Here’s a great way to use the VM333 video monitor from VTech, our sponsor this month.
Monday morning is one of my favorite parts of the week. Why? Because that’s when my Pathfinder Adventure Card Game group gets together. (I know, all you working types are jealous, but that’s one perk of being a stay-at-home dad that I’m clinging to.)
We play down in the basement, and the nursery is up on the second floor. As my family discovered one day when we were playing games during baby’s nap, we can’t hear her at all when she cries. I’ve got a simple audio monitor, but listening to her not-quite-asleep-yet complaints or not-quite-awake-yet mumbling is cute but distracting.
So I love that the VTech VM333 lets me keep an eye on my baby from the basement. While gaming, I turn the audio all the way off, and the screen automatically turns on when the noise reaches a certain threshold. I can turn the vibration on or off, too, though usually I keep it off because it’s pretty strong and actually makes a loud noise.
If I put her down for a nap, she usually mumbles a bit before falling asleep, and then the screen goes dark. I can set the monitor on the table near me and enjoy gaming, knowing that if she wakes up the screen will light up and I can go get her.
There is a talk-back feature, where I can push a button on the monitor and speak into it, but so far that seems to freak out the baby. But I’ve got other good uses for it—stay tuned for the next post!
No giveaways?!
Now, if you could somehow use it for a remote gaming experience 🙂
I did think of that, actually, but the camera-monitor interface is local rather than online, so “remote” would be limited to a different room in the same house, or perhaps next door. 🙂