Decode karaoke how to#
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Decode karaoke software#

The full user experience of the karaoke device is implemented within a single monolithic Android application that itself references a host of system libraries for interacting with playing the karaoke through the external HDMI video connection.

Decode karaoke software#

Had a North Korean client provided a package of content to be included with a stipulation that it should be protected, or had the software itself been customized by North Korean programmers like the smartphones and tablets in Pyongyang? Were there clues to the North Korean entity behind this device?

Decode karaoke how to#

The main question in my mind while investigating and figuring out how to decode the protected content was where the custody line was between Chinese and North Korean. Most of the system software is a generic Chinese KTV system. It also allows installation of other Android applications and copying of arbitrary user-accessible files to a USB stick, which makes access to the device very easy. It allows customers to plug in their own USB sticks to sing songs off, and to save their recordings to. The device itself has a file manager and open USB ports. While the Chinese songs on the hard drive can be played on any computer they are connected to, the 42 gigabytes of North Korean media is encrypted, and the files cannot be opened on other devices. If that was all there was to it though, you wouldn’t be reading this article. Powered by an Allwinner ARM processor, the song data is on an easily swappable (one screw holds a flap in place to remove) full sized hard drive labeled “North Korean Songs” in Chinese.

While many of the flashy features make use of the internet, the device functions perfectly well offline, and with hundreds of pages of preloaded karaoke, would be of immediate value within Pyongyang, even without those features.Īs a commercial device used in group settings, the V700 has a very different threat model from the personal devices that have become ubiquitous around Pyongyang in recent years.

The Mokran Video logo before one collection of songs (Photo: North Korea Tech) Many others are titled, generically, “7.27”. Some videos feature the “Hana 하나” watermark, while others are labeled with the competing “Mokran 목란” brand.

The Karaoke content also doesn’t provide immediate answers to the origins of the device. How would any of this work in the offline world of Pyongyang? A WeChat payment structure also allows a central controller to dole out timed sessions with the machine to paying customers. It supports both Wifi and wired Ethernet to provide these features. The V700 could be at home in a Chinese KTV room, with software that is fully “online” - recordings of performed songs can be uploaded to the vendor’s cloud, new songs (all Chinese) can be downloaded to the machine, and WeChat integration allows modifying the queue from a smartphone. Dissonance begins to set in upon exploring the rest of the software. The first image shown while the device starts up is the Arch of Triumph in Pyongyang, and upon booting a Moranbong Band concert loops on the TV while the device waits for a song to be chosen. The North Korean affiliation of the device is not in doubt.