Rent or buy? How to Pay for an Audiovisual Project

When facing the production of a project with an important audiovisual (AV) factor, several doubts or questions may arise that need to be solved as soon as possible.

Undoubtedly, one of the most important is: do I need to buy the AV equipment for my project, or would AV hire be a better option?

Profitability is an element to take into account in an event or project and you should always look at the payment method of the investment. Audiovisual events are also an investment and therefore it is necessary to assess the options and see which is more profitable.

To clarify these doubts and so that you can finance an audiovisual montage for your event or project, here are some tips:

The solution according to the characteristics of the project

If you are the final customer who is looking for the best return for your event, being clear about the project will help you define and find the best solution regarding the audiovisual media and equipment you will need.

The question to know if you should rent or buy is a simple one: is it a project that will last over time or is it a temporary project? Let’s give some examples:

Fixed or long-term installations

If you look for audiovisual equipment for a new exhibition in a museum, for example, you will need several audiovisual items for a long period.

We might be talking about years, so surely the rent would have an exorbitant cost. In this case, it is evident that purchase of the audiovisual equipment becomes the best solution.

However, the characteristics of the project will also help you find the solution. Sometimes there are fixed installations that can be used for 3 months in a really large project in which the acquisition of the equipment can be unprofitable. In this case, even if it is a project of a relatively long duration, renting will be the cheapest option.

Audiovisual equipment for specific events

Now let’s put ourselves in the situation of the event organisers for an international festival to be celebrated in a major city. It will be a spectacular audiovisual display that brings to the city advanced music, artists and multimedia shows from around the world. However, its duration does not extend for more than a week.

In this case, is it worth buying all the audiovisual equipment that will be used for, say, 5 days? No! Here, renting becomes the most profitable option, with which we will be able to fund an audiovisual project.

We can say that there is no definitive rule for renting or buying. The main thing will be to assess the characteristics of the project to know if one option or another is more profitable. In this sense, advice from suppliers and technicians will also help you to clear up any doubts.

Financing an audiovisual montage for a media provider

This case is more complicated because the planning factor and the internal profitability factor come into play. As a general rule, a provider of audiovisual media has the ownership of a wide range of audiovisual equipment and solutions with which to provide service to all events and projects that you want to hire them for.

However, there may be peaks in demand that are difficult to predict. In this case, the suppliers of audiovisual equipment also look for rental options from other suppliers to be able to service the demand and not pass up opportunities.

Something similar happens with less profitable or less demanded equipment. In this case, the provider may choose to offer the service by outsourcing it, with a specific provider for some equipment.

Advice and installation in both cases

To find the best solution, find a provider which offers advice so that you know which option is the most profitable. In any case, whatever the solution, the installation of equipment and monitoring throughout the process is another feature that must be made available to the customer in order to offer a high-quality, professional service with guarantees.