HomeKit Best baby monitor or camera with HomeKit?

[johannnn]

First baby here. 10 months old.
Would be nice with some kind of baby monitor when he's sleeping in the crib. And subsequently in the entire apartment. I found HomeCam and it looks amazing if you have multiple cameras. I also looove the idea of HomeKit Secure Video, but I'm afraid the cost of new cameras with this functionality are expensive compared to some deals you can find on older cameras.

What do other parents here use? Just a camera, or a "baby monitor"? Can a normal camera also detect when the baby is awake (i.e. moving?).

 

[rillrill]

Definitely none. Save the aggravation that this will cause you and your partner and get an older style baby monitor - ones on a radio frequency. WiFi cameras are too flaky to trust watching a baby.

 

[TonyC28]

First baby here. 10 months old.
Would be nice with some kind of baby monitor when he's sleeping in the crib. And subsequently in the entire apartment. I found HomeCam and it looks amazing if you have multiple cameras. I also looove the idea of HomeKit Secure Video, but I'm afraid the cost of new cameras with this functionality are expensive compared to some deals you can find on older cameras.

What do other parents here use? Just a camera, or a "baby monitor"? Can a normal camera also detect when the baby is awake (i.e. moving?).

My wife and I have recently started using a Nest Cam but only as a “bonus”. We have a standard video baby monitor that we keep on just in case but the video is awful. The Nest Cam is nice for a better look when we want to peak in. I just leave it on the iPad screen all night with the volume turned up. However, I wouldn’t trust it as the primary/only monitor. I don’t trust WiFi enough for that and I definitely wouldn’t trust notifications. I know Nest Cam isn’t a HomeKit device but my concerns would probably go for any WiFi camera.

 

[Itinj24]

HomeCam is a nice app and can be used on the Apple TV big screen but you won’t get an audio feed on the TV. I also found it to be not very reliable, especially as a baby monitor. Has a few hiccups and freezes. Baby monitor works better for monitoring a baby. The Summer one I had allowed multiple feeds on one monitor. If you’re set on a HomeKit baby monitor, Arlo makes one. If you want out of home viewing, do a baby monitor and a HomeKit cam. That’s what I had