North Korea TV (KCTV) Live Stream

MisterAnon wrote:

So what's going on with thise RTSP stream? The RTSP stream is the only one now working. The MMS stream is dead. The RTSP URL is rtsp://121.167.43.161/chosun and typing that exactly (specifying no port number) works in this stream player app for Android called Stream Player. However it does not work in VLC player or ffplay.exe (the player component of FFMPEG). I tried manually specifying the port number 554 (the default for RTSP protocol) but that didn't work in VLC or FFPLAY. I also tried the official alternate RTSP port number which is 8554, but it also didn't work in either of those players. I tried manually specifying port 554 in Stream Player for Android, and it worked perfectly. So I know the port number 554 is correct.

So here I have a very much non-standard player (Stream Player) working perfectly, while the more common software VLC and FFPLAY utterly fail to play this stream. What's going on?

I had never heard of a RSTP stream before.  So I tried it in the VLC player, and it is working for me, streaming KCTV North Korea. Also the MMS stream is working for my VLC player, too. Both links currently streaming the same KCTV broadcast. I don't know anything about those port numbers, I just opened my VLC player, clicked media > open network stream, and pasted the MMS link or the RSTP link and they both play fine.
WMP no longer supports MMS streaming so I need to use the VLC now.

Finally figured out what was wrong. My router's firewall was blocking the connection. Don't know why it worked from my cellphone (with that one app called Stream Player), as it's also on my wireless router. Must have something to do with the way it tried to connect or something. Whatever the case, I don't want to have to disable the firewall, just to watch NKorean TV.

as far as I can see, no link is working. Only elufa, which is not that good..
any ideas?

In addition, I upload old and new videos (movies, music, news etc) all in 720p & 1080p.

The Shining Red Star on YouTube

Anyway no one link works. I tried VLC and Media Player but nothing....

Is there any possibly livestream link of KCTV? Ustream stopped even working for now..

Jakub wrote:

Is there any possibly livestream link of KCTV? Ustream stopped even working for now..

I don't know of any current KCTV streaming links. This one on Youtube says it's a live stream but everytime I look it says the stream is offline:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4abZLYqOAU

This one has some fairly current recordings of KCTV streams:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJ7i-yFvuzn9FbUdU77WKcA/videos

I finally managed to do something aaaaaand here it is Finally catched up KCTV. I'm going to stream it 24/7 now

Here is link for the upcoming 7.27 event:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCCgW9Zvp_4&feature=youtu.be

litteraly, link may update sometimes due to YouTube caching system (they cut off my streams sometimes), so just go to https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXyTAGH8jLZVjd137WYhpQQ or if you want something you can remember: http://kctv.live/

I got banned by BB Media for streaming Squirrel and Hedgehog. It seems MONDO WORLD has bought the rights to this. There is no way to avoid that livestream ban on YouTube :/

PluumSE wrote:

I got banned by BB Media for streaming Squirrel and Hedgehog. It seems MONDO WORLD has bought the rights to this. There is no way to avoid that livestream ban on YouTube :/

I just checked -(3.30am EST, start of NK broadcast day) -
Those Youtube links above are offline -
These links appear to be streaming KCTV now:
http://www.elufa-tv.net/live.html
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/x9dWwuXe7fC

Thanks for the info, seemed like ffmpeg stopped working on my side. Now everything's fine and working.

Hallo everybody,

I've been following this forum for quite some time now and have decided to post my first message here today or tonight (depending on where you live in the world) as I occasionally follow KCTV with interest.

Since none of the aforementioned links don't seem to be broadcasting any KCTV streams, I've decided to post another link to one, which is currently active.
This can be found on the Japanese video sharing service called Niconico.

So, to put it in a nutshell, here's the latest link:
【北朝鮮で日本人男性拘束】朝鮮中央テレビ

Automatrix66 wrote:

Hallo everybody,

I've been following this forum for quite some time now and have decided to post my first message here today or tonight (depending on where you live in the world) as I occasionally follow KCTV with interest.

Since none of the aforementioned links don't seem to be broadcasting any KCTV streams, I've decided to post another link to one, which is currently active.
This can be found on the Japanese video sharing service called Niconico.

So, to put it in a nutshell, here's the latest link:
【北朝鮮で日本人男性拘束】朝鮮中央テレビ

Can you give more details, steps to click on which icon.. and so on, please ?

Both of these links work
For VLC:
https://tv.nknews.org/tvdash/stream.mpd
For Potplayer :
https://tv.nknews.org/tvhls/stream.m3u8

khangpham06 wrote:

Both of these links work
For VLC:
https://tv.nknews.org/tvdash/stream.mpd
For Potplayer :
https://tv.nknews.org/tvhls/stream.m3u8

Confirmed that the VLC link is working, streaming KCTV now during normal programming hours. I didn't try the Potplayer.  
Both the Ustream and Elufa links are working too. All three links are playing the same programming, although the VLC link is about 15 seconds behind the others, but there are no ads you are forced to watch. Elufa and Ustream occasionally break for ads.

The link Automatrix66 gave a couple above posts above is not live streaming anymore, apparently. It was only available for a few days.

@Dear Leader how you watched the videos/live stream from sptv.co.kr and whch browser? when i got there and will play the videos, nohting happens. Please reply thanks

Update August 2019
You can find a KCTV live stream here during broadcast hours:
https://kcnawatch.org/korea-central-tv-livestream/

Both of these links are still live streaming KCTV during broadcast hours(works using the VLC media player, don't know about others):
https://tv.nknews.org/tvhls/stream.m3u8
https://tv.nknews.org/tvdash/stream.mpd

KCTV satellite info:
https://www.lyngsat.com/tvchannels/kp/Korean-Central-TV.html

Hello again,
I have updated my guide to streaming KCTV to mark which links are broken and working as well as adding two new sources. Enjoy!


How to stream DPRK TV.

------------------------------------------------------
KCTV (Live News Channel):
Internet based devices PC, tablet, phone, console, etc:
(Works - Tested 04/2020)
https://kcnawatch.org/korea-central-tv-livestream/
(Works - Tested 04/2020)
https://aqstream.com/kctv/Korean-Central-TV
(Works - Tested 04/2020)
https://live.nicovideo.jp/watch/lv325642541

* Possibly Malware (Unification broadcasting):
(Works sometimes - Tested 04/2020)
http://sptv.co.kr/ [Requires mx player plugin] (Use Internet Explorer only or Android)
(Broken - Archived)
http://www.elufa-tv.net/live.html

(Works - Tested 04/2020)(works using the VLC media player, don't know about others):
https://tv.nknews.org/tvhls/stream.m3u8
https://tv.nknews.org/tvdash/stream.mpd
(Broken - Archived) http://121.167.43.161:50000/chosun (Use with Windows Media Player)
(Broken - Archived) rtsp://121.167.43.161/chosun (Use with VLC, Kodi, XBMC, etc)
(Broken - Archived) mms://121.167.43.161/chosun (Use with Windows Media Player)

Programs to stream with (Archived):
* VLC Media Player (Free & works on PC and Mobile):
https://www.videolan.org/vlc/
* Kodi/XBMC (Free & works on PC and Android):
http://kodi.tv/
* Windows Media Player (mms stream only & only for Windows):
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/download-windows-media-player

Satellite (No encryption) (Works great):
[Requires a satellite dish and a special receiver that lets you manually tune to satellite channels]
https://www.lyngsat.com/tvchannels/kp/Korean-Central-TV.html
* Eastern World: Asia, Africa, Europe, Australia, etc:
Thaicom 5 (78,5°E) 3696 H, SR 4167, FEC 3/5 DVB-S2 8PSK MPEG-4 HD
Track satellite location: http://www.n2yo.com/?s=29163
* Western World: Americas, Western Europe, etc:
Intelsat 21 (58°W) 3840 V, SR 27690, FEC 7/8 DVB-S MPEG-4
Track satellite location: http://www.n2yo.com/?s=38749
Over the air (DPRK only or might get it in ROK near DMZ)
* Analog: Channel R12 (223.25 MHz in Pyongyang)
* Digital: No official plans for a digital switchover. See Satellite for HD Feed(s).

IPTV (Intranet)
Manbang (only for North Koreans) Button 1

Broadcast time and Schedule:
Welcome to KCTV at 14:30 or 2:30 PM Pyongyang Time (00:00 or 12:00 AM GMT)
14:30-15:00 Highly modified version of the Philips PM5544 (4:3), Philips PM5644 (16:9), Test Pattern with digital clock and multiple elements including colour bars, resolution grids and other markings (the audio is music – usually classical or patriotic – and clock ident with the 8-note chime of "Song of General Kim Il-sung" as time signal) 30 minutes
15:00-15:10 National anthem, introduction announcement, "Song of General Kim Il-sung" (instrumental version) & "Song of General Kim Jong-il" (instrumental version), television listings 10 minutes
15:10-16:20 Special events recap 70 minutes
16:20-17:00 Documentary specials 40 minutes
17:00-17:20 Afternoon News ("Report", 보도 –Bodo–) 20 minutes
17:20-17:25 Press Review (오늘호 중앙신문개관) 5 minutes
17:30-18:00 Children's Broadcast time (cartoons, anecdotes of Kim Il-sung, Kim Jong-il, etc.) 30 minutes
18:00-18:15 Law enforcement show 15 minutes
18:15-18:35 Military show (chorus, parade, exercises, etc.); also includes the military comedy show It's So Funny 20 minutes
18:35-19:10 Sports 40 minutes
19:10-19:25 The evening news ("Report", 보도 –Bodo–) 15 minutes
19:25-19:30 Weather forecast 5 minutes
19:30-20:00 Sitcom (usually revolutionary or daily life themed TV series) 30 minutes
20:00-20:40 Drama show 40 Minutes
20:50-22:20 Feature Film 90 minutes
22:20-22:25 The late night news ("Among the Report today", 오늘의 보도중에서 –Oneul'ui Bodojeung'eseo–) 5 minutes
22:25-22:30 Weather forecast 5 minutes
22:30-22:35 Music videos 5 minutes
22:35-22:40 TV listings for tomorrow, sign-off announcement, National Flag and music 《빛나는 조국》 ("Our Shining Country") 5 minutes
22:40-14:30 Off the air. 8-bar Test Pattern with 1 kHz tone (tone but still black screen starts about 1.5 minutes after black screen start and lasts about 10 seconds at which point RF signal is completely cut; RF transmission begins again 21 minutes later the content of this transmission is bars+tone; bars without tone starts 1.25 minutes before beginning of next programme cycle) 13 hours and 10 minutes

~Z DPRK Study Group wrote:

Hello again,
I have updated my guide to streaming KCTV to mark which links are broken and working as well as adding two new sources. Enjoy!

Thanks for all the info you post here. It can be hard to keep up with which live stream links are dead or which are working.

Update SEPTEMBER 2021
You can find KCTV live streams here during broadcast hours:
https://kcnawatch.org/korea-central-tv-livestream/
https://www.twitch.tv/kctv_elufa
(The kcna stream seems to be about a minute behind the elufa stream).

Both of these links are still live streaming KCTV during broadcast hours(works using the VLC media player, don't know about others):
https://tv.nknews.org/tvhls/stream.m3u8
https://tv.nknews.org/tvdash/stream.mpd

KCTV satellite info:
https://www.lyngsat.com/tvchannels/kp/Korean-Central-TV.html