As with most smart baby monitors, the Wisenet BabyView Basic (SEW-3053W), manufactured by Samsung, lets you keep an eye on your baby from any room in the house using its 5-inch color touch-screen display, and works with a mobile app to streams live video.
The $229.99 camera system delivered sharp 720p video in our tests, but its handheld display tops out at 800-by-480.
Moreover, it lacks many of the features that you get with our favorite baby monitor, the iBaby Monitor M6S, including motion and sound alerts, the ability to record video, and temperature and humidity monitoring.
Honest, Objective Reviews
Daxdi.com is a leading authority on technology, delivering Labs-based, independent reviews of the latest products and services.
Our expert industry analysis and practical solutions help you make better buying decisions and get more from technology.
Design and Features
The BabyView Basic consists of two components: a PTZ camera and a handheld 5-inch display.
The egg-shaped camera stands 4.1 inches tall and is 3.2 inches in diameter at its widest point.
The top part of the camera holds a quarter-inch CMOS sensor that delivers 720p video at 20fps and has a 55-degree field of view and 2X digital zoom.
There's a small microphone embedded just below the lens.
A night light button sits atop the mechanical enclosure, which provides 110 degrees of tilt.
The bottom portion of the camera holds a USB power jack, a 2.5-inch antenna, a night light, and a speaker, while the bottom of the base has buttons for pairing, resetting, and turning the camera on and off.
The top and bottom are separated by a mechanism that swivels the top to provide 300 degrees of panning motion.
The portable display measures 3.7 by 5.6 by 0.7 inches and has a pull-out stand around back.
It has a 5-inch color touch screen with a 800-by-480-pixel resolution that doesn't quite match up with the camera's 720p resolution, a speaker, and a microphone.
The left side has a microSD card slot (media not included) for storing Photo Diary shots (more on this later) and a power jack, and the right side has a power switch.
The display has an internal rechargeable battery that provides up to four hours of untethered power.
You can look in on and listen to your child from anywhere using the BabyView mobile app, but that's pretty much all you can do with it.
Tapping the camera in the Device list launches a live stream that you can view in full-screen mode by turning your phone sideways.
There are three buttons on the bottom: one takes you to a snapshot gallery, one actually takes the snapshot, and the last one mutes the speaker.
There's no push-to-talk option for two-way audio in the app, and you can't play lullabies or manually record video.
In fact, the BabyView Basic does not support video recording of any kind.
The app does offer pan and tilt using swipe gestures, however, as well as settings to modify your password, adjust video quality (High, Low), and configure Wi-Fi settings.
When you turn on the handheld display, you're presented with a live image.
The top of the screen is crowded with status icons for signal strength, sound level, SD card (installed, not installed), zoom mode, VOX (hands-free audio enabled/disabled), night vision, speaker mute, and battery level.
At the bottom of the screen is a microphone button to initiate two-way audio.
Tap anywhere on the screen to bring up the four-way pan and tilt controls, and a new set of buttons for raising/lowering the speaker volume, zooming, and playing one of the programmed lullabies.
You only get four choices here, whereas monitors like the Philips Avent SCD860 and HolaBaby P1 offer a wider variety of songs and background noises.
The iBaby M6S lets you play music from your phone's music library.
A Menu icon takes you to a screen where you can pair/unpair the camera, turn the nightlight on or off, view the Photo Diary, and access the settings menu where you can set the date and time, adjust screen brightness and speaker volume, set a feed timer (for feeding intervals), enable/disable VOX, and set the Photo Diary birth date and capture time.
Oddly, there's no way to quickly take a photo with the handheld display.
Instead, you have to go to the Photo Diary settings screen and enter a capture time that tells the camera when to take a shot.
It will also take a picture on the baby's birth date if you choose to enter it.
You have to install an SD card (not included) in the display to view these photos in the Photo Diary.
Installation and Performance
Installing the BabyView is quick and easy.
I downloaded the mobile app, used my phone's Wi-Fi settings to connect to the camera, and tapped Add Device on the opening screen.
I scanned the QR code on the base of the camera and entered the default password.
I was prompted to change the password and the camera showed up in my device list.
I tapped the settings icon, clicked Advanced Settings, and clicked Wi-Fi to add the camera to my home network.
I selected my SSID and waited around 30 seconds for the camera to connect.
The BabyView's live video looked sharp with vibrant colors when viewed on my iPhone 8's screen, but the image appeared soft and slightly washed out when viewed on the handheld display.
Similarly, black-and-white night vision video looked sharp on my phone, but appeared grainy on the handheld display.
Two-way audio was clean, with no distortion or background noise.
Pan and tilt was responsive and relatively smooth on both the handheld display and on my phone, as was the digital zoom feature.
Conclusions
If you're looking for a basic baby monitoring system that lets you see and hear what your baby is doing, the Wisenet BabyView Basic (SEW-3053W) will get the job done, but it comes up short compared with similarly priced baby monitors.
Granted, its mechanical pan and tilt provides a full view of your child's room, and the 720p camera delivered sharp HD video in our tests, but you have to view it from your phone to appreciate it as the handheld display simply doesn't look very good.
Moreover, the BabyView Basic lacks motion and sound detection alerts, video recording capabilities, and humidity and temperature monitoring.
Our Editors' Choice, the iBaby Monitor M6S, offers all of this, as well as the ability to play soothing tunes from your phone's music library, and it costs $50 less.
Samsung Wisenet BabyView Basic SEW-3053W
Pros
Easy to install.
Sharp 720p video.
Clean two-way audio.
Mechanical pan and tilt.
Four lullabies.
View More
Cons
Expensive.
No motion detection or alerts.
Lacks video recording capabilities and environmental sensors.
Limited app functionality.
SD card not included.
View More
The Bottom Line
The Samsung Wisenet BabyView Basic (SEW-3053W) is a two-piece baby monitoring system that offers mechanical pan and tilt functionality, but lacks many of the features found on similarly priced baby monitors.
As with most smart baby monitors, the Wisenet BabyView Basic (SEW-3053W), manufactured by Samsung, lets you keep an eye on your baby from any room in the house using its 5-inch color touch-screen display, and works with a mobile app to streams live video.
The $229.99 camera system delivered sharp 720p video in our tests, but its handheld display tops out at 800-by-480.
Moreover, it lacks many of the features that you get with our favorite baby monitor, the iBaby Monitor M6S, including motion and sound alerts, the ability to record video, and temperature and humidity monitoring.
Honest, Objective Reviews
Daxdi.com is a leading authority on technology, delivering Labs-based, independent reviews of the latest products and services.
Our expert industry analysis and practical solutions help you make better buying decisions and get more from technology.
Design and Features
The BabyView Basic consists of two components: a PTZ camera and a handheld 5-inch display.
The egg-shaped camera stands 4.1 inches tall and is 3.2 inches in diameter at its widest point.
The top part of the camera holds a quarter-inch CMOS sensor that delivers 720p video at 20fps and has a 55-degree field of view and 2X digital zoom.
There's a small microphone embedded just below the lens.
A night light button sits atop the mechanical enclosure, which provides 110 degrees of tilt.
The bottom portion of the camera holds a USB power jack, a 2.5-inch antenna, a night light, and a speaker, while the bottom of the base has buttons for pairing, resetting, and turning the camera on and off.
The top and bottom are separated by a mechanism that swivels the top to provide 300 degrees of panning motion.
The portable display measures 3.7 by 5.6 by 0.7 inches and has a pull-out stand around back.
It has a 5-inch color touch screen with a 800-by-480-pixel resolution that doesn't quite match up with the camera's 720p resolution, a speaker, and a microphone.
The left side has a microSD card slot (media not included) for storing Photo Diary shots (more on this later) and a power jack, and the right side has a power switch.
The display has an internal rechargeable battery that provides up to four hours of untethered power.
You can look in on and listen to your child from anywhere using the BabyView mobile app, but that's pretty much all you can do with it.
Tapping the camera in the Device list launches a live stream that you can view in full-screen mode by turning your phone sideways.
There are three buttons on the bottom: one takes you to a snapshot gallery, one actually takes the snapshot, and the last one mutes the speaker.
There's no push-to-talk option for two-way audio in the app, and you can't play lullabies or manually record video.
In fact, the BabyView Basic does not support video recording of any kind.
The app does offer pan and tilt using swipe gestures, however, as well as settings to modify your password, adjust video quality (High, Low), and configure Wi-Fi settings.
When you turn on the handheld display, you're presented with a live image.
The top of the screen is crowded with status icons for signal strength, sound level, SD card (installed, not installed), zoom mode, VOX (hands-free audio enabled/disabled), night vision, speaker mute, and battery level.
At the bottom of the screen is a microphone button to initiate two-way audio.
Tap anywhere on the screen to bring up the four-way pan and tilt controls, and a new set of buttons for raising/lowering the speaker volume, zooming, and playing one of the programmed lullabies.
You only get four choices here, whereas monitors like the Philips Avent SCD860 and HolaBaby P1 offer a wider variety of songs and background noises.
The iBaby M6S lets you play music from your phone's music library.
A Menu icon takes you to a screen where you can pair/unpair the camera, turn the nightlight on or off, view the Photo Diary, and access the settings menu where you can set the date and time, adjust screen brightness and speaker volume, set a feed timer (for feeding intervals), enable/disable VOX, and set the Photo Diary birth date and capture time.
Oddly, there's no way to quickly take a photo with the handheld display.
Instead, you have to go to the Photo Diary settings screen and enter a capture time that tells the camera when to take a shot.
It will also take a picture on the baby's birth date if you choose to enter it.
You have to install an SD card (not included) in the display to view these photos in the Photo Diary.
Installation and Performance
Installing the BabyView is quick and easy.
I downloaded the mobile app, used my phone's Wi-Fi settings to connect to the camera, and tapped Add Device on the opening screen.
I scanned the QR code on the base of the camera and entered the default password.
I was prompted to change the password and the camera showed up in my device list.
I tapped the settings icon, clicked Advanced Settings, and clicked Wi-Fi to add the camera to my home network.
I selected my SSID and waited around 30 seconds for the camera to connect.
The BabyView's live video looked sharp with vibrant colors when viewed on my iPhone 8's screen, but the image appeared soft and slightly washed out when viewed on the handheld display.
Similarly, black-and-white night vision video looked sharp on my phone, but appeared grainy on the handheld display.
Two-way audio was clean, with no distortion or background noise.
Pan and tilt was responsive and relatively smooth on both the handheld display and on my phone, as was the digital zoom feature.
Conclusions
If you're looking for a basic baby monitoring system that lets you see and hear what your baby is doing, the Wisenet BabyView Basic (SEW-3053W) will get the job done, but it comes up short compared with similarly priced baby monitors.
Granted, its mechanical pan and tilt provides a full view of your child's room, and the 720p camera delivered sharp HD video in our tests, but you have to view it from your phone to appreciate it as the handheld display simply doesn't look very good.
Moreover, the BabyView Basic lacks motion and sound detection alerts, video recording capabilities, and humidity and temperature monitoring.
Our Editors' Choice, the iBaby Monitor M6S, offers all of this, as well as the ability to play soothing tunes from your phone's music library, and it costs $50 less.
Samsung Wisenet BabyView Basic SEW-3053W
Pros
Easy to install.
Sharp 720p video.
Clean two-way audio.
Mechanical pan and tilt.
Four lullabies.
View More
Cons
Expensive.
No motion detection or alerts.
Lacks video recording capabilities and environmental sensors.
Limited app functionality.
SD card not included.
View More
The Bottom Line
The Samsung Wisenet BabyView Basic (SEW-3053W) is a two-piece baby monitoring system that offers mechanical pan and tilt functionality, but lacks many of the features found on similarly priced baby monitors.
