VTech VM819 Video Baby Monitor

The cheapest way into a closed video monitor, at about $50, and still a whole-night performer: its parent unit lasted 19 hours and 33 minutes in testing and kept a connection through seven walls at 174 feet. What you give up is almost everything visual. The 2.8-inch screen is one of the smallest in its class, the camera is fixed and has to be aimed by hand, and night images blur into gray shapes. Treat it as an audio monitor with a glance-check screen and it makes sense for a second room, a grandparent's house or a tight budget.