Visionhire - did they operate in America?

[Welsh Anorak]

Hi there
Just seen the film RIPD (a film I would urge you to avoid) and as a portal to the afterlife (don't ask) they used a deserted TV and VCR repair shop "because when was the last time you knew of someone having their VCR fixed?" Ouch!
However among the piles of old TVs, recorders and hi-fi equipment (too quick to identify) there was a poster for Visionhire in the familiar typeface with a picture of a Philips N1700 for rent. The film is set in Boston - did Visionhire have branches in America? I always thought renting, and Visionhire in particular, was a British phenomenon.
Glyn

[colly0410]

I think Visionhire were mostly slotmeter rentals, or was that Radio Rentals? Did the USA or other countries have slot meter TV's like the UK used to?

[Hybrid tellies]

I don't remember Visionhire doing slot meters or having any American outlets. They were one of the big names in British Rental sets and I think they expanded by buying up smaller and failing TV rental companies. Their main sets were Philips and Pye.
Due to the relative high cost of televisions especially colour sets I would be very surprised if renting, or hiring was unique to the UK.

[MALC SCOTT]

I think Visionhire was part of Philips. All of the rental sets were Philips models. A pal of mine had a G8 rented from them without a slot meter.

[colly0410]

Something-hire used to do slot TV's in Nottingham, long time ago now & brains starting to fade.

Welsh Anorak... An interesting question on renting being a UK only thing..

[Nickthedentist]

My grandparents had a G11 without slot meter from Visionhire too.

I do wonder whether the props people just dressed-up the shop with whatever they could lay their hands on, and a British poster was the first one to turn up.

Nick.

[G6Tanuki]

I wasn't aware of Visionhire operating in the USA: However in the 1990s they were part of the vast, sprawling Granada empire which did have some US operations (primarily in the computer/IT/PABX field-maintenance sector).

[MickMcmichael]

I haven't tried Googling it myself but it's worth mentioning that Visionhire were part of the Electronic Rentals Group (ERG) before the Granada buy out. Maybe that was the American connection?

Visionhire did use slot meters where required. After they had bought out British Relay in late '78 we (at Relay) obtained many replacement slot meters from the local Visionhire branch.

[flyingtech55]

I used to work for a company called Loyds who were a division of Visionhire. We used to get sets in with slotmeters on them which we took off and discarded. I was told the reason for this was that the Visionhire had taken over another smaller rental company in our area that used slotmeters. Initially, the folk who went around collecting the money from the slotmeters were told to take the drawer out and discard it. The customer had to keep putting money into the meter but of course they got it straight back out again through the bottom of the meter. They paid their actual rental through the local Visionhire/Loyds branch. I was later told that Visionhire/Loyds had actually used slotmeters themselves in some areas. I don't know if this was true.

When a meter equipped set came in for repair, we took the opportunity to remove the meter completely to restore the set to its original wiring and meter free operation. A lot of the sets were Pye 205s (the 697 chassis with the PCB line stack) and a bad side effect of the meter was that it made the backs very heavy. This caused the plastic back retaining things in the rear corners of the cabinet the break up so the backs wouldn't stay on properly. We were never issued with replacement parts to repair them and the sets ended up with all sorts Heath-Robinson arrangements to keep the back on.

Under a re-structuring/rationalization program, all the Loyds shops either became Visionhire shops or if there was already a Visionhire shop in the area then the Loyds shop got closed and the Loyds engineers were made redundant. That was what happened to me.

HTH

TimR

[G6Tanuki]

Interesting that you mention Loyds: I have several TV-type valves [PCC84/EF80/PCF82/PY83 series] which are Loyds-branded.

I'm surprised that a TV-rental company would go to the effort of arranging its own-brand of valves - now I'm wondering if perhaps any of the other rental companies did the same?

[Alan Stepney]

Loyds (correctly, Loyds retailers Ltd,) started as a "co-op" for a group of independents, and was later taken over by a Philips subsidiary. at the start (of the Philips era) all their shops were all or partly, privately owned, but later Philips added other retail/ rental shops to the group.
Towards the end of their existance, they packaged their own valves, (dark green boxes) to cut down on the "losses" where people were using or selling their valve stock.

Visionhire ,like many chains, moved around between companies, but were never in the US.
"Electronic Rentals Group", was based in Bedford, which I am sure will ring some bells with some here.

[lesmw0sec]

Visionhire were operating in Queensland, Australia around 1977.

Les.

[G6Tanuki]

Thanks for the info on Loyds, Alan. A bit of digging around also revealed this:

http://www.articlesbase.com/strategi...s-5193886.html

which gives some of the background and their association with Visionhire/Philips.

Interesting also is mention of "ADA" - my parents had an ADA washing-machine they bought in the late-1950s.

[Welsh Anorak]

Hi there
Thinking of my home town in the Seventies, there was a Radio Rentals and a Visionhire - the latter having the plusher shop. As said above, mostly Philips sets in Visionhire. Of course they had their own service network as well and a fleet of vans.
Regarding the film, I suspect post #6 is nearest the mark as they will have found props anywhere - and that portion could even have been filmed in Britain. The VCR pictured looked like an N1700 and the typeface and logo looked very British.
I remember the five 'bullet holes' on the back of ex-rental sets very well, and in some cases the meter appeared to have just been ripped off. Despite the damage to the back that could be a good thing as the mains feed would have been broken, resulting in an untested set that very often worked. We had many ways of hiding the holes from more savvy customers, thick tape and spray being favourite.
As a matter of interest I still carry out repairs for a TV rental company descended from Visionhire - two calls this week so far! Usually elderly or, er, interesting people.
Glyn

[AC/HL]

One off topic post deleted, we're discussing a possible American connection to Visionhire.

[techiesteve]

I worked for Visionhire around 1972 -74, I can't remember hearing of any international operations. All our sets were mainly Philips and Pye, with some Thorn. Certainly no slot meters in our branch.

After leaving Visionhire I worked for Loyds TV, in a TV refurb depot in Thame, Oxon. We repaired/refurbed all the ex rental TV's for re rental, all the major brands. It was some time ago now, but I believe they took over Coxhead TV rentals before I joined them.

Re the original post, film production companies aren't renowned for historical accuracy.

[cheerfulcharlie]

In the 60s/70s Colour TVs were much cheaper in the States and therefore there may not have been much of market for hiring ? and therefore foreign companies like Visionhire would have had a monumental effort in trying to get established over there- if they dared.
I maybe wrong but I think $250 bought you a reasonable size family set in around 1970 in the States?
Also in the UK until 1971 the hire purchase and hiring rules meant that you could only buy or hire this way if you had something like a 10 months deposit, which ruled a lot of people out in having a colour TV-once this was lifted sales and hires took off.

[Maarten]

I'm pretty sure N1500/N1700/V2000 were never exported to the US.

[Welsh Anorak]

Hi
This does point to the set dresser finding an old British poster - I checked and the film was entirely shot in the Boston area.
If it wasn't for that little interlude the film would have been even worse!
The piles of TVs and VCRs in the 'shop' all looked American - that's why the poster startled me. The car they used - a big American monster of a vehicle that seemed to crash frequently and then be resurrected in the next scene - had 'VCR Repairs est. 1972' on the door. Nice to think the VCR repairman is now alongside the cooper and wheelwright in the list of obsolete trades!
Glyn

[cheerfulcharlie]

Originally Posted by Maarten

I'm pretty sure N1500/N1700/V2000 were never exported to the US.

I think you're right, no NTSC versions were ever made.