In the GDR most people could watch western TV, except for the Dresden area. For this ARD was also called "ausser Raum Dresden", i.e. "except Dresden area". The 2 national stations DDR 1 and DDR 2 just died and the hardware was probably either absorbed or taken down (outdated equipment,...).
The SECAM videos I tried to play on PAL recorder and TV actually had color, but with weird patterns all over. The NTSC Super Nintendo I own works perfectly on a PAL TV, only in black and white. I tried that for quite some time before buying a used NTSC/PAL TV set.
Concerning plugs, where can you get fuses for 13A plugs? I guess in Ireland many shops carry them. (I'll probably travel to Dublin next summer, and I need a new fuse for our adaptor (my dad blew the old 2A one by plugging in a hairdryer, so I gotta replace it with something that can stand a 1200W hairdryer and is _not_ aluminum foil), and I think trying to get one here will be more difficult).
