Sencore VP403/VP403C Rental

Interesting question.

How much do these things go for retail?

Greetings

In the $5000 to $6500 range.

Regards

Even as a rental, you would be looking at a price that would make you think twice about buying an Accupel.

What (how much) are you willing to rent one for?

No, but I suspect that the ATSC output on the VP403 isn't as useful as you might think/hope.

I'm interested in why you say this.

Bob

Since grayscale is a function of the panel/lamp (not the source) and color gamut is a function of the devices colorfilters/lamp (not the source)- the only purpose of the ATSC output is to do your basic adjustments - brightness/contrast/color/tint.

It is delusional to think that the result of a TV stations broadcast received OTA is going to be anywhere close to a reference generator - the fact is every station will be different.

You simply are not calibrating for the source with an ATSC generator - the source is the TV engineer that frakked up the controls before the broadcast. You are much better off finding the monthly early AM test pattern broadcast.

I think the only people that would require an ATSC generator have a profession that would enable them to pay for it because they need it for some purpose (like a reviewer verifying ATSC tuners). If you are a DIY trying to calibrate your ATSC input - you are wasting your time.

Basically what Kevin said, but I would not have used "delusional" in the the response. There is enough station-to-station and program-to-program variation in broadcast sources that it is rarely worth the effort. If you think you have a problematic tuner, it is probably cheaper to swap it out to see if the issue is resolved, rather than renting an expensive piece of test gear.

Bill

I asked the question for a specific reason. I have tried using my Sencore many times to set brightness and contrast through my Dish VIP-622. I get very consistent results regardless of local channel selected, 2,3, or 4. It always tells me to set brightness at -7 and contrast at +8 on my RadianceXD. The problem is, I have never trusted these results and invariably set them back to the result I get on that input not going through the VIP-622, i.e., both controls at zero.

So, I agree that the ATSC tuner output is not useful if the results can't be trusted.

What business purpose do you have for the feature that does not enable you to buy one outright?

Why don't you state your purpose and some very experienced calibrators can tell you if that is the best way to do what you are doing. If you ask for help - people will give it.
If you insist you know better they are less likely to offer help that is not wanted.

If you really need to rent one - you can do that - it cost $325 standard ISF rate and comes with an Sencore/ISF trained technician to demonstrate its use....other than that you are not going to find what your are looking for. The biz model does not exist that would support a rental market. Those that really need it - can afford to buy it because it will pay for itself. Those that can't afford to buy it ...rent the services of those that have already paid for it. If you really want it more than an afternoon - then you need to get really friendly with the right guy - because if they needed it to the point they could justify buying it - then they are using the feature and cannot be without it for a week while you play with it. Only stupid biz buys gear they don't use - but maybe you can find someone that did that and willing to make some money renting it out - but likely they want more than a standard ISF visit.

Where do you live? I actually own the 403C and have used the ATSC for calibration.

Are you located in Canada?

The Sencore has patterns that can be selected in ATSC mode that are used to set brightness/contrast, similar to the patterns used in direct input mode.