Mistakenly listening in to your neighbours conversations and a background buzz are frustrating. While the original, analogue baby monitors operate on a fixed frequency which may also be used by other gadgets, digital monitors make signals nearly impossible to be heard by others. Reviews say interference from other electronics is greatly reduced if not disappears completley. Nearly all baby monitors operate on a 49MHz, 900MHz or 2.4GHz frequency.

Many other electronics are also using these bandwidths. Digital monitors scramble the signal, but they still operate on the same frequencies and are subject to interference. The newer bandwidth for voice-only communications, and the new 1.9GHz frequency, also called DECT (digitally enhanced cordless telecommunications) is now available in a handful of cordless phones and a few baby monitors.

According to consumer feedback in the US, the Graco iMonitor now available in the UK, is very successful and at a reasonable price. It's available with one or two parent units. Parents on Amazon.com said that the 'clearest' audio monitor was the Philips SCD 589 digital model that operates on the newly approved 1.9GHz frequency. Its expensive but it eliminates interference from other electronics. Since it's also a digital baby monitor, it also eliminates the chances of accidental eavesdropping.

For most people a standard analogue monitor will do the job perfectly well and of course there are a number from Tomy, Summer Infant, Lindam and Tommee Tippee that are all very effective. Innovative company Brother Max is currently finetuning its own new baby - expected date of delivery yet to be announced.

For those seeking a degree of extra reassurance for babies who are more at risk, there are the audio and movement detecting models. These come with a sensor pad which fits beneath the baby and detects the slightest movement. An alarm is triggered if the baby hasn't moved in 20 seconds. Parents on opinion sites generally rave about the Angelcare baby monitor. which is less expensive than the Tommee Tippee variety. But its important to stress the use of this kind of technology should always be supporting parental supervision, not replacing it. Video monitors or baby cams frequently get a drumming on feedback sites.

Complaints vary from poor sound and picture quality to impossible instructions. However Summer Infant Baby's Quiet Sounds Video Monitor is positively spoken of. This monitor operates on a 900MHz frequency, so it's not likely to get interference from a home wireless network. There is also a version which allows you to add your own extra cameras.