Infant Optics DXR-8 Add-on Camera (Not Compatible with DXR-8 PRO)

We have four of these set up in our house. They work great!

I have generally been happy with this baby monitor, so I purchased the extra camera for it when my wife and I had our second baby a few weeks ago. I wanted to share some thoughts about something I DONT like about this monitor, particularly as it relates to add-on cameras. First Ill explain briefly the issue we had with our previous monitor, then Ill explain how that ties into what we dont like about THIS monitor. My wife and I loved our previous baby monitor, but we ran into issues when our second child was born and we started using the monitor with a second camera. That was when we discovered a quirk with the monitors software. With a single camera we had liked the Eco mode in which the monitors screen and audio would both shut off after about ten seconds of inactivity in our daughters room, then turn back on as soon as sound was detected. The monitor was silent unless our daughter was making noise, and this probably contributed to the monitors fantastic battery life. My wife and I liked this feature especially if were watching a movie or something; we would turn the monitors volume up so that we would easily hear it if our daughter started crying, but it was completely silent otherwise. But when we added a second camera we discovered that when you put the system into scan mode (where the monitor alternates between two or more cameras) Eco mode is no longer a possibility. Instead, the monitor cycles through the cameras for ten seconds each, with the screen ALWAYS on and the speaker constantly emitting a white noise. Aside from the noise being annoying, this also meant that the monitors battery drained MUCH more quickly than before. That was enough to put me back on the search for a new baby monitor. I selected this one on the basis of a huge number of positive reviews, and overall my wife and I are quite pleased with it. Setup was easy, the image quality is great, and we love the ability to pan the cameras. I also like the ability to select, at the touch of a single button, whether to view one camera, the other camera, or to scan between them. What I DONT like is the way the audio works in scan mode. Unlike our previous monitor, the screen on this one can be set to turn off after either 3 or 5 minutes of inactivity, even in the scanning mode. The speaker, however, does NOT turn off, so it is always emitting a white noise. With 2 cameras, this means the speaker alternates between two slightly different white noises every 12 seconds or so. This may not seem like a big deal, but when you are a light sleeper like me, its really annoying! Also, if one of our little ones starts making noise, a monitor gets our attention much more readily if the speaker was formerly silent than if it was already emitting some white noise. Im not sure why the Infant Optics monitor was designed this way. If my children are sleeping quietly, I dont need to hear static white noise transmitted from their rooms. Having said that, I otherwise like this monitor very much, and I can see why it is so popular. I notice Infant Optics responded to customers complaints about the out of range alarm; I wonder if anyone else besides me wishes the speaker could be set to be silent when the screen is off?

We love this camera! It is so clear, has great battery life and distance the signal can be picked up. So if I need to do some gardening or clean out my car while the kids nap I can do that knowing that I will be able to hear them if they wake and check on them through video. We have had one camera for almost 4 years now. We bought a second when #2 was born and the older one works just as great as the new one does!

I love that this is a closed loop, non-hackable system. Picture quality is great! I have been able to add cameras on as our family grows. The real factor that takes infant optics to the next level is their customer service! After about 18 months, our signal was dropping a lot and after emailing customer service, Gladys R was all over it!! Provided lots of step by step troubleshooting and frequently checked in to see how these tips were/weren’t working. There was small improvement but not great. She jumped all over coordinating the return of my monitor and sending me a new one without question. I already was happy with the product but the customer service has made me a customer for life and I’ve recommended and bought for my friends numerous times!

We have been using this camera system for one year now, and I have no complaints. We have one camera at home and one at our babysitters. The viewer-screen travels back and forth daily, with no issues! It can be used both locations to connect with either camera. The camera is easy to mount on the wall or set on a shelf. It has a long cord and so does the viewers charger. Our viewer can still go for about 3 hours without needing a charge, although I do plug it in all night long. Occasionally we have some small challenges where my phones wi-fi interferes a bit with the sound from the monitor, but its never a big deal. You can turn off the annoying beep for when it loses connectivity. I looked at a lot of monitors before our son was born, and I can say Im happy with this one!

UPDATE: I absolutely HATE this monitor system. First, this company is inflating their reviews by including a message in the box for the device that asks customers to post a review in exchange for a free second camera (valued at $99 here on Amazon). We played along because we needed a second camera. I hate that I’m probably part of what has made this company so successful. My best friend just bought this monitor because of the reviews even though I continue to talk her into returning it! Ugh! The picture on this monitor is awful quality! We used to have a Summer monitor that was so much better quality. I do like the interchangeable wide angle lens (the only thing I like—which you’ll pay an extra $20 to own). I hate that the speaker for this unit is on the BACK! You have to lay it on its face to hear at night. Standing it up risks it falling over and you not being able to hear. But if you are worried about hearing your kids, you shouldn’t buy from this company at ALL! We just discovered today that if you have the monitor on scan and a camera gets unplugged, it stays on that camera (the unplugged one) and STOPS scanning. We woke up to find our baby covered in dried vomit. It was everywhere like he had been crying for us. Did we hear him? No. By strange coincidence, the monitor in my daughter’s room was unplugged. The monitor was only showing her unplugged warning screen instead of switching to my son’s room. What a terrible flaw! In the product’s defense, I had turned off the alarm feature (not understanding it). I turned the alarm back on high and recreated the scenario to find out that the unplugged monitor does create an alarm, but the camera stays on the warning screen and does stop scanning. So angry about my baby being put through all that. If you still decide to buy this piece of junk, don’t turn the alarm off ever! But seriously, find something else. I am so sorry we bought this and even sorrier that we kept it after we realized this company was scamming the Amazon reviews! INITIAL REVIEW: We purchased this monitor system over the weekend and found the set up was easy. We added on an additional camera today to try the whole thing out and it seems to work well for us so far. Pairing the new camera was simple. I like how the camera can point at a lower angle than our previous Summer monitor. Downsides are that I wish it could do split screen and automatically stay on a camera if sound is detected. I prefer that instead of scanning. Another downside is that the monitor light seemed a bit bright in our room last night. I wish there were a way to turn it down or off. Overall though, it appears to be at least as good as our old Summer monitor and probably a bit better.

The camera and monitor are easy to setup and use, and they work very well keeping an eye on things. I had a technical issue as well and had to call email customer support, and they were amazing with quick, friendly responses, but best of all, doing great work helping resolve my issue, so everything is good now. Definitely I recommend the camera and monitor because of the product quality and customer service!

One note that I didn’t realize is that on the monitor you can press OK to toggle between scan and cameras rather than having to go through menu.

UPDATED REVIEW------ This video monitor system works great, until it doesnt (we have two cameras and one monitor). My original review reflects that we had to exchange the first camera, and I thought it was a one-off issue, but now Im no longer happy with the overall quality of this system. It was difficult to decide how to rate this, because as long as the system works, it really is great, but the fact that 2 cameras failed within their first year due to different reasons, bumped the rating down to 2 stars for me. One camera stopped being able to move down, the other stopped working in night mode (so you couldnt see anything in the room and were basically back to an audio monitor). Its a hassle to exchange if you dont have a second monitor set as a backup, because you will be out of a baby monitor for a week or so while the defective unit is mailed back, received, and a new one is sent back to you. I awarded one star for a system that we loved as long as it did work and a second star for customer service (we contacted Infant Optics directly and they were very nice and helpful) that honors their promise to exchange the broken cameras (though we did have to pay for shipping back for any defective units). Overall though, I would expect the video monitor system to just work — especially with a baby or children in the house, Id rather not have to worry about equipment working and dealing with exchanges and the inconvenience of not having the video monitor while we wait for replacement. Sadly, I cannot recommend this system, which is too bad because if the cameras worked 100% of the time, this would easily be a 4 to 5 star product. ORIGINAL REVIEW------ PROS: • can be operated remotely to swivel and turn • good picture quality even in the dark • mounts easily (flush against the wall or standing up, long cable) • sleek look • great customer service • far reaching video signal (though see CONS note below) • can add multiple cameras to cover many rooms CONS: • camera stopped moving down (manufacturer replaced for free (we had to pay shipping of defective unit), easy return process) • signal reaches far but has a few trouble spots within the house, even close to the bedroom We have two cameras and one corresponding video monitor. The quality of the video feed is good and the image shows up well even when the room is dark. The best feature of the camera is its ability to swivel and turn, which you can operate remotely from the monitor — we have a crib and a big kid bed in one of the bedrooms, so its nice to be able to move between the two easily without having to adjust the camera angle manually. The camera signal reaches pretty far — were able to be out and about in the yard without ever losing contact. However, there are some trouble spots within the house, even very close to the bedroom with the camera, so we do have to move the monitor to a better spot frequently (by now weve figured out the best places to get a good signal in the house, it just takes a bit of trial and error). The camera is easy to mount to the wall — we just hung it from a nail and it sits flush and straight against the wall, but you can also just stand it up. When our newborn baby was still in our room, I simply taped the bottom of the camera to our bed post with a command strip and that held up perfectly. The cable is a good length, too, so you have some flexibility as to where to mount it relative to an outlet. The white color fits well with the rest of our white furniture and light gray walls, so the camera blends in pretty well with the rest of the room. We actually had an issue when one of our cameras stopped moving down after about 6-7 months of owning it — all the other directions worked, but it could not move to angle further down. We contacted the manufacturer and they sent us a new one — great customer service. Both cameras still going strong (both the original one that came with the monitor and the replacement one). Overall we really like this camera and monitor system.

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