am. I had to read multiple reviews in multiple different locations to make my final decision on what to buy. Hopefully this review has been thorough enough to help you learn all you need to know about the DXR-8. Maybe it’s not what your looking for, but I would be hard-pressed to imagine any scenario where another product could serve its purpose any better. As for us, we are happy, happy campers. :)

I’ve purchased this monitor and camera kit twice. I’ve purchased additional cameras stand alone. I’ve also purchased extra lenses. I’ve used the monitor for about two years. As an electrical engineer, I feel confident in saying this product has a major design flaw that if I could go back in time, I would buy a different brand. Problem #1) The primary problem is the Micro USB charging port. The internal prong is poor quality plastic and breaks easily. Once it breaks, it renders the monitor unable to charge and useless. Given the portable nature of the product, taking it from room to room in the home, it is unplugged and plugged in at least once a day, but possibly more. We used our first monitor for about eight months when it broke. The manufacturer refused to replace it (explained later). Since we had purchased additional accessories like additional cameras and wide angle lenses, we felt we had too large a larger portion of money invested in this monitor to start over from scratch. We bought a second monitor. Like the first, the exact same port broke again after about 7 months of usage in the exact same way, rendering the monitor unable to charge. The manufacturer replaced the second monitor, but not without some hassle. With respect to their customer service, it is not the most accommodating. When I contacted the manufacturer about the broken port on the first monitor, they would not replace the product even though we had only used it for about eight months when the product broke. Admittedly the item was over a year old because we had received it as baby shower gift months before our daughter was born. I guess given the nature of the product (eg baby shower gift) and that it was unused for so long, it was disappointing they wouldn’t honor the warranty. They replaced the second monitor, but it was a hassle because we had to pay for shipping and we were without a monitor for about two weeks. I bought a cheap audio only monitor from the thrift store to get us by until it was replaced. I understand that since it is a USB connector, it provides flexibility to go from charger to charger and from room to room without needing a special charger. But being that the prong is of poor quality plastic, it is a moot point in my opinion. At the very least, they could have installed a reinforced metal prong, much like those found in modern mobile phones. Even then, I’ve known phone connectors to break too. It is my personal opinion that a standard cylindrical DC input connector should have been used since they’re much more capable of being constantly plugged in and out and since this is for charging only. I am unaware of any capabilities to transfer data via the Micro USB connector and therefore don’t think it should have been used. As a side note: when we received the replacement for the second monitor. I built a junky looking case for the monitor. You can see it in the pictures I’ve included. The intent of this case is to prevent cable movement in the Micro USB port, which I guessed was the cause of the broken prong. I know it looks stupid, but so far it works. Problem #2) Poor quality control in the cameras. We bought a second camera shortly after beginning use of our first monitor. When we paired and first started to use the new camera, there were about five or six vertical lines appearing in the video feed. Switching back to the original camera confirmed the problem was not the monitor. We contacted the manufacturer and at first they didn’t believe me when I explained the problem and were kind of rude. I was eventually able to get them to replace the camera, but I still had to pay shipping to get it replaced. It basically added $10 to the purchase price of a new camera and meant waiting for several weeks for the replacement (so much for two day shipping with amazon prime). Problem #3) Rechargeable battery goes bad after about 1.5 years. As an electrical engineer, I know it is the nature of rechargeable batteries to eventually go bad and refuse to hold a charge. After getting the second monitor, we put the first’s battery in the second monitor to keep the second’s batter new and unused. It lasted about 1.5 years before refusing to hold a charge. We’ve now switched back to the second monitor’s original battery. As a side note: when they replaced the second monitor, they would not replace the battery. This meant we had a brand new monitor with a rechargeable battery that had already been used for several months. I expect the second battery to go bad after about 1.5 years like the first. Problem #4) Only one monitor can be used at a time. Even though the first’s micro USB prong broke, occasionally if I held the charging cable in just the right spot I could get the monitor to power on until I let go of the cable. After purchasing a second monitor, I attempted pair a camera to both units. Unfortunately, you can’t pair a camera to two monitors at one time. This isn’t that big of a deal I guess since it wasn’t advertised as a capability. But I could envision that purchasing a second monitor (aside from the broken port problems) would be beneficial since you wouldn’t need to carry it from room to room in your home. In summary, other than the problems listed above, I’ve been pleased with the capabilities of the unit. The color, resolution, and audio are of good quality. If I didn’t have problem #1 listed above, I would probably rank this product 3 stars out of 5. If I didn’t have problem #3 listed above, definitely a 4 out of 5. We hoped this monitor unit and cameras would last us through multiple children, but it appears to only last at most 1.5 years due to the rechargeable battery going bad and maybe even less when the Micro USB port breaks. Given that the Micro USB port is such huge problem, I can’t give this product anything but a 1 star.