Armed with a handful of practical features that enhance usability, the Safe Baby Home Sentry Digital Monitor earns its place among our top ten video baby monitors, but its overt lack of audio and video clarity keep it from being a top contender.

The monitor has all the regular design features that make video baby monitors attractive to parents, plus a few extras. The power-saver mode turns off both the screen and audio until the camera detects a noise, and notification messages inform you if the monitor is out of range or running low on power. The camera is also equipped with zoom, but it surprisingly has no pan or scan capabilities; it seems counterintuitive to have a camera that can zoom but not pan.

An area where the monitor unexpectedly excels is its multi-camera capabilities. The system can support up to seven additional cameras, more than any other monitor we reviewed, and it has auto-scanning to switch to and scan each camera at a specified time interval. In addition, if one of the cameras picks up a significant noise such as crying, the receiver unit will automatically switch to that particular camera. We loved this feature as a whole because the monitor (which is comparatively priced among similar video baby monitors) has the potential to function not only as a baby monitor but as a lightweight home security system that can be used to monitor several rooms.

Much to our disappointment, the Home Sentry video baby monitors have the worst battery life of all our top-rated video baby monitors at a max of just three hours. Consequently, it has to be continuously plugged in to ensure uninterrupted monitoring, especially at nighttime. We expect a battery to drain faster than a manufacturer states since the amount is usually given under the assumption the video feed is not constantly running, but a battery life up to just three hours is completely inadequate and lacks portability.

Another issue with the Home Sentry video baby monitors is the lack of audio and video clarity. The picture tends to look dark unless there is ample light in the room, and it appears grainy, particularly if it's running off the battery. Furthermore the audio has consistent interference issues and overall mediocre sound quality. Plus, the night vision is second-rate at best and again, only works adequately if the monitor is plugged in. However, we did like the ability to remotely adjust audio detection sensitivity on the camera using the menu on the LCD screen. This is great because you can fine-tune the sensitivity so the audio detection picks up every single noise or triggers only when the baby begins to cry. While we didn't experience any of these issues, there are some reports from long-term users that with extended use (meaning consistent use for longer than six months) the monitor has even more extensive audio and video issues: the screen can go blank periodically and the audio begins to malfunction. Fortunately, the manufacturer does offer a one-year warranty, so if you do experience such issues within that timeframe, they will be covered.