Technical Issues for Expats: Understanding Electrics, Phones, TVs and more ...

When I moved to the UK I brought 5 of my favorite lamps with me.  DH was going to replace the sockets, cords and plugs.  At B&Q today i found an acceptable color of cord, but the only plugs for sale were white.  Maplin sells white plugs and black plugs.  I can color coordinate white cords and plugs, but white looks horrible with the lamps.

Does anyone know of a resource that sells colored plugs other than white and black?

You might want to check eBay.  My fiance gets all kinds of parts/hardware there.

Thanks so much for the suggestion.  I will check out eBay.

Hi everyone.

Just to resurrect this thread, I've got a handful of questions around TVs and related components.  I've read all the posts thus far but it's still not clear to me.

I currently have digital cable service in the U.S.  I run an HDMI cable from this cable box to an A/V receiver, and another from the receiver to the TV.

If I want to get digital cable service in the UK (from Virgin or Sky), is it possible to connect that box to my A/V receiver through a PAL/NTSC converter and then connect to the TV as normal?  I don't care about getting over-the-air broadcasts at all (I'll need to pay for service to get international TV packages for American sports).  And if the TV doesn't work, can the A/V receiver still be made to work with a UK cable box and UK TV set?  I've heard stereo receivers can work but perhaps the video processing is an issue.

Separately, I've got a Playstation for games and Blu-rays/DVDs.  I know PS games are region-free, but can a PS be unlocked to play other region DVDs?

One last point - I'm moving with my employer, which is paying for the move, so no concerns about costs of moving/insuring the TV.  If there is a way to get it to work, I'd rather my employer pay for the move than me pay for a new TV.

I have been in the UK for almost 5 years, and there is very little which I would even begin to try to explain differently from what Paul_1966 has explained.

Thank you, Paul, for taking the time to wrap up this information up into one post.

The only electronics we shipped across was my wife's sewing machine.  Anyone who uses a sewing machine knows that each model has its idiosyncrasies.
For this one machine, we purchased a heavy-duty converter that would a) support the voltage and b) the length of time of use.

Guys, if this involves your partner's work, consider very carefully the need to so something similiar before deciding.

We didn't even consider shipping any of the consumer electronics, figuring we would buy a new DVD player, new TV etc. That has been what we have done. Simply put, it is not worth the expense of shipping consumer electionics compared to purchasing new equipment.

Only bother to ship any electronics which cannot be replaced.
Such as the above sewing machine.
 
Cheers,
Terru