The live TV Box craze shows no signs of slowing down. Next up for review is the MagaBox MG4 Max TV Box, and they are on a mission to “make streaming great again”. You see what I did there? If you’re familiar with live TV and video-on-demand models, you know the drill. In this new model, let’s see what fresh features MagaBox has brought to the table, and they are as follows.
Unboxing the MagaBox MG4 Max TV Box
In the MagaBox MG4 Max, you’ll discover the standard components. Inside the box, you get the TV box itself, a Bluetooth voice remote, an HDMI cable, a 5V 2A DC power adapter, and a user manual. The first thing you’ll notice is the sleek, all-metal design with polished chrome edges. The MagaBox branding sits proudly on top, giving it a premium feel.
On the back of the device, you’ll find several ports: one HDMI port, an Ethernet LAN port, an optical audio port, an IR extender, an AV port, and a DC input socket. The two external antennas give it a strong and stable connection. The side of the box features two USB 2.0 ports, a reset button, and a microSD card slot. The LED display is visible upfront, and the base is equipped with four antiskid rubber feet and lacks ventilation holes.
First Impressions: The Launcher and Remote
Booting up the MagaBox MG4 Max is a breeze. As you start up the device, you’re greeted by a smooth MagaBox animation, and once the animation concludes, you’re taken directly to the launcher. The included remote is a Bluetooth voice remote, but it also has the capability to work via infrared if you choose not to pair it This dual functionality is handy. To pair the remote, hold down the left and right arrow keys on the directional pad until the white power button blinks.
Once it’s blinking, use the infrared function to navigate to the Bluetooth menu, search for the remote’s signal, and hit the okay button to pair. Once connected, the Bluetooth function takes over, allowing you to use voice commands with Google Assistant. However, note that the cursor feature on the remote is not a Gyro air mouse.
Now, let’s talk about the launcher. It’s clean, high-resolution, and very responsive to the Bluetooth remote. You can also use an air mouse, mini touchpad keyboard, or even a simple PC mouse for navigation. The launcher features a horizontal scrolling panel for all installed apps, another for the shortcut bar, and a bottom panel with settings shortcuts, device info, a file browser, an app uninstallation section, and a one-click memory cleanup. However, there’s no navigation bar or status bar, which might be a downside for some.
Main Features: Live TV and Video-on-Demand
The standout feature of the MagaBox MG4 Max TV Box is its access to live TV and video-on-demand content. With this box, you can tap into hundreds of live TV channels and thousands of on-demand movies. However, the service doesn’t come preinstalled. You’ll see icons for the apps, but clicking them won’t do much until you install them. To do this, you need to first install an APK app store from the built-in app store and then download the necessary apps from within it.
The app store in this new MG4 model has some additional apps that weren’t available in previous models. You’ll find apps like Asia TV, Canada TV, USA Local TV, Latino TV, European TV, and a dedicated Sports TV app. Since the user manual lacks detailed information, there’s a video tutorials section included to guide you through pairing the remote and using all the features of the box.
There are three main apps to note: Live Maga, VOD Maga, and Replay Maga. Live Maga gives you access to over 5000 live TV channels from across the globe, including the US, Canada, India, the UK, France, and more. These channels cover everything from news and sports to documentaries and sitcoms. VOD Maga offers a staggering 29,331 movies on demand and 2813 TV series. Finally, Replay Maga records up to one week of content from 101 channels, including news networks and major sports networks.
MagaBox MG4 Max Cost and Value Proposition
You can grab the MagaBox MG4 Max TV Box for $323, down from $359, using a 10% discount code that I’ve included in the description below. The price of these specialty boxes often sparks debate. Some might find the price high compared to regular Android boxes. But it’s essential to understand the value. These models offer live TV and video-on-demand services that regular Android boxes simply can’t match in terms of efficiency. So, while the price might seem steep at first, the value you get in return is undeniable.
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Firmware Features and Performance
The MagaBox MG4 Max runs on Android 12, based on the Android TV version. However, it features the mobile version of the Google Play Store, making it a hybrid type of firmware. The box supports a 4K display at up to 60Hz and offers a true 60Hz refresh rate as detected by my capture card. It also has auto HDR, HDR always-on, and an option to disable HDR for SDR. The built-in screen rotation feature, unfortunately, doesn’t work, even when disabling the forced landscape feature.
The box supports up to 10-bit color depth, auto framerate switching, HDMI CEC options, and a game mode feature. However, under display format selection, it only supports HDR10 and HLG. For audio, you can switch between HDMI and optical audio, and it supports HDMI audio passthrough. Unfortunately, it doesn’t support any surround sound audio formats.
System and Hardware Specs
The MagaBox MG4 Max TV Box is powered by the Allwinner H616 chipset, clocked at 1.5 GHz in a 32-bit mode. This means it can only run 32-bit apps and games. It has 4 GB of DDR4 RAM, 128 GB of internal storage, and Bluetooth 5.0. The GPU is a Mali G31 with OpenGL ES version 3.2, and it supports dual-band 2.4+5 GHz Wi-Fi. The Android OS version is 12, and it’s rooted. The GPU has Vulkan support API version 1.1, and the box operates at an idle temperature of around 58°C.
The box uses Google Widevine Level 3 without HDCP protection, limiting streaming services like Netflix, Prime Video, and Disney Plus to 480p resolution when it comes to digital rights management and root access. The Bluetooth remote’s voice command feature only opens apps and controls firmware settings like volume, lacking Google Assistant functionality.
Video and Gaming Performance
The MagaBox MG4 Max can play YouTube videos at up to 1440p at 60Hz. If you try to play a 4K 2160p video, the screen goes blank and reverts to 1080p. For mobile screen mirroring, the box comes with a Miracast receiver app that uses the official Miracast protocol, allowing you to cast your Android mobile phone in HD quality. However, the box can only process HDR10 and not HLG during 4K video playback.
As for gaming, this box isn’t designed for high-performance gaming. But if you set games to low or medium graphics settings, you can get some games to play smoothly. Just be mindful of the heat levels.
MagaBox MG4 Max Benchmark Results
In the benchmark tests, the MagaBox MG4 Max performed as expected for its price point. Here’s a quick rundown:
- RAM Copy Speed: 2921 MB/s.
- Internal Storage: Read speed of 156 MB/s, write speed of 153 MB/s.
- Wi-Fi and Ethernet: 5 GHz band and LAN port achieved maximum speed. The 2.4 GHz band maxed out at around 83 Mbps.
- Geekbench 5 CPU Benchmark: 113 single-core, 399 multicore.
- 3DMark Wildlife Test: 1125 with an average FPS of 0.75.
- Antutu Benchmark Version 8.4.5: 77,755.
Based on these scores, the MagaBox MG4 Max ranks at position 80 on my TV Box rankings chart, and I’d give it a two out of five-star rating for hardware performance.
Final Thoughts
The MagaBox MG4 Max TV Box is designed solely for streaming live TV and video-on-demand content. An Allwinner chipset powers it, making it a budget-friendly option unsuitable for demanding tasks like high-graphics Android gaming or PS2 emulation gaming. However, if your primary focus is on streaming, this box delivers. You can purchase the MagaBox MG4 Max for $323 using the discount code I’ve provided below if you’re interested.
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