The report card
- Detection & false alarms30% of score7.6
The same Babysense 7 pads and alarms: 20 seconds without movement, or under 10 movements a minute.
- Medical certification20% of score9.0
The breathing monitor is a Class IIb medical device; the video monitor is a standard camera.
- Set-up & everyday use15% of score6.8
Two separate systems to set up, and testers found the video parent unit's battery life short.
- Alarm & parent alerts15% of score6.6
You can see and hear the nursery, but the listing doesn't say the breathing alarm reaches the parent unit.
- Value & running costs20% of score8.2
At around £110, it's barely more than the Babysense 7 on its own.
The full review
True Sleep is Babysense's name for a bundle of the Babysense 7 breathing monitor and its HDS2 video monitor with one camera. You get the same two certified sensor pads and cot-side control unit as the Babysense 7, plus a video monitor with a 5-inch screen, and neither half uses Wi-Fi.
The two halves work side by side rather than as one system. The breathing alarm sounds from the Babysense unit in the nursery, and the listing doesn't say it's relayed to the video parent unit, so in practice you'd hear it through the monitor's audio. That's the main difference from the Angelcare AC25-1, which builds the movement alarm into its parent unit.
Mother&Baby rated the same bundle for its non-contact pads, clear HD picture and easy set-up, but flagged a short battery life on the video monitor and a night light that may be too bright. Owner reviews on Babysense's own site are strongly positive about picture quality and how sensitive the pads are, with one mentioning false alarms when the batteries ran low or their baby wriggled into a corner of the cot.
Price is the draw. At around £110 direct from Babysense (it has been closer to £150 elsewhere), it costs little more than the Babysense 7 on its own, and the video monitor supports a second camera for split-screen viewing.
Pros and cons
What I like
- Certified two-pad breathing monitor included
- Non-Wi-Fi video monitor with a 5-inch screen
- Split-screen support for a second camera
- Around £110, barely more than the pads alone
What I don't
- The breathing alarm stays in the nursery
- Short video parent unit battery life, according to testers
- Two separate systems to manage
Key specs
- In the box
- Babysense 7 (two pads) plus HDS2 video monitor with one camera
- Breathing alarms
- No movement for 20 seconds, or under 10 movements a minute
- Parent unit screen
- 5-inch, 1280 x 720
- Parent unit battery
- 4,000mAh
- Wi-Fi
- None
- Certification
- Breathing monitor is a Class IIb medical device
Head-to-heads
What I read
This is a research-led review. These are the main sources behind the scores, alongside patterns in verified owner reviews. How I review.