Angelcare AC327 Review
Pros: Includes movement sensor pad, sensor pad adjust-ability, voice activation
Cons: Sub par video and sound, shorter range, limited features
Manufacturer: Angelcare
The Skinny
Compare to Similar Products
 This Product
Angelcare AC327 | |||||
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| Awards |  |  | | ||
| Price | $170 List $149.99 at Amazon | $199 List $129.99 at Amazon | $188 List $179.99 at Amazon | $90 List $89.99 at Amazon | $70 List $59.99 at Amazon |
Overall Score  |
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| Star Rating | |||||
| Pros | Includes movement sensor pad, sensor pad adjust-ability, voice activation | Internet range, great images, versatile long term use | WiFi range, lots of features, great images, easy to use | Lower price for dedicated, better sound, good video | Cheaper, good battery life |
| Cons | Sub par video and sound, shorter range, limited features | No internet / no monitor, disappointing sound | Sub par sound, higher price, internet dependant | Shorter range, fewer features, less vibrant color | Shorter range, few features, manual camera adjustment |
| Bottom Line | Not the best at any of the 3 things it offers | Really cool WiFi camera with lots of uses and great video for simple baby monitoring | Cool WiFi option with all the bells and whistles that is easy to use | Good dedicated monitor if WiFi is not an option | Somewhat average monitor with no standout features or visuals |
| Rating Categories | Angelcare AC327 | Nest Cam Indoor WiFi | iBaby Care M7 WiFi | Hello Baby HB65 | Anmeate SM24 |
| Range (20%) | |||||
| Sound Clarity (20%) | |||||
| Video Quality (30%) | |||||
| Ease Of Use (15%) | |||||
| Battery Life (10%) | |||||
| Features (5%) | |||||
| Specs | Angelcare AC327 | Nest Cam Indoor WiFi | iBaby Care M7 WiFi | Hello Baby HB65 | Anmeate SM24 |
| Communication Technology | 2.4 GHz | 802.11 a/b/g/n | 802.11 b/g/n | 2.4 GHz | 2.4 GHz |
| Indoor Range Test | 4 Walls 65 Feet |
Anywhere You Have Connectivity | Anywhere You Have Connectivity | 4 Walls 65 Feet |
4 Walls 65 Feet |
| Open Field Range Test | 700 Feet | Anywhere You Have Connectivity | Anywhere You Have Connectivity | 800 Feet | 600 Feet |
| Manufacturer's Claimed Range (*buyer beware!) | 820 Feet | Anywhere You Have Connectivity | Anywhere You Have Connectivity | 1000 Feet | |
| Max Sound | 89 db | 86 db | 82 db | 76.3 db | 82.4 db |
| Screen Size | 4.3" | n/a | n/a | 3.2" | 2.4" |
| Max # of Cameras | 2 | 10 Per Home with Unlimited Homes | Not Listed (Unlimited?) | 4 | 4 |
| Temperature | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Movement Detection | No | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Sound Activation | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Talk-to-Baby | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Pan/Tilt/ Zoom | Zoom | Zoom | Pan/Tilt/Zoom | Pan/Tilt/Zoom | Zoom |
| Battery Life | 10.5 hrs | n/a | n/a | 14 hrs | 14 hrs |
| EMF @ 6 Feet from Camera | 1.2 V/m | 0.92 V/m | 1.42 V/m | 0.83 V/m | 1.67 V/m |
| Warranty | 1 Year | 2 Year | 1 Year | 1 Year | 1 Year |
Our Analysis and Test Results
Angelcare began in 1997 as one of the first to create and market a baby movement monitor for parents to use at home. Angelcare hails from Canada and has a variety of different monitoring options that include audio and video solutions.
Performance Comparison
Range
The range on the AC327 in our tests was 4 walls and 65 feet. The manufacture claims of 820 ft is an open eyeliner test without the usual trappings of a standard home of walls and appliances that can create interference or limit connectivity. Our open field tests showed connectivity up to 700 feet before it stopped communicating. This is not the best in-home distance in the review and likely will not work in larger homes or homes with any significant distance between the camera and the parent unit.
Audio / Visual
Sound clarity for the AC327 is about average for the dedicated monitors and honestly, none of the units performed that well for sound. With a maximum level of 89 dB but the best clarity is closer to 81 dB. It offers a reasonable voice activation that shuts off at a respectable level but kicks on as it should for louder noises and crying. Overall, the sound is hollow and has an echo that means less clarity on what is happening in the room
The video quality (above left) of this monitor is nothing to write home about in our opinion compared to the competition. The daylight images are color and neither the color or the clarity of the image is great, especially when using the zoom feature (above right). It does not represent the color in the nursery.
Night images (above left) are worse than the day video with more fussiness and less detail. If you are hoping to see your baby's face to determine their level of upset, this is not the right monitor for you. This lack of clarity only gets worse when using the zoom feature (above right).
Ease of Use
Overall the AC327 is not as easy to use as some of the competition with a score below the average for the group.
Setup of the AC327 is fairly easy with a wireless sensor pad and components that automatically pair to one another. There is little to do here but determine a good place for the camera and the right sensitivity for the sensor pad. The pad will work with most mattresses but not foam or hollow-core options. For more information, you can read our movement monitor review.
The AC327 could be easier to use on a daily basis. First, you'll need to remember to turn off the motion detection before removing your little one from the bed. Failure to do this ill result in ongoing alarms. The sensor pad has adjustability to find the right sensitivity for your baby and room to help prevent false alarms from occurring, but this will take some trial and error to get just right. The parent unit is not very intuitive, as it suffers from few buttons and a dated design similar to the competition that will result in toggling through menus to find what you want when you could avoid this with more buttons.
Battery Life
The parent unit battery life on the AC327 was about 10 hours in our tests under standard use conditions. This is ample time for a nap or even most overnight sleeping periods, but we recommend using it plugged in at night just to ensure you don't lose monitoring ability due to a low battery. The battery life of the sensor pad is approximately 8 months, but the parent unit will give you an alert when the batteries run low.
Features
This monitor has the standard features you'll find on much of the competition without any of the bells and whistles like lullabies or nightlights. On the upside, it has voice activation and motion detection, but most of the remaining "features" are found on even the most bare-bones products.
- 2-way talk
- 4.3 inch viewing screen
- Add a sensor for two babies
- Add up to 2 extra cameras
- Wall or table mount camera
- Wireless and adjustable sensor pad
- Voice-activated (VOX)
- Temperature sensor and alert
- Low battery alarm for parent unit and sensor pad
- Digital zoom and pan
Electromagnetic Field (EMF) Levels
Each monitor in this review has been tested for its level of EMF emissions including this one. As there is always some level of ambient EMF we test them in the same location to ensure a one-to-one comparison between units. The AC327 had EMF levels of 1.2 V/m at 6 ft from the meter. While not the highest level in the group, it is more than some of the competition including several higher-ranking WiFi options we tested. Depending on how you feel about EMF you can choose you may want to consider another option as the sensor pad also emits EMF.
Manufacturer Video
— Wendy Schmitz