VTech DM221 Audio Baby Monitor with up to 1,000 ft of Range, Vibrating Sound-Alert, Talk Back Intercom & Night Light Loop, White/Silver

It was what she asked for

I use the VTech DM221 to monitor a 93-year-old with mobility and hearing disabilities, although he is generally still surprisingly agile and moves about the house between bedroom and bathroom. Using two sets of DM221 I can monitor both locations simultaneously and track him continuously when he moves about with hearing acuity approaching that of the cat which follows him around. The price point for these sets makes this a feasible approach. However, under the current technology configuration, monitors from different sets cannot be linked to the same parent unit unfortunately. Why? Having two parent units side by side presents no major problems however and, given the sensitivity of the monitors over a wide range, ensures continuous tracking within and between various locations. I found no issues at all with the range of transmission so I can take a parent unit with me into the yard or basement of the house without losing sound quality or sensitivity. The quality of the reception within the wide parameters claimed by the manufacturer is extremely good. You can literally hear a pin drop at any location/room and it is so sensitive that it sometimes picks up extraneous sounds from the adjacent street. At times Ive heard that darn cat purring at a particular location when the animal must be at least 1.5-2.5 metres from the monitor. A persons normal breathing can easily be heard with monitor placed a minimum of 1m from the source. If these sounds become too much, just turn down the sensitivity on the monitor or the volume on the parent unit. VOX sensitivity level can be adjusted across 5 settings. Having a monitor that does not require the person being monitored to press buttons or even to speak (all sounds, normal and unusual, can be heard clearly) is a great comfort since a sudden stroke or accident may leave the monitored person unable to communicate verbally. With this monitor, allowing that you are attentive and able to interpret sudden and unusual changes in behaviour and patterns of sound, you will not miss a thing. I would have preferred to buy a 2-unit monitor set with a single parent unit to facilitate this configuration but only a 2-parent/single monitor set is available. Why? I normally cannot be in two places at once (although that feat is quite often necessary) and if I need to I can simply move the parent unit to a second location, with or without AC power connected. I can use the parent unit without AC on battery power which is sufficient to last at least overnight without AC power. (The monitor is permanently connected to power so no battery issues there. The parent unit should be connected to AC power most of the time to make sure the battery pack is fully charged and ready for mobile use). There must be different battery packs for different models to the DM221 or otherwise comments about lack of battery life on Amazon are just wrong. Australian customers must buy separate AC power plug adapters which are very cheaply and quickly available on Amazon AU. The units are compact, light-weight, durable plastic (although I wouldnt try a drop from a height) with fairly simple menu controls and the possibility to monitor sounds visually as well as aurally by observing LED sensors on the parent unit which register the strength of the source. The parent unit can be used to talk to the monitored person and, in my case, even if the deaf nonagenarian cannot determine exactly what is being said he does register the fact that you are there and attentive. The sound quality is so good that occasionally he understands simple messages such as breakfast/dinner coming and that is totally amazing given the quality of his remaining hearing capacity. There might be monitors on the market which could resolve a couple of the issues Ive presented for my needs/configuration, but this product serves my purposes extremely well, most especially in terms of sensitivity to sounds on the monitor side and sound reception quality on the parent unit side. If your needs are similar, just buy it. It works perfectly well under Australian conditions.

Certain reviews will make you doubt, some will even scare you, assuring that they even burned the wall, however, it is an excellent product, it has been connected since my baby sleeps in his room and it has never presented any problems, I love it!

This monitor works great. We use the medium vox setting and its the perfect amount of noise activation for us - the white noise machine and other background noises dont trigger it but even a soft cry will. Sound quality is solid, battery life is good. If you dont need video (and for infants weve found we really dont), theres no reason to buy anything more expensive.

I like this monitor, but the connection range does not come close to 1,000ft. End to end, my apartment is about 150 feet and the units don’t connect if I put them the farthest distance from each other. I’d say the range is more like 100 feet.

I use this in my moms room. It works perfectly. I can hear her if she needs me.

When we moved our baby girl to her crib in her room, we, of course, needed some sort of monitor. Since we didnt receive the fancy, expensive video monitor at our baby shower that we had registered for, we had to come out-of-pocket for one and had to settle for a more basic, less expensive monitor. Im so glad that someone didnt waste $200 on a monitor with all the bells and whistles! This monitor does everything we need it to. It has good range - in my one-story house Ive never been too far away for it to get signal. The volume is nice and loud at the highest setting and wakes us up when she cries. Theres also a setting for a vibration alert, and it works, but I have yet to use it practically. The nightlight casts a soft amber glow. I love the feature where you can communicate with the Baby unit. There have been many times when my spouse or I have talked back and forth when one of us needed something. We like this monitor so much that, when my mother needed one at her house for when shes caring for our daughter, I recommended this one to her. The only cons I can think of with this unit are minor. 1) I wish the battery on the Parent unit lasted longer. When we have someone babysitting at our house, the Parent unit is always off of the charger (which is in our bedroom) so the sitter can use it in the living room. The charge on it wont last a full day. 2) When you turn off the Baby unit (like when Im at my mothers and feeding my daughter or sleeping in the bedroom and dont wish to have the Parent unit listening in) the Parent unit emits a loud beep every 30 seconds or so. I can understand the practicality of this feature (in case the Baby unit accidentally comes unplugged), but it still bugs me. Overall, I think this is a very good monitor and I would recommend it to anyone!

Me gustó pero la mayor razón por lo que lo pedí fue porque creí que podía usarlos sin que estuvieran conectados al cable. El monitor del bebe a fuerza debe estar conectado.

Was looking for an audio-only monitor. Most monitors nowadays seem to have a camera installed, and I did not want to spend the extra money for that, as it was not needed. This fit the bill perfectly, and functions quite nicely. Clear audio and beyond easy to operate.

Actually, I dont use this product to monitor a baby; I use it to monitor my dogs. With all the fans running in the bedroom at night this hot, humid summer, it would be difficult to hear their warning cries if they had to make an emergency trip outside. This monitor remedies that problem. We have a second one of these monitors also--the version with two parent units--and we use that one to monitor my wifes 87-year-old mother who sleeps downstairs. If she ever needs help in the middle of the night, well know about it. All of the components work great. The volume & sensitivity are adjustable. There are a number of other features, too (that I dont use myself), including a night light in the transmitters handle that can be turned on & off manually or can operate in an automatic mode. As far as durability, I have to admit that I have knocked the parent units off the nightstand onto a hardwood floor on more than one occasion, and have let them slip from my hand and drop about four feet, and theyre still working. The parent units hold a charge reasonably well, but it takes a while to fully recharge them again. Of course, you can charge/use them simultaneously with the included A/C adapter. [FYI: The transmitter does not have a battery option and must be plugged in to use.] There is a hook on the back of each parent unit, so you can roam around the house while still monitoring your child. If there was one thing Id change about this product to make it perfect, it would be to add user-selectable channels to the components. As I mentioned, we have two units. They dont interefere with each other--which is a good thing--but what if they had both been using the same frequency? It would be nice if we could select the channel used by each transmitter & receiver. From a business perspective, this would also allow VTech to sell additional parent & transmitter units separately (e.g. to replace a broken one or add additional monitoring capabilities), and then the end-user could just match the new component with the already-existing one. Anyway, wish list aside, this is a great product that allows you to remotely monitor a baby, the elderly, pets, or whatever you else you might need to monitor. It has proven to be a reliable product. ============= Update 10-15-17 Gotta reduce my rating. Ive had far too many sleepless nights because the parent unit loses its link with the transmitter. When this happens, the parent unit starts beeping about once per second. Its like an alarm clock. Now I dont really mind that... in concept... because certainly I want to know when the connection is broken and I need to manually check on whatever Im monitoring; but what I _DO_ mind is the frequency with which the connection is lost. This is a common problem, based on online research, and the consensus is that this occurs when you reduce the sensitivity of the microphone in the transmitter unit. Really? The sensitivity of the microphone should be completely separate from the power of the transmitter. Key word is should; but apparently that is not the case. So if, for example, theres a table fan running in the room being monitored, you have to listen to the drone of the fan all night because you have to keep the sensitivity set to the max. If you turn the sensitivity down, then you have to deal with the link lost alarm. Pick your poison... either way the result is the same, i.e. you dont sleep at night. This is a problem that VTech needs to address.