Philips AVENT SCD530 DECT Baby Monitor with Temperature and Humidity Sensors

I am actually pretty impressed by this baby monitor. It has replaced a Walkabout Premier Digital which we have got on ok with but I have never quite trusted completely as on a couple of occasions it has let us down and somehow lost connection to the base.
It is much much smaller than I expected it to be and very unobtrusive in the lounge. When I first turned it on I didn't think the screen was particularly easy to read but it has a backlight that comes on as soon as you are actually pressing any buttons which then makes it very easy to read.
Ridiculously easy to set up - just plug and play really. It says that you should charge the batteries for 10 hours before using but we were having a little fiddle after a couple of hours and it didn't seem to mind.
It really is the baby monitor with everything. It has a temperature sensor and the temp is displayed along with the humidity at all times on the parent base. You can also stop and start lullabies using the parent controls which I would have found handy when my daughter was younger. You can turn the nightlight on and off remotely although it is such a tiny tiny light that I really can't imagine any baby/child noticing whether it is on or off. It certainly wouldn't help you see much at night. I dropped a star for that really as the Tomy nightlight gives out a very nice amount of light.
You can control how sensitive the monitor is, I don't have mine set too high as I don't want to hear my toddler snoring lol but I am sure that with a tiny baby it would be great to be able to set it to the highest and hear every little breath. The quality of the sound is really what makes this monitor a vast improvement over my Tomy tho. It is so clear and not a buzz or a hiss or a slightest hint of interference. My old one had to be moved around a bit in the evenings sometimes as it would pick up interference from the computer or our phone etc.
Another nice little touch is that you can press a talk button on the side of the parent monitor and be heard on the baby base. I would never use this to say anything to the baby but have been in positions in the baby days when one of us would be stuck in the room getting the baby to sleep and it would have been handy to be able to communicate both ways.
All in all I would say if you are looking for a top of the range baby monitor and money's no object then you certainly seem to get what you pay for.
It comes with a travel bag which is a nice touch and the whole thing feels really high quality and well thought out.

I'm really impressed with this baby monitor. In fact I can't really fault it except for the price. It's a nice little piece of kit. Out of the box you receive the base unit with wall plug (which looks strangely like an old fashioned tape player), the parent unit with wall charger and a carrying bag for trips. All the components are a simple white with metallic blue fascia and the Philips Avent logo. They look quite smart. First things first and most importantly it works. When both units or plugged in and linked the parent unit clearly picks up the noise in baby's bedroom. There is no interference and no picking up of local police radio or next door neighbours baby! I had lots of problems with my previous BT baby monitor so it's a joy to have a monitor that actually works properly. The parent unit is quite tiny and easy to carry around. It also comes with a strap to wear around your neck but I haven't bothered with it.

Other features include a temperate gauge and humidity gauge which display simultaneously on the parent unit and baby unit. I have no idea what the humidity bit means and it seems to be 'normal' which is good. Not sure what I would do if it's not normal but there you go. You can also control a selection of nursery rhyme tunes from both the baby unit and the parent unit. There is tiny nightlight on the baby unit which is a bit useless as an actual light but my baby seems to like it's orange glow. You can use batteries in the baby unit instead of the power unit for travelling too. Also features a talkback system which is actually much more useful for giving orders to my other half when he is upstairs and saves shouting round the house. I've tried using it to reassure my baby but I think it just freaks him out because he can hear me but can't see me. Maybe it will be more useful when he's older. There is a pager alarm as well from the baby unit if you mislay the parent unit and need to find it.

The battery life on the parent unit has been superb. I've had it just over 2 weeks and I still haven't had to recharge it (after the initial charge) and I've been using it for hours every night. When baby cries you have a choice of lights and sound or just lights. You can also have a vibrate function which I've never needed to use.

In summary, this is a pretty good baby monitor but it's so expensive. At this price it could have feature some more extras like a clock would have been nice. It loses a star for not good value for money otherwise I give it five stars.

With 3 children I've used a variety of baby monitors and this is simply the best. Yes, it is expensive but it'll last for years and the design, build quality and performance of this monitor is exceptional.
The parent unit is the size of a small pager, very discreet and easy to carry around in a pocket. It comes with a well made, quality carry strap which means as well as carrying it in a pocket (with optional belt clip) you could also carry it around your neck. The main unit is also very small which makes it exceptionally good for travel and it comes with a very practical carry case which stores the units and charger safely.
It looks fantastic and would make a 'wow' gift for any expectant parents.
I have used this monitor for a few months now and the performance is excellent. You can hear breathing clearly and without interference. The base unit also has some twinkly lullabies and a dim night light - gadgets in the past I bought independently from my baby monitors so it's great they are included in one very small unit here.
The parent small unit has an internal rechargeable battery and the base unit can also work on 4 AA batteries however it eats those batteries - I've often forgotten to turn the unit off and they are used up within 24 hours.
There are handy features such as not only being able to turn the nightlight on from the main unit but also being able to do so remotely from the hand held parent unit.
You can turn the sound off on the parent unit but still be alerted to sounds in the babies room by very bright flashing lights on the parent unit (the louder the noise, more of the 5 lights go on - handy for when you are watching tv). Alternatively you can make the unit vibrate strongly to alert you to noise. This unit would be exceptionally useful for parents with hearing or sight problems.
There is also a walky talky function so you can talk (though rather tinnily) to your child without necessarily going into their room. My elder children have found this feature very amusing and because the unit is so small and portable I've often found them playing with it in the garden (part of the reason why I'm getting through so many batteries!).
The temperature display is very important in my opinion and it did alarm on hot days to alert me of high temperatures although optimistically it did tell me we were in the mid 30's when it ws more like high 20's/low 30's in June.
There are lots of settings and buttons on the parent unit to play with. You can increase or decrease the sensitivity and chose your alert method and volume.
The humidity display is probably not going to be that useful to most parents but if you have a child with medical problems then it could be helpful.
The only negative things I can think of saying are a couple of times after the unit had completely run out of batteries I thought the unit had broken because the normally battery charging logo wasn't there when trying to recharge via the mains but eventually after being plugged in for half an hour it came to life.
Also because of it's small size I've mislaid the parent unit on a few occasions but there is a pager button on the main unit so you can find it again as long as everything is charged up.
Overlall, I love this unit and wish it'd been available when my first child was born! Very highly recommended. I'd buy this every time versus the more pointed shape avent monitors (one of which I also have).