Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #13928 in Baby Product
• Size: One parent unit
• Color: White/Yellow
• Brand: Philips Avent
• Model: SCD 589/54
• Released on: 2006-09-22
• Dimensions: 6.00" h x 8.00" w x 12.00" l, 3.25 pounds

Features

• Philips new DECT (Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunication) technology guarantees a crystal clear connection with zero interference between the baby’s monitor and the parent unit
• Because you want to be the only one listening to your baby, the DECT technology automatically finds an unused channel and switches to another without interruption
• Enjoy total reliability with the visible link indicator showing continuous connection between the parent unit and the baby monitor
• Small, portable cordless parent unit allows you to move freely in and around the house. The rechargeable unit allows for up to 8 hours of cordless monitoring and has a range of 900 feet
• Soothing your baby is simple. Parents can remotely monitor baby’s room temperature, activate the starry night-light and play five soothing lullabies from parent unit

Amazon.com Product Description
Philips is the first to introduce baby monitors with new DECT (Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunication) technology that will revolutionize the marketplace.

COMPLETE PEACE OF MIND

Guaranteed Zero Interference with DECT technology Unlike other baby monitors, the new Philips monitor guarantee zero interference or static from any other device (other baby monitors, cordless phones and cell phones). Provides a secure and private connection using data encryption. You will be the only one who can hear your baby and you only hear only your own baby.

Automatic Channel Selection Always chooses an unused radio channel from over 60 channels for its voice transmission. As soon as it detects another device using its channel, it will switch to an unused channel to ensure a crystal clear connection without interference.

ULTIMATE MOBILITY IN AND AROUND THE HOUSE

Small, mobile parent unit The innovative lightweight design allows you to freely roam in and around the house up to 900 feet.

Rechargeable parent unit Gives you a minimum of 8 hours of cordless monitoring.

Belt clip and neck cord Provides hands-free convenience and mobility: clip the parent unit to your belt or wear it around your neck.

TOTAL RELIABILITY Feel secure knowing there is a continuous connection between the baby and the parent unit with visible and audible link indicators.

Sound level lights Uses lights to indicate if the baby makes noise, even when the volume is off.

Digital signal confirmation Indicates a continuous connection between the baby and the parent unit with visible and audible link indicators.

Low Power Indicator Lights up when batteries need recharging or replacing.

EXTRA COMFORT AND CONTROL Remotely monitor the baby’s room temperature, activate the starry night-light and play soothing lullabies.

Adjustable sound sensitivity Provides the ability to adjust the sensitivity to the baby to suit any situation.

Volume control Provides the ability to adjust the volume of the parent unit to suit any situation.

Room temperature thermometer Safely monitor the baby’s room temperature from the parent unit.

Five lullabies Soothes the baby to sleep with the option of five different lullabies.

Starry night-light Comforts the baby in the dark with soothing stars.

Walkie-Talkie Provides the ability to all you to hear the baby and talk to the baby.

Travel Pouch Protects the units while traveling, so you can safely take it with you.

From the Manufacturer
Philips 589 Digital 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 parent unit. Features include Audible and Visual Digital Signal to confirm continuous link to baby unit, Extra Comfort and Control: remote monitor baby's room temperature, activate the starry night-light and play soothing lullabies, Five Lullabies: Sooth Baby to sleep, Starry Night-Light: Comforts baby in the dark, Two Way Intercom: Reassure baby from another room, Belt Clip and Neck Cord: Allows for hands free use, portable and convenient, and Travel Pouch: Extra protection when traveling.

Customer Reviews

Crystal clear transmission and pure silence otherwise
We recently moved our daughter to her big-girl room, which is quite far away from our bedroom. We keep doors closed at night so as not to disturb her, so we need a monitor that we could keep on all night at our bedside in case she wakes up or cries for help.

Performance
The Philips SCD 589 works perfectly as advertised. With the sensitivity set to normal (3 of 5 bars), the receiver always come alive virtually instantly and transmits every noise in her room clearly without any popping/cracking sounds. But as soon as the room is quiet, the receiver mutes to complete silence without even a hum or buzz. We have tried a number of other monitors and none have come close audio-wise. We leave the receiver on overnight at the nightstand and you'd forget it's there unless sound is transmitted.

Features
The UI is simple and intuitive, while the physical design is elegant and tasteful. For example, soft amber signal lights, rather than giant red glow (you know the brand), are used to indicate sound transmission. The receiver is small enough to fit in your pocket to help you look less like paranoid parents. The two-way communication feature could come in handy with spouse or older children. We are not using the lullaby/nightlight feature much, but that maybe useful for younger babies. And the remote temperature display is a rare advantage over the competition that further sets this product apart. The docking/charging simplifies daily operation significantly. The receiver uses 2 AAA rechargable Ni-MH and could be replaced with standard AAA's in the event they run out. From the small dimensions to industrial design to build quality, the product is top-notch.

Summary
The SCD 589 performs outstandingly. And with the thoughtful and well-implemented feature set, this product truely shines as one designed by those who understand parenting challenges. If they could somehow squeeze in video transmission (I realize DECT is only spec'ed for audio transmission) this product would put all other baby monitors to rest.

I highly recommend this product to anyone with, but not limiting to, child-monitoring needs (even for older children -- see 2-way feature).

Note
We used to use the MobiCam video monitor, which worked well for seeing what the baby is doing. However, the audio was interference-ridden due to the sheer number of 2.4GHz devices in our house. With the SCD 589, we now keep the MobiCam turned off until we hear something that needs verifying visually.

Zero interference as advertised per Consumer Reports
Consumer Reports just ran an online article on the Philips SCD 589 Baby Monitor, putting it through an "extreme" test, and it delivered with zero interference as promised. The highlights:

"We devised a worst-case scenario to test the SCD 589, placing three models within 20 feet of two new Philips 1.9-GHz DECT cordless phones to see if they would interfere with each other... The SCD 589 lived up to its claim of being free of interference, even in our extreme test. There was no interference heard on any of the phones or baby monitors in our test... The SCD 589 also had some nice, if hardly essential, features the other models in our tests didn't. Those included a nightlight; an "intercom" that allows the parent to speak to the child remotely; and an alarm that sounds when the temperature in the child's room goes out of a certain range that parents can set."

Ludicrously expensive but worth it - the Cadillac of Baby Monitors
We bought this to replace the Graco iMonitor (see my review for why we didn't like that one). I wanted a digital monitor to avoid interference with all our wireless gadgets and neighbors baby monitors...plus I didn't like the idea of someone being potentially able to hear *my* baby on the monitor!

All told if you are a light sleeper and don't want to hear static, beeping, and extraneous noise - just when your baby needs you! - this is the perfect monitor.


Pros:
- Zero interference or static in two months' use
- Never lost signal
- Adjustable sensitivity. The monitor ONLY broadcasts when the baby makes noise! It can detect things like the A/C and even the mobile music and recognize them as background noise and not broadcast them. (If you are paranoid and want to hear all sounds from the room, just set the sensitivity to maximum and it will broadcast constantly).
- If it does lose the signal (I had to turn off the base to test this) it doesn't start beeping right away. It tries to reconnect for about 30 seconds, and then beeps if unable. (The iMonitor started beeping immediately which was not really helpful in the middle of the night. I can cope without hearing my baby for 30 seconds.)
-Temperature monitoring and alert
-Lullaby - we don't use this much but it is nice to be able to turn it on remotely if the baby wakes up unexpectedly - it has helped settle him a couple times
- Uses regular AAA rechargable batteries. You can put regular batteries in it too - just do something to remind yourself NOT to put it in the charger if you do that!

Cons:
These are not so much reasons not to buy as things that were either pointless or should be better designed on a $200 monitor
- The charger is a little temperamental. I thought we had battery problems or a bum charger at first, but what happens is it's possible to put the unit in the charger, have the charger light illuminate, but the unit is not charging. Always look to see if the battery icon is inidcating charging to ensure it's properly seated in the charger. I supspect this is the problem some other reviewers had.
- Base and monitor should have pads to prevent sliding
- The "starry night" night light is just lame. I was expecting it to make little stars on the ceiling, but basically the base just glows.
- Separate attachments for neck strap and belt clip. Seriously, who can keep track of these? We just took the neck strap off and looped it around the belt clip so we can use either/or
- Volume is a little lower than on most monitors. This is fine by me - Level 2 will wake me up - but hubby needs to set it on MAX.
- Battery life is kinda short - much worse if you turn up the sensitivity. It would be nice to be able to get a separate charging base. If this is a concern and you can do without the temperature & lullaby features, get the model with two parent units. On the other hand the fact that it uses regular AAA batteries means you can always have a spare set in a regular charger.