Audio or video monitor: what do you actually need?
Audio and video monitoring solve the same need: knowing whether your child is fine and whether you need to go into the room. The difference is how much information you get, and how much attention, battery, and data the mode costs.
Video is not automatically the better choice for everyone. It often makes sense to start with audio and turn on video only when you have a specific reason.
When audio is enough
With a small baby who mostly sleeps, you often do not need to watch the picture. Sound tells you whether the room is quiet, whether the baby is waking up, or whether the baby is crying. In a smaller home where the crib is only a few steps away, audio monitoring can be enough.
Audio also has practical advantages. It uses less data than video, drains the parent phone less, and does not invite you to keep checking the screen. If the room is quiet, you can do something else. If something happens, you get an alert or connect.
In Bebamon, audio monitoring is available on the Free plan. The baby device listens, sound detection runs there, and the parent device receives events and notifications based on your settings.
When video helps
Video helps when audio is not enough to decide what to do. With a more mobile child, for example, you can see whether they are lying down and babbling, or standing in the crib and needing attention. Video is also useful when you do not want to open the door and risk waking the child just to check.
Distance is another reason. If you are in the garden, by the washing machine, or in another part of the house, a quick visual check is more precise than guessing from sound. Video can also help parents who simply feel calmer with clear visual confirmation that the child is sleeping.
The downsides of video are predictable: higher data use, more battery drain, and a greater temptation to check more often than necessary. That is why it is better to choose the mode based on the situation, not on the feeling that video must always be running.
How to decide
This rule of thumb helps:
- The smaller the baby, the smaller the home, and the shorter the distance, the more likely audio is enough.
- The more mobile the child, the larger the home, or the stronger the need for visual confirmation, the more video makes sense.
Bebamon lets you start with audio monitoring and add video later. Paid plans add unlimited SD or HD video depending on the plan. You can compare the options on the pricing page.