Project Nursery Smart Baby Monitor System With Alexa

Our Verdict

Project Nursery's baby-monitor arrangement pairs a solid camera with a privacy-minded smart speaker, so you can use Alexa for control instead of relying solely on smartphone apps.

For

• Includes an Repeat-similar smart speaker
• Integrated Alexa support
• On/off button on speaker delivers extra privacy
• Pan and tilt controls on camera

Against

• Some false positives when detecting motion
• System requires multiple apps
• Streams restricted to 720p resolution

Tom'southward Guide Verdict

Project Plant nursery's baby-monitor organization pairs a solid photographic camera with a privacy-minded smart speaker, so you can use Alexa for control instead of relying solely on smartphone apps.

Pros

• +

  Includes an Echo-like smart speaker

• +

  Integrated Alexa back up

• +

  On/off button on speaker delivers extra privacy

• +

  Pan and tilt controls on camera

Cons

• -

  Some fake positives when detecting motion

• -

  System requires multiple apps

• -

  Streams restricted to 720p resolution

Alexa is ready to help out in your plant nursery. Only is your nursery set for Amazon'southward phonation-powered assistant?

If it'southward in the form of Project Plant nursery's Smart Plant nursery Infant Monitor Organization with Alexa, the answer is yes. The vocalisation-powered assistant is a welcome improver to a solid baby monitor system, giving y'all a way to check in on your child using a few simple vocal commands. And the style Project Plant nursery incorporates Alexa into its camera system should alleviate whatever privacy concerns yous take almost an always-listening speaker. Nosotros call back it'south one of the best baby monitors you tin can buy, particularly if you alive in an Alexa-continued home.

Availability

Project Plant nursery sells its Smart Nursery Baby Monitor system in a $229 bundle that includes both a 5.7 x three.eight 10 three.eight-inch HD video camera and an Amazon Echo speaker. If you already have one of Amazon's Echo products, you can choose to simply buy the stand-lonely photographic camera, which coasts $149; information technology has congenital-in support for Alexa voice controls.

Design

Project Nursery's sleek, white camera is motorized, so information technology can pan 270 degrees from side to side and tilt 120 degrees up and down. That helps yous get just the correct view of the baby'south room, and you can mount the photographic camera to the wall besides. Adjusting the bending is as simple as swiping on the live view within the app on your Android or iOS device.

With no battery support, the Projection Plant nursery camera must stay plugged in at all times. There'south a microSD menu slot with support for up to 32GB that's used for storing photos and videos. That ways no cloud-storage fees like the ones other infant monitor makers sometimes charge for storing video. So, once you lot buy the Projection Nursery arrangement, you lot're done spending coin.

To beginning the pairing process between the photographic camera and your phone, you'll use the Project Nursery smartphone app to scan a QR code on the camera's lesser. And then, enter your Wi-Fi credentials into the app, which creates and displays another QR code on your screen. Agree that lawmaking upwardly to the camera to scan; a voice from the camera will tell you when it's been read successfully. Subsequently some other infinitesimal, the camera volition bring together your Wi-Fi network. The process was painless, and the camera stayed connected throughout my testing, never dropping the network one time.

Adjusting the Smart Plant nursery camera angle is as simple as swiping on the live view within an app on your smartphone.

I reviewed the $229 bundle, which includes a smart speaker, a tall, white cylinder that looks a lot like a regular Amazon Echo. Information technology'south got the same buttons on the meridian, plus a color-changing ring that lights up when y'all say, "Alexa." Merely the front of the speaker that Project Nursery includes two more buttons: a power push button that lets you lot turn the entire speaker off, including the microphone, likewise as a button that lets you switch from Wi-Fi to Bluetooth mode. You tin do this if you ever want to use the monitor as a regular one-time Bluetooth speaker.

MORE: Best Baby Monitor - Video Monitors With Wi-Fi and Night Vision

I'thousand crazy about those additions. The on/off button is a little redundant, considering this speaker, like all Echo devices, has a microphone mute button on the pinnacle that disables the microphone (and stops the speaker from responding to the wake discussion "Alexa") until you printing it over again. In households like mine, where some of us get a little creeped-out by the idea of an always-listening microphone, we appreciate the assurance the speaker is really off, without having to unplug the entire matter. Bluetooth way is also a nice touch on, giving this smart speaker extra versatility around the firm.

Specs

Camera Resolution: 1280 x 720, 640 x 360
Handheld Monitor: No
Mobile App: Android, iOS
Temperature Sensor: Yes
Humidity Sensor: No
Handheld Viewer Size/Weight: NA
Video Recording: Yes, microSD
Subscription: No

Features

The Smart Nursery photographic camera and smart speaker both back up Alexa, one of the fundamental features of this bundle. Alexa integration lets you lot control many functions of the camera itself with your voice, from whatsoever room the smart speaker is in. So from the Echo speaker in your living room, you can control the camera in your nursery, glancing at images streaming from the nursery to your smartphone; if you have speakers in other rooms, you tin control the camera from those places, likewise.

First say, "Alexa, open Project Nursery," so you can utilize your vox to pan or tilt the camera, accept a photo or start recording video, turn move detection and temperature alerts on and off, play a lullaby or pink noise, check the temperature, or enquire when sound or motion was terminal detected. You can utilise the balance of Alexa's skills to, say, reorder diapers and wipes, set a timer, and log feedings and naps. This all worked well in my testing once I got the syntax right. I had to say, "Check the temperature on the nursery photographic camera," including the device name.

The system'south Wi-Fi-connected camera uses its Alexa integration well. Once I started using my vocalization to start and stop monitoring and to play songs from the camera's speaker, the whole family came to appreciate Alexa more than than ever — and we left the smart speaker powered on more than ofttimes. Other Alexa features (news, conditions, music, shopping lists, reminders, calendars, and on and on) are available through the speaker, as well, and add extra value; they might but go on you using this system even subsequently you've outgrown the need for a infant monitor.

With Alexa integration, you can control many functions of the baby monitor itself with your voice, from whatsoever room the smart speaker is in.

There'southward ane downside to this integration. Managing all the features requires multiple apps. The Project Nursery Smart Camera app shows the photographic camera'due south feed and lets you lot suit its settings. The Project Nursery Smart Speaker app lets you play music on the speaker in Wi-Fi style, including songs saved to your phone's own library and online sources similar TuneIn radio, iHeartRadio, Spotify, Tidal, Napster and Amazon. And so, you accept to install the regular Alexa app, also, for linking the smart speaker to your Amazon business relationship. While it's clear which functions each app is responsible for (and the apps are mostly well-designed and easy to use), this is non a seamless feel. And the Smart Speaker app could utilise a face-lift.

Project Nursery's camera app supports upwardly to four cameras, and y'all can also share the live feed with friends if they install the app on their own devices and and then browse a QR code from your phone. The app tin can alert you to motion, audio and room temperature changes. I did go a few false-positive motion alerts with the sensitivity setting on default, probably from sunlight casting shadows. The app lets you exclude some areas of the field of view from movement detection, and then you can focus on your baby's crib or bed. I loved being able to turn motion and sound detection on or off past asking the smart speaker to do so — information technology's much more user-friendly than having to dig into the app settings.

MORE: Report: Babe Monitors Boring Down WiFi Signals

The photographic camera includes three preprogrammed instrumental lullabies (in the Rockabye Infant style) besides as the sound of rain, waves and pink noises. They're all fine, but I wish I could add more than songs, create a playlist or even have the sounds switch off later a set time. Right now, the app simply plays whatever sound or vocal you choose nonstop until you turn it off, either in the app or by asking the smart speaker to "turn off the sounds on the nursery photographic camera." A nighttime-calorie-free feature would be a prissy add-on too.

2-manner audio lets yous speak to your infant over the camera's speaker by holding a button in the smartphone app — to let a crying child know you're on your manner, for example, or to tell the cat to stop licking the baby'south head.

Performance

The Smart Nursery photographic camera has proficient night vision, which turns itself on and off automatically or can be enabled someday in the app. Motion and sound detection tin trigger video recordings of thirty, 60 or 90 seconds in length, and buttons on the photographic camera's live view allow y'all take a snapshot or start a recording whenever y'all like.

The photographic camera records in 720p, not 1080p, but videos looked well-baked and detailed plenty for a nursery photographic camera. At that place's very lilliputian lag between the app and the camera when y'all're panning and tilting, turning the sounds on and off, or taking a snapshot or video.

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Faux-positive motion alerts were the main drawback in my testing. I got a handful (ane or two per day at the most) when there was no 1 in my son's room. Once more, the culprit was probably light from the window casting shadows, just on the snapshots and recordings, I had a hard time figuring out exactly what the camera saw as motion. Nevertheless, I could tell the smart speaker to plough the motion detection off during the day and then dorsum on at nap time and bedtime.

Smart Nursery records in 720p, not 1080p, just videos seemed crisp and detailed enough for a nursery camera.

Alexa integration is solid, too. Being able to ask for the temperature in the baby'due south room is my favorite characteristic. The app gives notifications when the temperature is above or below a set range too, simply getting a precise temp from Alexa felt very space-age. I even started using Alexa to play one of the camera's lullabies to wake my son up in the morn.

Bottom Line

The smart speaker adds a lot of value to the Smart Plant nursery package, and the photographic camera is versatile plenty that you could keep using it as an indoor security photographic camera once your need for a baby monitor goes away. Being able to control mutual camera features by voice also lets older siblings and other family unit members get involved — by turning on movement detection or playing a lullaby, for instance — without having to reach for a smartphone app.

The Project Plant nursery system lacks the humidity sensor and color-irresolute nightlight institute in our top baby monitor option, the Arlo Baby, only its clever Alexa integration and inclusion of a smart speaker make this packet easy to recommend.

Credit: Tom'southward Guide

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Source: https://www.tomsguide.com/uk/us/project-nursery-smart-baby-monitor-with-alexa,review-5351.html

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