Which Mac should we book for QLab?

For sound cues only, a musical with backing tracks and effects, the Mac Mini M4 is plenty and keeps the cost down. Once video is involved, or you are feeding several outputs through an audio interface, book the M2 Pro Mini: four Thunderbolt ports, USB-A for interfaces and an HDMI output that drives a projector directly. The MacBook Air runs QLab happily too, and is the right answer when the machine has to sit at front of house or move between venues. QLab itself installs free; the paid licences unlock the pro audio and video features and can be rented by the day from Figure 53, so tell us what the show does and we will help you work out which licence, if any, you actually need.

Can we run the TV or a projector straight from these?

Yes. Both Mac Minis have a full-size HDMI port, so they plug straight into the TV or any projector with a single cable. The MacBook Air sends video over its Thunderbolt ports and we supply the right USB-C adapter with it. Each machine will drive two or three screens at once, so one Mini can feed a projector and a repeat screen together. Tell us the cable runs and we will send leads long enough.

Does the touch screen work with the Macs?

Honestly, touch is a Windows feature first. Plug the Dell into a Windows laptop over USB and the 10-point touch just works, which is what makes it good for registration and sign-in desks. macOS has no real touch support, so with our Macs treat it as a very good second screen and dock: one USB-C cable carries the picture, charges the laptop at up to 90 watts and adds wired network and USB ports. If your desk software runs in a browser, your own Windows laptop plus this screen is often the neatest answer, and we will say so.

Do the machines come set up, and what happens to our files?

Each Mac goes out freshly set up with a clean admin account and current macOS. Tell us what software you need when you book and we will have it installed and tested before it leaves. When it comes back the machine is wiped, so take your files with you, and keep a copy of your show file somewhere other than the hire machine during the run, exactly as you would with your own.

Do you hire these on their own, or only with other kit?

Mostly they go out as part of a bigger job: a QLab machine inside a sound package, the TV alongside our filming kit on a green room feed. But everything on this page hires on its own as well. If all you need is one machine for a weekend, ask. The day rate is the day rate.

Home Services Equipment Hire AV and Video Hire

Mac and monitor hire — laptops, minis and displays

Most shows and events now have a computer somewhere near the middle of them. This page is our pool of Macs and screens: a 15-inch MacBook Air for the jobs that move, Mac Minis for QLab and presentation playback, a touch screen monitor that doubles as a USB-C dock, and a 49-inch TV on a floor stand for relay and signage. The touch monitor hires at £14 a day, the Mac Mini M4 at £20, the MacBook Air at £48, the Mac Mini M2 Pro at £56 and the TV with its stand at £80. Dry hire or with a technician.

Three Macs cover most of what a production needs from a computer. The 15-inch MacBook Air is the portable one: thin, silent, an all-day battery and a big, bright screen, so it earns its keep at front of house, on a registration desk or as an edit machine on a filming day. The Mac Mini M4 is a small desktop that plugs into whatever screen is already there; it handles Keynote and PowerPoint, lobby video loops and straightforward QLab sound playback without fuss. The Mac Mini M2 Pro is the show machine, with four Thunderbolt ports, two USB-A ports for audio and MIDI interfaces, and an HDMI output that will drive anything up to an 8K display, which in practice means video-heavy QLab programming with outputs to spare. Connections are simpler than they look. Both Minis have full-size HDMI, so they go straight into a projector or the TV with one cable. Everything else is Thunderbolt or USB-C, which carries DisplayPort video, and we send the adapters to match whatever you are plugging into. The Minis have Gigabit Ethernet for networked control and stable streaming; the MacBook gets its wired network through the Dell monitor. Every machine has a 3.5mm headphone jack, which is often all the audio feed a small event needs into a mixer. The Dell P2424HT is a 23.8-inch full HD touch screen that doubles as a docking station, and that second job is why we carry it. One USB-C cable from the monitor gives a MacBook its picture, charges it at up to 90 watts and adds wired network and USB ports, so a registration desk becomes two mains plugs and one tidy lead. The stand folds from upright down to a 60 degree counter angle for people signing in. Touch works fully with Windows machines; with a Mac, treat it as a sharp second screen and dock. The 49-inch TV comes on its own floor stand, so it needs no wall, no table and no rigging: it arrives, goes where you point, and takes an HDMI feed. We use it as a foyer screen, a green room show relay when we are filming, a repeat screen at conferences and a running-order display backstage. The exact model varies with stock, so we confirm what you are getting when you book. In truth, most of this page hires alongside the rest of our kit: a QLab Mini inside a sound package, the TV on a green room feed from our cameras, the MacBook cutting footage on site. But every item hires on its own by the day, wiped, updated and tested, with your software installed in advance if you tell us what you need.

A Mac is only half the machine; the other half is what is on it. QLab 5 audio and video licences, Logic Pro and Final Cut all hire alongside the machines at £5 a day each, installed, signed in and tested before the case closes, so the first time you press go is not the first time the software has run. The small accessories live here too: a presenter clicker for speeches and assemblies, a Wi-Fi router for when the show needs its own network rather than the venue’s, and a 21.5-inch monitor for a second screen at the operating position.

What you get

Each Mac with its mains lead; the MacBook Air comes with its charger and MagSafe cable

A clean admin account on current macOS, with your software installed and tested before it leaves if you tell us what you need when you book

The Dell monitor with its stand and USB-C, DisplayPort, HDMI and mains cables

The TV with its floor stand, mains lead and an HDMI cable

USB-C video adapters to suit the run: tell us what is plugging into what and we will send the right ones

Not included as standard: keyboards and mice, QLab licences, audio interfaces and long cable runs. All can be added; QLab itself installs free and we will talk you through licensing

Someone from us to set it all up and run it, if you would rather not

Good for

QLab playback machines for school, college and am-dram productions, usually going out with our sound kit

Registration, box office and sign-in desks: a touch screen and a Mac joined by one USB-C cable

Conferences, prize-givings and awards evenings that need a Keynote or PowerPoint machine feeding a big screen

Green room and foyer show relay when we are filming, so the cast can see the stage

Dance show video playback: backdrops and interval loops straight into a projector or the TV

An edit and ingest machine on filming jobs, or a stand-in when your own machine dies in production week

What you need to know

What it is

Show computers and screens: Macs for playback and presentations, a touch monitor that doubles as a docking station, and a 49-inch TV on a floor stand for relay and signage.

QLab

QLab runs on all three Macs. The Mac Mini M2 Pro goes out as the main show machine; the M4 Mini covers sound-cue playback and presentations; the MacBook Air is the one that moves.

Screens

The 23.8-inch Dell is full HD with 10-point touch and folds down to a counter angle. The TV stands on its own floor stand, so it needs no wall fixing and no rigging.

One cable working

A single USB-C lead from the Dell monitor gives a MacBook its picture, up to 90 watts of charge, wired network and USB ports. The desk stays tidy.

Power

Ordinary 13 amp sockets throughout at 230V. Nothing on this page needs special power.

Hire rates

Item	Rate
Macs
Apple MacBook Air 15-inch (M4)	£48 / day
Apple Mac Mini (M4)	£20 / day
Apple Mac Mini (M2 Pro)	£56 / day
Monitors & displays
Dell 24-inch Touch Monitor (P2424HT)	£14 / day
49-inch TV on Floor Stand	£80 / day
Software licences
QLab 5 Audio Licence	£5 / day
QLab 5 Video Licence	£5 / day
Logic Pro Licence	£5 / day
Final Cut Licence	£5 / day
Accessories
Presenter Clicker	£1 / day
Wi-Fi Router (TP-Link AC1900)	£2 / day
Acer 21.5-inch Monitor	£2.75 / day

Rates are per day and exclude VAT. Ask us about multi-day and show-week rates, delivery, and hiring with a technician.

Alternatives

QLab playback system — the show-ready cue machine — QLab licensed, prepped and ready to step through a show.

Projectors — when the image needs to be bigger than any TV — portable to 10,000 lumens.

Full technical specification (8)

Mac Book Air 15 inch (M4, 2025)	Apple M4 with 10-core CPU and 10-core GPU; 15.3-inch 2880 x 1864 display at 500 nits; two Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C) ports, MagSafe 3 charging, 3.5mm headphone jack; drives up to two external displays; up to 18 hours battery; 340 x 238 x 11.5 mm; 1.51 kg
Mac Mini (M4, 2024)	Apple M4 with 10-core CPU and 10-core GPU; three Thunderbolt 4 ports, HDMI, Gigabit Ethernet, two front USB-C ports, 3.5mm headphone jack; drives up to three displays; 127 x 127 x 50 mm; 0.67 kg; 155W maximum on 100-240V mains
Mac Mini (M2 Pro, 2023)	Apple M2 Pro; four Thunderbolt 4 ports, HDMI supporting up to 8K at 60Hz or 4K at 240Hz, two USB-A ports, Gigabit Ethernet, 3.5mm headphone jack; drives up to three displays; 197 x 197 x 36 mm; 1.28 kg; 185W maximum
Dell P2424 HT touch monitor	23.8-inch IPS panel, 1920 x 1080 at 60Hz, 300 cd/m2, 10-point touch; USB-C upstream with 90W power delivery, DisplayPort 1.2, HDMI, Gigabit Ethernet and USB-A ports; stand tilts from -5 to 60 degrees; 100 x 100 mm VESA; approx 539 x 249 x 321 mm with stand; 7.86 kg
49 inch TV on stand	49-inch flat panel with HDMI input on a free-standing floor stand; exact model confirmed at booking
Power	Everything runs from standard UK 13A sockets at 230V
Software	QLab 5 audio and video, Logic Pro and Final Cut licences — £5 a day each, installed before dispatch
Accessories	Presenter clicker, TP-Link Wi-Fi router, 21.5-inch monitor

Common questions

For sound cues only, a musical with backing tracks and effects, the Mac Mini M4 is plenty and keeps the cost down. Once video is involved, or you are feeding several outputs through an audio interface, book the M2 Pro Mini: four Thunderbolt ports, USB-A for interfaces and an HDMI output that drives a projector directly. The MacBook Air runs QLab happily too, and is the right answer when the machine has to sit at front of house or move between venues. QLab itself installs free; the paid licences unlock the pro audio and video features and can be rented by the day from Figure 53, so tell us what the show does and we will help you work out which licence, if any, you actually need.
Yes. Both Mac Minis have a full-size HDMI port, so they plug straight into the TV or any projector with a single cable. The MacBook Air sends video over its Thunderbolt ports and we supply the right USB-C adapter with it. Each machine will drive two or three screens at once, so one Mini can feed a projector and a repeat screen together. Tell us the cable runs and we will send leads long enough.
Honestly, touch is a Windows feature first. Plug the Dell into a Windows laptop over USB and the 10-point touch just works, which is what makes it good for registration and sign-in desks. macOS has no real touch support, so with our Macs treat it as a very good second screen and dock: one USB-C cable carries the picture, charges the laptop at up to 90 watts and adds wired network and USB ports. If your desk software runs in a browser, your own Windows laptop plus this screen is often the neatest answer, and we will say so.
Each Mac goes out freshly set up with a clean admin account and current macOS. Tell us what software you need when you book and we will have it installed and tested before it leaves. When it comes back the machine is wiped, so take your files with you, and keep a copy of your show file somewhere other than the hire machine during the run, exactly as you would with your own.
Mostly they go out as part of a bigger job: a QLab machine inside a sound package, the TV alongside our filming kit on a green room feed. But everything on this page hires on its own as well. If all you need is one machine for a weekend, ask. The day rate is the day rate.