VTech Owl VM314 Accessory Pan & Tilt Video Camera for VTech VM344 and VM344-2, White

We've looked at and tried several monitors now, and this one is the best. We had an old Summer Infant monitor with our first son that we have always LOVED.. it's the older model, small screen, no real bells and whistles, but it does the job and the picture and sound are really clear. It is expandable, but so old we had trouble finding a second camera for it. Also, it doesn't have a menu to switch between cams, so if you have more than one camera it just automatically switches every 10 seconds, which I don't love. So we bought the newer model of the Summer Infant. Very fancy, lots of bells and whistles, nightlight, temperature sensor, etc, etc.... But we got it and set it up and the picture is CRAP. Went online and see that many other people said the same thing: the old one is great, but the newer ones are crap. So we returned it and started our research. We looked at Motorola, but they all got mixed reviews. We finally ended up getting the VTech VM344 and so far we love it. Picture is just as clear as our old one, plus it has these cute little owl cameras. 1,000 ft range, lots of menu options to set it up just the way you like. You can view up to 4 cameras on split screen, or scroll through them manually or automatically. Pan, tilt, and zoom (which I thought was standard, but apparently a lot of them don't have), and a few extras I like, like the ability to set it so that it vibrates when noise is detected, or automatically switches to show whichever room had the noise if you have more than one. Oh, and I like the buttons on it too. A lot of the newer ones are just touch screen, but this one has real buttons, that also light up, so you can find them easily in the dark/half asleep. The only thing I don't love is that when you press buttons on the parent unit (like turning volume up or down or adjusting settings) it has a really loud beep with each button press, and I haven't found an option to turn that off or down. Oh, and there's a small green light on the side of the camera, which is lit when it's on, but flashes when you're not viewing that camera. Not a huge deal, unless you have an obsessive toddler who notices (and cries about) things like a small light in his room changing from solid to flashing throughout the night.

So far I really like this monitor. After about 1 week of research, I finally got this one because it had all the features I wanted and the owl is cute. Lol! It only had a 3 star rating but a lot of monitors rarely have higher. The night vision could be a bit better but it does what I need it to.There are only a few things a don't like about it- 1. The charging light does not turn green when fully charged. This would be helpful to have. 2. When selecting options in the menu, it makes a loud beep. I wish there was a way to turn this down or off.Other than those 2 things, I am happy with this monitor so far. I can check my mail box and still have reception. The camera pans and tilts super far. It zooms in just a bit. We use the wall mount, which is awesome! Battery life seems good so far and the monitor/camera are sturdy. I really like it!!

Edit* I’m not sure what me from 2018 was thinking, these owls are awesome. Yes they have red glowing eyes which still occasionally freak out my now toddler but that’s their only flaw truly. It’s been three years since we’ve had them and they still work like they did the first day. I can’t fault em for infrared when that’s its entire purpose. Revised to 4 starsHonestly these are great and the vision quality is awesome BUT the infrared sensors are in the owls eyes. Which means the eyes glow bright red in the dark. So my toddler is terrified of them and that makes them useless and frustrating. Otherwise I would’ve loved theseUpdate: removed a star because after only two months of use the charging cable for the parent unit no longer works. It’s really frustrating paying so much and not having quality parts.

The twins are 4yrs old now and we still use this one same monitor. The charger broke at one point, 2yrs ago I believe, and we were able to order a new one. Once more we are 2yrs later and the charger doesn't stay inside the handheld well but we have it rigged on the night stand so it does and now the boys are 4yrs old and we really don't need it. It holds the charge still in the event I need it but honestly, we only use it to tell them to stop fooling around and go to sleep.

I REALLY wanted to love this monitor, especially since I researched like a crazy person for the best monitor out there. I'm so disappointed.The two big issues we have with this monitor are; 1: The motion detection and sound detection cannot be used simultaneously...you have to pick one or the other. 2:Even with the sensitivity set to high, this monitor doesn't pick up loud crying. I can hear my kids crying for a full 30 seconds before the monitor kicks on! That's ridiculous. That being said.. my kids love the owl camera because its adorable. We also love that you can remotely move the camera. that feature is awesome.

Cheaply made product that's over priced. I've bought TWO of these mo motors and both failed just over the 1 year mark with the same problem, the charging port stops working. To be clear this thing sits on my head board 95% of the time as its used mainly at bedtime. No body touches it except an adult, it's hardly ever unplugged, and yet the charging port fails on wont work. It goes slowly, you can wiggle it to get it to work for a while and then it just s th ops completely. Product is complete garbage. And for 250 bucks, youd think it would have a better quality picture than a Nokia cell phone from 1999, but it doesnt so good luck. I'm super disappointed in this thing, I'll never buy from them again or reccomend it to anyone. It isnt worth half of what it costs and wont last that long anyways. Take your money elsewhere and get something that's quality and will last.To be clear, the only reason we got a second one is because we had a camera already and needed a 2nd one (and the monitor crapped out on us anyways) so I assumed it was a fluke thing and went with it. Terrible decision.