Do the dispatch and collection days count as hire days?

Yes. The hire period runs from the day equipment leaves WaveHire's facility to the day it is returned. If kit is dispatched on a Monday and returned on Friday, that is a five-day hire. Factor in the dispatch and return days when you book, not when the kit is already out on location.

At what point does a weekly rate become cheaper than daily rates?

WaveHire's weekly rate is three times the daily rate. Anything over three days is cheaper at the weekly rate. From day four onwards, the daily rate always exceeds the weekly rate, so booking weekly, even if you only need four or five days, is the more cost-effective option and gives you extra buffer days.

How does the monthly rate work?

Monthly rates are set at nine times the daily rate. They apply to productions where equipment is needed for three weeks or more in continuous or near-continuous use. For documentary and drama productions with a multi-week shoot schedule, monthly rates represent a significant reduction compared to booking weekly rates repeatedly across the same period.

Can I extend a hire period if the shoot overruns?

Extensions are subject to availability. Equipment booked back-to-back with another hire may not be available to extend. Build at least one contingency day into your original booking wherever your budget allows. Extending under deadline pressure is always more costly in time, if not in rate, than a buffer day that turns out unnecessary.

Is it possible to stagger hire dates for different systems in the same production?

Yes. If different wireless systems within a production are needed for different parts of the schedule, WaveHire can structure individual hire periods for each system. Bring a clear breakdown of which systems you need and for which dates when you speak to the team before confirming your booking.

What information do I need to give WaveHire when booking?

The key information needed is: the dispatch date, the return date, the specific systems and quantities, and the shoot location so any logistics can be discussed. If your production schedule has a variable element, such as a contingency shoot day, mention it at booking rather than waiting. A provisional hold on equipment can usually be arranged.

How to Calculate Your Wireless Equipment Hire Period

Calculating the right wireless broadcast equipment hire period means counting more than just your shoot days. Dispatch, testing, transit time and a contingency buffer all factor into the total period you actually need. This guide walks through how WaveHire's daily, weekly and monthly rates work, where productions typically miscalculate their hire period, and how to plan your booking to avoid paying more than necessary.

The Most Common Hire Period Mistake

The mistake that adds unnecessary cost to a wireless broadcast equipment hire is almost always the same one: counting the number of shoot days and treating that as the hire period. It is understandable, but it is not how a hire period works in practice, and the gap between shoot days and actual hire days has a direct effect on what you pay and whether you have the right kit when you need it.

Getting this right is straightforward once you understand how the periods are structured and how to count correctly from dispatch to return.

The Dispatch and Collection Days Count

Equipment dispatched from WaveHire's London facility on a Monday and returned on a Friday is a five-day hire, not three shoot days. The dispatch day and the collection day are part of the hire period. When you book, count from the day the kit leaves our facility to the day it comes back: that is the period you are hiring for.

This matters most for productions that have a tight budget and are trying to hit a weekly rate threshold. If equipment arrives with you on a Wednesday and the shoot runs Thursday and Friday, returning the kit on Monday morning is a six-day hire. If you can arrange to return it by the end of Friday, that is a three-day hire. Whether you need the kit over the weekend to prep for Monday is the question worth answering before you book.

When Weekly Rates Work in Your Favour

WaveHire's weekly rates are set at three times the daily rate across all systems. That means five hire days and seven hire days cost the same amount. Anything over three days and you are paying more by booking individual days than you would pay for the weekly rate.

VITA PRO System, four days

Daily rate £125£500

Weekly rate£375

Vita Transmitter, four days

Daily rate £50£200

Weekly rate£150

For a practical example: hiring a VITA PRO System for four days at the daily rate of £125 costs £500. The weekly rate is £375. If your hire period is four days or more, the weekly rate is always the more cost-effective option, and it gives you two additional days of hire for the same price, which is useful buffer if the shoot overruns.

At £50 per day, a single Vita Transmitter for four days costs £200 at the daily rate. The weekly rate is £150. Again, anything beyond three days tips in favour of weekly. Apply this logic across every system in your order before you confirm a booking, particularly if your hire period sits between four and six days. The calculation is simple: if days × daily rate exceeds the weekly rate, book weekly.

Monthly Rates and When They Apply

Monthly rates are set at nine times the daily rate, which represents a meaningful saving over extended hire periods. For a FLEX Fusion at £225 per day, a month-long hire at the daily rate would cost £6,750 across 30 days. The monthly rate is £2,025, a reduction of over two thirds.

Monthly hires suit documentary and drama productions where wireless equipment is required throughout a multi-week shoot schedule. If your production is running more than three weeks with wireless kit in continuous or near-continuous use, the monthly rate should be your starting point.

Building in a Contingency Day

Location shoots rarely run precisely to schedule. Weather, access issues, technical delays and re-shoots are a routine part of production, and returning kit on the last day of a tight hire period creates pressure that serves no one well. The standard advice from 15 years of handling broadcast equipment hires is to build at least one contingency day into your hire period calculation.

If you are hiring multiple systems for a complex setup (say a FLEX Fusion for wireless video, a CC-LINK COMBO for data and RCP, and a VITA PRO System for monitoring), the administrative overhead of extending three separate hire periods under pressure is worth avoiding. One extra day built into the original booking costs less than a same-day extension under deadline pressure.

Staggering Hire Periods Across a Multi-Camera Setup

Not every camera on a production needs wireless equipment for the same number of days. A stadium shoot might have a roving ENG camera on a wireless link for the full five-day hire while a fixed camera position needs wireless monitoring only for the two days it is operating from a position without a cable run.

When different parts of a wireless setup have different operational windows, staggering hire start and end dates across systems can reduce the total cost. Speak to WaveHire before booking if your production has this kind of variable schedule. It is usually possible to structure the hire so each system is booked for the period it is actually needed.

What to Confirm Before You Book

Before confirming a hire period, have answers to these four points:

What date does the kit need to leave WaveHire's facility?
What date does the shoot end?
Is there any prep or de-rig time that requires equipment to be on location before and after the shoot itself?
And is there any realistic risk of the shoot overrunning that should be reflected in the hire period rather than managed as an extension?

With clear answers to those four questions, calculating the right hire period is mechanical. The weekly and monthly rate structures are designed to reward slightly longer bookings, and the contingency day is almost always worth including. Contact WaveHire directly if you want to talk through a specific production schedule before booking.

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How to Calculate the Right Hire Period for Your Production