In this article, I’ll help you find the best split-screen baby monitor to monitor multiple babies, multiple rooms, or get multiple views of the same room.
Suppose your family expands (like mine is!) from one child to two or more. In that case, you should buy a split-screen baby monitor rather than having multiple separate monitors… Or worse, relying on Wifi cameras.
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Top Split-Screen Baby Monitor Picks
Why Split Screen Baby Monitors Are Better Than Separate Monitors
The best split-screen baby monitors have built-in features to eliminate the headaches that come from two or more separate monitors (like one monitor picking up and echoing the other or feedback and static).
Here are the basic features we’ll look at:
- Smart audio and video: Only show the video feed or audio from the room with the noise.
- Dedicated parent unit connections: In case the wifi goes down.
- Hardware and wires: The less, the better.
Why You Shouldn’t Rely On Wifi Cameras As Baby Monitors
The best baby monitor will have a local connection (meaning it connects to the camera without wifi). Some cameras have wifi capability, too… But you don’t want to rely on wifi for your baby monitor.
Don’t get me wrong, I have several wifi cameras in my house from Wyze.
I use these cameras to monitor my dog while my husband and I are at work and as a backup monitor in my baby’s room.
There is a place for a wifi camera in your house, but I learned the hard way that wifi cameras are not meant to be dedicated baby monitors. Here are just a few of the problems we faced in the first month:
- Your Wifi Goes Down: Baby monitors with a dedicated parent unit (a parent screen) have built-in security settings to alert you if the unit loses connection from the monitor.
- Power Outage: The first time we lost power at our house, I realized our baby monitor (wifi camera) wouldn’t work. It was the worst sleep of my early parenting memory. Most modern baby monitor cameras have a built-in battery that kicks in during a power outage. An alert usually lets you know that this feature has been activated.
- Your Device Loses Power/Goes To Sleep: Whether you’re using your phone or a tablet, these devices are unpredictable. There could be an app running in the background that drains your battery or an unexpected update at night. Parent units on baby monitors have alerts to tell you when the battery is getting low and will not turn off otherwise.
That being said, there are reasons why I love our Wyze Cameras. I can check on my dog and my house remotely from anywhere. I can also use the Wyze camera to check in on my children while they are sleeping if I have a babysitter, for example.
The bottom line is that you can use wifi cameras in your home when you have a baby or small child, but you shouldn’t rely on wifi cameras as your sole baby monitor.
Features To Look For When Finding The Best Split Screen Baby Monitor
Battery Life
How long does the battery on the parent unit last without needing to be plugged in? How long does the rechargeable battery take to charge? How long is the camera battery in the event of a power outage?
Additional Camera
Are these multi-camera baby monitors? Does the unit come with a second, third, or fourth camera? Can you buy additional cameras if needed?
VOX Mode
VOX mode stands for Voice Activated Alert. The camera will not play audio or show video unless it detects a noise. This can save battery on the parent unit. It will also eliminate hearing background noise in the child’s room like air circulation or static.
These baby monitors will have high-sensitivity microphones to which you can set the sensitivity. If you want to hear the baby moving, you can put it on high sensitivity, or if you only want to hear baby cries, you can put it on low sensitivity.
Automatic Night Vision
Most modem baby monitors have auto night vision. This means your video will switch automatically from color during daylight to black and white (infrared video feed) at night.
Split-Screen Feature
Split-screen mode is an important feature for a monitor that can simultaneously display two video feeds. Switching between a split-screen and just a single-view display is also nice.
The problem with the split-screen feature is that in most units, you can only pick one camera to hear the audio from. If you want to hear the audio from both cameras, you need to put the parent unit on automatic scan mode anyway and only view one camera at at time.
For this reason, having a split-screen baby monitor isn’t as important as having a video baby monitor that has automatic scan mode (more below).
Automatic Scan Mode
This allows you to scan through all connected cameras (with audio) automatically. Most scan at 10 or 15-second intervals. Some have adjustable intervals.
Remote Pan and Tilt
Some cameras allow you to pan and tilt your camera remotely. That means the camera can rotate left and right and up and down. This is a handy feature if you want to see different areas of the room on the camera.
Two-Way Audio
Two-way talk is like a walkie-talkie. You hear the audio from the feed on the parent unit, but you also can talk to your child by pressing a talk button and speaking.
I sang lullabies to my son through the two-way audio when he was a few months old, and we struggled to get him to sleep.
Pro Tip: Want to know how I finally got my child to sleep 12 hours consistently through the night? Learn my secret here!
Zoom Functions
Even if your camera doesn’t have a remote pan and tilt, it probably has digital zoom. This means you can use the parent unit to zoom in close on the baby to get a closer look.
White Noise Sound
Many baby monitors have speakers that let you play preprogrammed white noise or programmed lullaby sounds. You can turn them on and off using the parent unit, so there is no need to go in and disturb the baby.
HD Cameras
Video quality is pretty important when it comes to a baby monitor. However, remember that you will usually view the camera in night mode (infrared), so the video is usually less clear than in color daylight mode.
Room Temperature Monitor
Some baby monitors have a built-in room temperature sensor that will alert you if the room gets too hot or cold. This is great if you are in separate rooms that have fluctuating temperatures.
Some monitors have default temperature settings (below 61 and above 75 degrees), and you can set custom high and low temperatures for others.
Internet Connection
As I mentioned above, you want a baby monitor with a dedicated connection (sometimes called a local connection) that works regardless of whether there is a Wi-Fi connection.
Some smart monitors also have the option to connect to wifi to extend the unit’s range or to check in on the baby on a phone or tablet in addition to on the parent unit.
Look for the ?smart baby monitor symbol for these dual connection monitors.
Screen Size
You’ll want a large screen with an LCD display if you get a split-screen monitor because the screen will be half the size of the display when you have both cameras running side by side.
Wide Angle Lens
Some cameras offer a wide-angle lens (either included or you can purchase separately) that allows you to see more of the room from one vantage point.
A few cameras have wide-angle lenses by default.
Range
You want to be sure that your parent unit will work no matter where you are in your house. If you have a large house, you should look for a unit with an ultra-long range, like 1000ft, or a dual connection to connect to wifi when out of standard range.
Parent Unit(s)
Make sure your split-screen baby monitor comes with a parent unit. A handy parent unit lets you always see your child without relying on one of your devices like a phone or tablet.
Night Light
Like the white noise and lullabies, some baby monitors also have a built-in night light for your little one that can be turned on and off remotely.
Pro Tip: Look for the ⭐unique features icon for special features that only that monitor has.
23 Best Split-Screen Baby Monitors
VTech Comparison Chart
All of the VTech multi-camera baby monitors come with the following features:
- No wifi required
- 2 Way talkback
- 1000ft Range
- Sound activation mode
- 2 Cameras included
- Auto night vision
- Autoscan between cameras
- Temperature monitoring
- Built-in lullabies and white noise
- Digital zoom
This chart breaks down the differences:
VTech Best Split Screen Baby Monitors | VTech MVM350-2 Video Monitor | VTech VM5463 Video Monitor | VTech VM819 2 Cameras Video Monitor | VTech VM351-2 Wide-Angle Lens |
---|---|---|---|---|
Screen Size | 5″ | 5″ | 2.8″ | 5″ |
Split Screen | yes | yes | no (auto scan) | yes |
LED Sound Indicators | yes | yes | no | yes |
Projection Light | no | yes | no | no |
Nightlight | no | yes | no | no |
Wide Lens | no | no | no | yes |
Remote Pan, Tilt, And Zoom | no | yes | no | no |
Learn More | Learn More | Learn More | Learn More |
Moonybaby Comparison Chart
All of the Moonybaby multi-camera baby monitors come with the following features:
- No wifi required
- It comes with 2 cameras
- 2 Way talkback
- Automatically scan between cameras
- Auto night vision
- Temperature monitoring
- Voice activation (VOX) mode
- Digital Zoom
This chart breaks down the differences:
Moonybaby Best Split Screen Baby Monitor | Moonybaby Split 60 | Moonybaby Split 55 | Moonybaby Split 50 | Moonybaby Split 30 | Moonybaby Trust 30-2 | Moonybaby Trust 50-2 | Moonybaby Value 100-2 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Screen Size | 4.3″ | 4.3″ | 5″ | 4.3″ | 4.3″ | 5″ | 2.4″ |
Split Screen Capability | yes | yes | yes | yes | no (auto scan) | no (auto scan) | no (auto scan) |
Range | 1000ft | 1000ft | 1000ft | 1000ft | 1000ft | 1000ft | 900ft |
Pair Up To # Cameras | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
Nightlight | yes | yes | no | no | no | no | no |
Wide Lens | included attachment | available seperately | yes | yes | no | no | no |
Remote Pan, Tilt, And Zoom | yes | yes | no | no | no | no | no |
Battery Life | 12 hours | 6-8 hours | 6-8 hours | 12 hours | 6-8 hours | 6-8 hours | 12 hours |
Learn More | Learn More | Learn More | Learn More | Learn More | Learn More | Learn More |
Babysense Comparison Chart
All of the multi-camera Babysense baby monitors have the following features:
- No wifi required
- It comes with 2 cameras
- 2 Way talkback
- Automatically scan between cameras
- Auto night vision
- Temperature monitoring
- Voice activation (VOX) mode
- Digital Zoom
Here are the differences:
Babysense Best Split Screen Monitor | Babysense 5″ Split Screen Baby Monitor | Babysense 4.3″ Split Screen Baby Monitor | Babysense Video Baby Monitor With 2 Cameras |
---|---|---|---|
Screen Size | 5″ | 4.3″ | 2.4″ |
Split Screen Capability | yes | yes | no (auto scan) |
Range | 960ft | 960 ft | 900ft |
Pair Up To # Cameras | 4 | 4 | 4 |
Nightlight | yes | yes | no |
Remote Pan, Tilt, And Zoom | yes | yes | no |
Learn More | Learn More | Learn More |
Motorola Comparison Chart
All of the Motorola multi-camera baby video monitors have the following features:
- No wifi required
- 2 Way talkback
- Sound activation mode
- 2 Cameras included
- Pair up to 2 cameras
- Auto night vision
- Autoscan between cameras
- Temperature monitoring
- Built-in lullabies and white noise
- Digital zoom
This chart breaks down the differences:
Motorola Best Split Screen Baby Monitor | Motorola VM855 | Motorola VM50G | Motorola Connect 85 | Motorola VM65 | Motorola VM75-2 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Screen Size | 5″ | 5″ | 5″ | 5″ | 5″ |
Split Screen Capability | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes |
Wifi Capable | yes | no | yes | yes | no |
Remote Pan, Tilt, And Zoom | yes | no | yes | yes | yes |
Portable Rechargable Camera | yes | no | no | no | no |
Night Light | no | no | yes | no | no |
Learn More | Learn More | Learn More | Learn More | Learn More |