By: Hailey | Last updated September 19, 2018 
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The Philips Avent Smart Baby SCD860 is a WiFi baby monitor, with a HD resolution, lullabies, temperature and humidity sensors and more. The app is easy to use and gives you freedom of customization. The only noteworthy disadvantages with the SCD860 are its steep price and the fact that sometimes it loses the WiFi connection for short periods.
Philips Avent are great baby monitors, well known and appreciated on this market. The Smart Baby monitor from Philips makes no exception. It is a bit pricey but offers a great audio and video quality and WiFi capabilities, so that you can watch over your baby even if you are away from home.
Here are the main specifications of the Smart Baby system:
Design
The Philips Avent Smart Baby SCD860 comes in a glossy white color and the camera sits on a round base. You can either put the camera on a flat furniture or mount it on a wall (using the included accessories).
Attached to the camera (at the end of the cord) is also a little sphere which has the sensors for humidity and temperature and a mini USB.
On the camera, you’ve got buttons on top for playing the lullabies and for turning on the nightlight. The power and the reset buttons are placed on the rear, as is the speaker grille.
There are also a status LED, a multi-color nightlight and a WiFi indicator on the front.
Setup, features and performance
Setting up the Smart Baby monitoring system is as hassle-free as it gets. It is an easy and straightforward process. First, you have to download their uGrow app, which is compatible with Android (4.1 and above) and iOS (iOS 7 and above) devices.
Next, you have to create an account and if you want, a profile too, but the latter is not mandatory. Then you plug in and turn on the camera and in about 30 seconds you can connect to a WiFi network (the camera only works on the 2.4 GHz band though, not on 5GHz). You have to place the smartphone/mobile device in front of the camera for it to read the QR code and that’s it. When the camera is fully set up and connected, the status LED indicator will be green.
The Smart Baby has a HD resolution and the image is sharp and clear. You’ve also got black and white streaming during the night, thanks to the infrared.
The uGrow app is lets you connect up to 10 cameras and up to 3 members can view it at the same time. You can choose between landscape and portrait viewing, you can take snapshots, talk to your baby and enable the nightlight which is available in several colors you can choose from.
There are 10 preinstalled lullabies that you can play and you can adjust the noise detection level and the humidity threshold. You can also zoom and pan from the app and set the values for receiving temperature notifications.
While there are no complaints when it comes to video, sound quality and the available features on the SCD860, there is an annoying problem when it comes to its connection and for some parents, it might even be a deal breaker. The Smart Baby loses connection from time to time, for short periods, which is not exactly great, as the number one quality you look for in a baby monitor is reliability, so that you can rest assured you can watch over your baby whenever you consider necessary.
Other than that, we were quite pleased with the way the Smart Baby SCD860 performs. However, there are other baby monitors out there which offer the same features and quality, for less money, so it is up to you to decide if you want to go with this particular one or not.
The Philips Avent Smart Baby SCD860 can be purchased for approximately $240. In the box you also get hardware and an adapter if you want to mount the camera on a wall, the instructions and the power adapter with an 8 feet cable.
Phone: 0 20 79 49 02 40
Monday-Friday, from 8:30 am to 8:00 pm
Saturday: from 9 am to 6 pm
Social media: Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Pinterest, Google+
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Philips
You can contact customer support via phone, live chat or email. There’s also an extensive knowledge base on their website, with manuals and documentation, FAQs, troubleshooting and more.
Our editorial staff evaluates products and services independently, but Best Review Guide may earn money when you click on links. Read our advertising disclosure.
