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Philips Avent Digital Two-Parent Baby Monitor with Zero-Interference DECT Technology
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Average customer review:
Product Description
DECT digital technology provides a secured, private connection, because you want to be the only one listening to your baby. Automatically chooses an unused channel and switches as it detects another device using the same channel.
Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #7516 in Baby Product
- Size: Two parent units
- Brand: Philips Avent
- Model: SCD 590
- Released on: 2007-03-01
- Dimensions: 5.00" h x 7.00" w x 12.00" l, 6.00 pounds
Features
- Two parent units allow both parents to monitor baby. Automatic Channel Selection chooses from over 60 channels to ensure a crystal clear private connection without interference from any other devices
- Rechargable parent units with charging base - 8 hours of cordless monitoring with a range of 900 feet. Low Power Indicator that lights up when batteries need recharging or replacing. Audible and Visual Digital Signal confirms continuous link to baby unit
- Sound levels light indicates if the baby makes noise even when volume is off. Adjustable sound sensitivity which adjusts to the baby monitor sound level. Starry nightlight comforts baby in the dark
- Two way intercom to reassure baby from another room. Belt clip and neck cord for hands-free convenience. Unit is also portable
- Full 2 year warranty
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Product Description
The Philips Avent SCD590 DECT Digital Two-Parent Baby Monitor will help you keep track of your baby even when you're not in the same room. Featuring DECT technology for a stronger and more secure connection than traditional baby monitors, this system includes two listening units that both parents can use at the same time.
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 The Philips Avent SCD590 DECT Baby Monitor guarantees zero interference and provides a secure, private connection using data encryption. View larger. |
Featuring DECT digital technology, the SCD950 offers a secured, private connection so you can be assured that you are the only ones listening to your baby. For additional privacy, the system also automatically selects an unused channel from over 60 channels and then switches as it detects another device (other baby monitors, cordless phones and cell phones) using the same channel.
Portable and Rechargeable
This rechargeable unit comes complete with a charging base for eight hours of cordless monitoring with a range of 900 feet. For easy operation, the low power indicator lights up when batteries need recharging or replacing, and an audible and visual digital signal confirms a continuous link to baby unit monitor sound level. There's also a starry nightlight to comfort baby in the dark, and a two-way intercom to reassure baby from another room. Finally, this portable unit includes a belt clip and neck cord for hands-free convenience, as well as rechargeable "AAA" batteries.
The SCD590 comes with a full two-year warranty.
What's in the Box
Two monitors, neck cord, belt clip and "AAA" batteries.
From the Manufacturer
Philips introduces Two Parent unit Baby Monitor with new DECT technology mobility and reliability which results in complete peace of mind for new parents. The DECT (Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunication) technology guarantees a crystal clear connection with zero interference between the baby's monitor and two parent units. DECT technology automatically uses an unused channel and switches to another without interruption as it detects another device using the same channel. Complete peace of mind, with secure and private connection guaranteed with DECT technology so no one else can listen to baby. Ultimate mobility with two small, portable cordless parent units for moving freely in and around the house. Total reliability with visible link indicators that show a continuous connection between the parent units and baby monitor. Audible and Visual Digital Signal confirms continuous link to baby unit.
Customer Reviews
Great product and support, but manufacturing/reliability issues
Up-front summary: This attractive product has nice features and Philips has great customer support. This product also has some manufacturing variability and reliability issues. It's still worth taking a chance on this product. The product has a 2 year warranty and if your SCD590 set works as expected I believe it will continue working fine.
Pros: This product is sleek and a pleasure to use. The 2 parent units can adjust the sensitivity of the baby monitor remotely so you don't have to go into the baby's room to change the sensitivity. The parent units come with rechargeable 1.2V AAA batteries. For quiet situations you can turn off the volume on the parent units and watch the lights instead.
Cons: The recharge time for the parent units is at least 16 hours according to the manual (longer if the parent unit is left on). The parent unit can be used while it is on the charger base but that basically makes it a corded not cordless product. 16 hours is a long time. Also, some components were basically dead (or faulty) on arrival but Philips' support took care of it.
There is a note inside the battery compartment of the parent unit that says only to use rechargeable batteries. It seems to me you might want the option of using regular batteries if you forget to take the charging base with you on a trip. Just don't put the unit on the charger base if it contains regular batteries or bad things could happen.
I had problems with one of the charger bases. The 1st charge/discharge cycle seemed fine but, during subsequent cycles, whichever parent unit was charged on the 1st charger base lasted only about 1/2 hour before the battery was low. I swapped the parent units between charger bases but had the same poor results for whichever unit was on the 1st charger base. There was no outward indication that the parent unit was not charging - the light was lit, the unit seemed to be placed properly in the base, and everything seemed the same as the working charger base.
I called customer support at Philips to ask for a replacement charger base. Philips' support was great. They sent me a pre-paid return shipping label for my set and shipped another complete SCD590 set even though I only asked for a charger base.
I tried out the new set. The 2nd parent unit didn't beep when its battery became low (unlike all the other parent units). After another test or two, that unit hardly worked at all. It wouldn't charge or stay on. I hadn't yet returned my old set, so I planned to swap that unit for one of the old parent units. But then I had the same charger base problem as I did on the 1st set! In addition, the old parent unit won't link with the new baby transmitter. Apparently the parent units and baby transmitter function only as a set. You can't mix and match parent units and baby transmitters. However, you *can* mix and match charger bases. So that's what I did - I kept the old set and swapped out the faulty charger base.
Manufacturing reliability is pretty poor with this product. Out of two sets, each had one faulty charger base and one had a faulty parent unit.
I noticed that the parent units are very light (this is a good thing) and may not rest securely against the contacts in the charger base. A small piece of felt placed in the back of the charger base will hold the parent unit snugly against the contacts for better charging. However, that solution did not fix a charger base that simply won't charge the parent unit.
In summary, see 1st paragraph.
Almost a Great Baby Monitor (still better than most)
Update: We've now owned this monitor for two years, use it every day (except when packed up to bring on a trip or during power outages, it hasn't been turned off in those two years). Bottom line is it's one of the very best baby monitors available, but could easily be twice as good.
Pros:
- No interference/static/noise
- Sensitivity adjustable at each parent unit
- Long range
- 2-way capable
Cons:
- Max volume on parent units is too low.
- Parent unit battery life.
- Baby unit doesn't charge rechargeable batteries.
We LOVE the monitor for its strong points (first two make it absolutely fantastic) and are glad we bought it. To emphasize this, lest the negatives that follow be taken too heavily, I would buy the same today and can't recommend any other monitor we've come across (at friends/relatives houses, etc). However, there is a lot of unrealized potential because of the cons, which I think could have fairly easily been avoided. Here are some details on them...
Volume:
I find the volume does not go loud enough for being outside (i.e. to do light yard work) or for when our house gets noisy (company over). The background noise of the environment makes it hard to hear our baby before she gets really upset.
Parent-Unit Battery:
I'm not bothered by the long recharge time (but can see how others would be) and I'm not really bothered by the overall battery life (long enough for times I take a unit out of it's base). It helps that there are two units (with them in different rooms I can hear baby in most of the house when it's quiet when them in bases...and can switch which one is not in base when battery dies). However, it's really annoying that the low-battery indicator starts that annoying beeping when the battery is probably only 1/2 gone.
---Updated to note---
We've had some success improving battery life before low-battery warning by installing better (name-brand, 900mAh) rechargeable batteries than what the units came with (off-brand, lower-mAh). It's almost as if the units were designed for / tested with the higher-capacity batteries...but not shipped with them.
Baby Unit & Rechargeable:
It's fine that the baby unit doesn't come with batteries - I just bought some rechargeable, charged them, and put them in (left baby unit plugged in so they'd stay charged). Figured that would (1) prevent baby unit from turning off in power failure and (2) make it real convenient to take the monitor with me (just grab the baby unit and a parent - no cords). Problem is the baby unit doesn't charge batteries in it when plugged in, so when I took the unit with me the batteries were dead. It's not very convenient to swap batteries in/out of the baby unit...so you can keep them fresh in an external charger.
Works great!
This baby monitor is easy to set up and use. The two monitors allow you to monitor the child from multiple locations without having to pull the monitors out of their handy charging cradles. The monitors also allow you to check the room temperature and/or talk to the child. The base station can also act as a very soft night light (amber color).
The parent monitors incorporate a light bar and variable volumes to indicate a child that is crying. Thus, you can monitor your child with settings ranging from mute (good on conference calls) to extra loud. The base station should be installed within 3 feet of the cradle/crib/bed for optimum audio performance.
The DECT technology that underlies the monitor system works flawlessly and on a relatively unused portion of the frequency spectrum (1.9GHz). Thus, it will not interfere with wireless networks and older cordless phones. Even better, DECT-based phones and the baby monitor also seem to co-exist nicely. The range of the monitors is about 100 feet indoors and about 150' outdoors.
The base station runs off 4 AA batteries and the monitors run off 2AAA batteries each. The batteries for the monitors are included, but not for the base station. Do not use regular batteries in the base station or monitors (which work as a backup for power outages or while out and about), use NiMH-based AAA batteries instead. Otherwise, the charging cradles may attempt to recharge the batteries inside (with messy results). I subsequently replaced the OEM AAA batteries with higher-capacity after-market models to increase runtime.
All in all, a great system, the only downside is cost. However, if you live in a urban environment with a lot of baby monitors/phones/etc. interfering with each other, this is the system to get IMO. IIRC, the only difference of this system to the -950 is that the 590 has two parent units and cannot play lullabies to the kid.
