VTech VM5463 review

VTech VM5463 at a glance

For one of the best baby monitors out there, keep an eye on your baby with the VTech VM5463 Video Baby Monitor. You can tilt, pan and zoom the camera so you can get a clear view of what's going on. You can also zoom up to 1.33x to see more detail.

There's also a temperature sensor that keeps you informed of the temperature of your baby's room.

Plus, create a soothing atmosphere with the adaptive night light and projection light on the baby unit. You can choose from 7 different colours of night light or project a starry night onto the ceiling, and even set it to automatically switch on if the monitor detects noise.

We spoke to these real parent testers to get their review...

How did this product make your life easier?

Jennifer: Very impressive! We are very happy with this baby monitor. The picture quality is fantastic. Very clear picture and sound. It is nice being able to play nursery rhymes and also night show projection future is great. It has pan-tilt-zoom which is great, I haven’t needed it yet but when my son starts moving in his bed it will be very helpful to check him.

April: This product has made my life easier by providing me with multiple functions in one purchase. The video camera that we place in the baby's room can also provide a night light, with a choice of colours. This is also available to be set on a timer, to go off when you choose (there are a few options). You can change this remotely from the viewing console. The video camera unit also plays music in the nursery, this can again be timed from a selection of options and can be controlled remotely from the handheld console. The camera is easy to use because once in position, you can change the direction and magnification of the lens from the handheld console. This makes my life easier because if I decide I want to centre the camera differently on the cot mattress, for example, if he is snuggled into a corner, I can change my view of him without having to enter his room (with the monitor in my hand) and manually adjust the view. This has been a helpful feature that I was keen to try out with this model.

Samantha: I would recommend this product as it is very easy and simple to use. The setup was straight forward and you are ready to go in no time. The handset is super lightweight so easy to move about the house. The sound feature is great, we have used the white noises many times. We haven’t used the projection as we live in a barn and the ceilings are too high for the projection to reach, however, it is a nice extra feature to have. The picture quality in day/night vision are extremely clear and the screen size on the monitor is great. Having the temperature on the handset is another handy feature. We tested out the range of the camera to the handset and it was expectational, we were concerned that it wouldn’t work in our house. The talk feature is also very helpful for either myself or my husband to communicate with little one. The camera itself has fantastic movement with the tilt range, so even when baby moves, we can easily use the handset to move the camera to still see him.

Would you recommend this to other parents?

Amie: When it comes to a baby monitor this ticks most of the boxes. It has fantastic range, great picture and sound quality and the connection doesn't drop so it's both good functionally and is realible. Monitoring my baby is a breeze with this unit and most importantly its reliable connection offers great reassurance which has to be the most important aspect. The addition of a monitor of this quality makes those early stages of moving your baby into their own room far easier than with lesser quality monitors, at this stage you are always on edge so the addition of a quality microphone and crisp picture saves a lot of room visits which in most cases would disturb baby more.

Denise: Very easy to set up. Controls are straightforward and don't require too much reading of the instructions before use. Wall mount included so can be easily positioned. Lots of extras- light display, music and the night light make life easier as not needed to be bought separately. Large coloured display screen meaning excellent viewing of baby.

Jennifer: I think this is a great all-round monitor with lots of good features that you don’t always see in all in one product. It was really easy to set up and get working. We loved the drop-in facility and being able to move the camera. The parent unit screen is a good size and not too intrusive downstairs.

Would you choose this product above all others on the market?

Roseanne: I'm not sure if it is the best product on the market in this price bracket but it is certainly a good contender! The picture is clear, the sound and way the screen turn on can be adjusted to your preference, and the added features of a nightlight, star protection and ability to play white noise are definitely beneficial. The range for the handset also seems pretty good too.

Jennifer: Yes I would definitely choose this baby monitor above all other. I believe Vtech is a good brand for baby monitors. It is not too pricey. All the futures are great, very useful and helpful to me. Pan and tilt video monitor and night light is great. The parent unit has an intercom too and that doesn’t let me go in a rush if my baby needs to hear our sound of voice.

Samantha: This product is great for its value and works incredibly well. It has so many great features including brilliant night vision, sounds and camera tilt movement. The only reason I personally wouldn’t choose it is I would like one that comes with an app. So not only can you see it on the monitor, but you can on your phone too, so me and my husband have access. Another reason for wanting it on the app is due to the battery life on the monitor. It isn’t fantastic so doesn’t last for a whole evening. I also wouldn’t choose this one as I wouldn’t use the projection feature.

What changes would you make to this product?

Amie: I would change the button design and layout, the unit looks smart but in the middle of the night in pitch black the last thing you want to be doing to searching for the correct button to press. Illuminated larger buttons would perhaps make the unit look less smart but functionally would be a great improvement. Or the charging cable type! Currently, the unit used a mini dc type charger specific to the unit which is fine while using at home however other units on the market use various forms of USB chargers which are already readily available and used in households for mobile phones and tablets etc, this is really handy if you are moving the unit around or taking on travels as there is no need to pack a specific charger for the unit.

Denise: Connectivity…. And the range of this could be improved this would be an excellent product that I would recommend to all my mum friends. I'm really disappointed that the connection dropped out as the camera, the screen and the features included are top quality on this product. Would be interested to know if v-tech could resolve this issue.

Jennifer: I was excited that this monitor had a projector and was looking forward to using it so it was disappointing that it doesn’t work as well as it could. We would still need to use a separate projector which is a shame as the other features on this monitor make it stand head and shoulders above the rest at a similar price point.