The Mediabox Maverick has specs, design and capabilities make it attractive, but what sells this device is the ease at which one can set it up. So if you're in the market for an android tv device or you want to convince your folks to part with their set-top-box, this is one of the best options you have.
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Design
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Ease of set-up
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Price
If you’ve always wanted a smart TV and you haven’t had the requisite cash lying around, the Mediabox Maverick should be on your radar.
It’s essentially a device that turns a non-smart TV into a smart one, or if you have a smart TV, a less fiddly option than setting up streaming services in your TV’s onboard menu. It’s also less technically challenging than setting up Plex and you don’t need a tablet on-hand to operate it like Google’s Chromecast.
“Switch on. Login. Binge”. That’s the slogan that’s literally stamped on the box and to be frank, it isn’t lying. The makers of this device quite clearly have put simplicity of set up and use at its core.
Out of the box, setting up the Maverick’s is a simple matter of plugging in some HDMI and power cables, connecting to the internet and then logging into the streaming services that you’re already subscribed to.
Dynamite comes in small packages
The Maverick is powered by a 2.0Ghz Quad-Core Cortex A53 AMLogic S905X2 CPU and an ARM MALI G31 MP2, GPU clocked at 850MHz. On top of that, it boasts a 4Kp60 H.265 video decoder and a 1080p60 H.264 encoder that offer incredibly clear pictures on your TV.
The Maverick runs on the rather clean and uncluttered Android 9 Pie, although means that users will need to have a Google account as they’re required to log in to get things rolling. On the flip side, it means you can pretty much get all of the latest Google apps from the Play store.
A slick package
Out of the box, the Maverick is rather pleasing to the eye; it’s a small, square device measuring about 14mm by 14mm, with a matte black finish. Essentially it looks like a rather slick external drive, a big change from chunky set-top boxes (be they from DStv or consoles). It’s small, light and easy to unplug, so if you fancy it you can move it between devices with ease.
It comes armed with two USB ports (2.0 and 3.0), an ethernet port, an HDMI output, an AV stereo jack and an Optical SPDIF giving users the options to connect it to quite a few devices at once – if you have a decent speaker system at home and you want to come close to a home cinema, there you go.
It also comes with a remote that mercifully has very few buttons on it, making the interface pretty smooth and there are dedicated buttons for Google Play, Netflix, Prime Video and YouTube. Naturally, the list of apps you can download from Google Play is very robust and because it’s supported locally, you’ve got DStv and Showmax to boot.
If you hate remotes and don’t mind talking to your TV, Google’s voice-operated Assistant allows you to tell the Maverick what you’d like it to do – say the name of the platform and the show/movie you want and you’re watching it in seconds.
Mediabox Maverick Verdict
For such a small device, the Mediabox Maverick packs a punch – which it should since at an RRP of R1,500 it’s a tad more expensive than some of its competition (though it should be mentioned you can get it for a bit cheaper in some outlets).
Its specs, design and capabilities make it attractive to be sure, but what sells the Mediabox Maverick is the ease at which one can set it up. So if you’re in the market for an android tv device or you want to convince your folks to part with their set-top-box, the Mediabox Maverick is one of the best options you have. You plug it in and play. You do what it says on the tin.
