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Baby Monitor / Security Camera

L

lowercaseperson

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Oct 5, 2006
294
87
Hi all,

My wife is 20 weeks pregnant (with our first), and it's starting to get real. We are buying baby stuff and I was looking at baby monitors the other day thinking about how niche and limited they are. So I'm turning to you guys for help. Here is my situation:

As far as Apple products go we have plenty - 3 iPads, both have iPhones and MBPs, plus an old 5s laying around. So instead of getting a baby monitor with a single clunky/slow handheld I would like to get a camera system that works with iOS/OSX. I want to be able to put a camera in the baby's room - but would really like it to be mobile/expandable. I also have a Synology - but from what I can tell - Synology charges you camera licenses? I don't really understand it.

So what do you guys use? Maybe not necessarily for a baby - but what more is a baby monitor than a security camera? I mean if I have one of the iPads or even the 5s with it on the camera that's better (to me) than having some mediocre handset from Baby's-R-Us.

If you have a specific baby monitor you really like please let me know - I just feel like someone must have developed something for iOS/OSX that works well by now.

Thanks,

LP
 
Congrats on your first! I had an app a long time ago that turned any iDevice into a remote camera and it was klunky and borderline useless. There's a lot of cool stuff out there now that didn't exist when I needed something like that so instead of hijacking your thread with stuff you didn't ask for, :) take a look around and see what stand-alone monitors are compatible with iOS. Some of the high end ones do so many things they'll be with you for a long time. Good luck!
 
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Have a look at this :-
http://www.presencepro.com/

I used it for a while when we first got our puppy for keeping an eye on him and it worked a treat. Used to leave the iPad or my old 3GS running as the camera and could connect in from anywhere either over wifi or phone data to see how he was. Has motion detection if required, records for so long if you want it to and now allows you to check via their website as well.
 
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We tried a few of the ones from Babies R Us and none of them seemed ready for prime time. Ended up getting a Dropcam Pro and then a new Nest cam. Downfall is you won't be able to use your Synology and if you want any type of going back in time to view stuff you need to pay for the service. Overall we've been very happy with it.
 
haxrnick said:
We tried a few of the ones from Babies R Us and none of them seemed ready for prime time. Ended up getting a Dropcam Pro and then a new Nest cam. Downfall is you won't be able to use your Synology and if you want any type of going back in time to view stuff you need to pay for the service. Overall we've been very happy with it.
Click to expand...


Thanks. I'll checkout Dropcam. Do ou just run it on an iPad or old iPhone?
 
First & foremost, congratulations ! I have a 3 yr old & a 1 yr old. I bought the app Live Cams Pro & bought a simple D-Link night vision camera. It takes a little bit of configuring but overall works great. For less configuring you can use the standard app that D-Link provides but it has less features. Costs much less than those baby monitors at the stores !!!
 
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lowercaseperson said:
Hi all,

My wife is 20 weeks pregnant (with our first), and it's starting to get real. We are buying baby stuff and I was looking at baby monitors the other day thinking about how niche and limited they are. So I'm turning to you guys for help. Here is my situation:

As far as Apple products go we have plenty - 3 iPads, both have iPhones and MBPs, plus an old 5s laying around. So instead of getting a baby monitor with a single clunky/slow handheld I would like to get a camera system that works with iOS/OSX. I want to be able to put a camera in the baby's room - but would really like it to be mobile/expandable. I also have a Synology - but from what I can tell - Synology charges you camera licenses? I don't really understand it.

So what do you guys use? Maybe not necessarily for a baby - but what more is a baby monitor than a security camera? I mean if I have one of the iPads or even the 5s with it on the camera that's better (to me) than having some mediocre handset from Baby's-R-Us.

If you have a specific baby monitor you really like please let me know - I just feel like someone must have developed something for iOS/OSX that works well by now.

Thanks,

LP
Click to expand...

For our cameras we have Foscam (2 total - one in each bedroom). For iOS app we use LiveCams Pro. I have it configured to show both cameras when opening which gives me a quick overview during nap time. Also, I enjoy the ability to listen to the audio in the background while doing other things on my phone.
 
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lemieuxfan67 said:
For our cameras we have Foscam (2 total - one in each bedroom). For iOS app we use LiveCams Pro. I have it configured to show both cameras when opening which gives me a quick overview during nap time. Also, I enjoy the ability to listen to the audio in the background while doing other things on my phone.
Click to expand...

The background audio feature is the tits. That's the defining feature that separates Live Cams Pro from the standard D-Link app for my cams ! Leave my phone on my nightstand plugged in the charger, run the app, then hit the hay.
 
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I considered this when our first one came along, however the problem I always ran into with wifi based monitors is the inherent lag and dependence on an access point.

We ended up getting then infant optics video monitor on Amazon because we can take them with us anywhere and charge them with micro usb. In the end, I think it worked much better and was less hassle then a wifi based solution, especially if you travel.
 
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Hi all!

I ended up buying a Foscam and used LiveCams Pro. Baby is still a few months away, but initial setup looks promising. I think I'm going to be happy! Thanks for the input!
 
Hi again,

Hope a few of you are still following. Does anyone know if it's possible to setup my FosCam to be accessible when I'm not home through LiveCams Pro?

Thanks
 
I wouldn't try to piece something together. In the end you don't want to be tinkering around with it every night and you'll want it to work consistently. We've had a few different ones but like the infant optics dxr-8.
 
We have a 9 month old (also our first) and we have used the Nest cam with great success. We use an old ipad mini as the viewer, and have a Nest cam for baby's room at both our house and grandparents. I didn't opt for the recording feature, but movement and sound notifications are nice. It serves as a pretty decent baby monitor and nanny cam, and can of course be re-purposed when no longer necessary, which I think is one area it shines compared to dedicated baby monitors. We have decent internet speeds, and to minimize lag, the key is to maximize your upload speed, since everything goes through the Nest servers.
 
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