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This is as close as it gets to Apple TV in North Korea


Manbang set-top box is as lose as it gets to Apple TV in North Korea

According to NKNews.org, one of the most outspoken Internet publications offering insight into the reclusive country of North Korea, the regime has recently approved an upcoming video streaming service, using the microscopic Internet resources allowed from within North Korea’s confines. The service will deliver curated content through “Manbang(translation: “everywhere” or “every direction”)”, a set top box that uses IPTV live/time-shifted protocols.

This method is commonly used to stream OTA(Over-The-Air) signal via the Internet, which gives Pyongyang complete control on what users are allowed to watch, as well as the ability to see what citizens typically request. IPTV Live or time-shifted is radically different from IPTV VOD (video On Demand), which is the streaming method adopted by services like Comcast, or Time Warner Cable.

The “Everywhere” set-top box is most likely as close as it gets to Apple TV, Chromecast, or Roku for North Korean citizens blessed with an Internet connection and a computer. With that said, the number of Internet users in North Korea is so small, that a service like this is likely to be no more than a publicity stunt, a sign of willingness to embrace modern and “open” technologies, to lure the few governments still willing to help the DPRK with its staggering deficit.

The set-top box itself looks not unlike a Wi-Fi router, or a digital TV decoder, such as those required to receive digital channels on an old cathode-tube TV, and it’s probably not far from one, in regard to its internals.

The installation of the device is rather straightforward, and requires the box to be plugged into a phone line, and to a separate outlet that taps into the National Network. Finally, an HDMI cable will plug into a television set.

Some screenshots of the user interface show as many as five channels available, and what seems to be a searchable TV guide. With that said, it’s hard to determine how much flexibility users will have when searching and playing content, considering that IPTV services are barely a notch above regular television. Also, considering that the box requires no configuration at all, would suggest an even tighter control on the service, than the state is willing to let out, which is far from being newsworthy.

One upside of the “Everywhere” box, is the ability to stream live TV in areas where there is poor signal, or heavy radio interference.


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