I don't read fanfic or watch vids before I have seen all of the source if at all possible, i.e. the exceptions are things like superhero comics, but even there I bought a ton of comics and downloaded a view gigabytes more on top of that (in addition to reading overviews) to get a grip on the characters before getting seriously into the fanfic.

So for me sampling fan creations without the source is not an option. I won't even read crossovers without having watched at least some of the source, not even by my favorite authors. I mean, seeing fiction in a fandom by a favorite author has caused me to check out a series, a good example for that is Traders, I've seen a few SGA people post Traders fic, then saw an author I really like post an SGA crossover I wanted to read, which in turn caused me to watch five seasons of Traders in a marathon...

I never try any anime, because I hate the art style of both anime and manga (though I hate manga more), ever since I first saw them appearing in comic stores in the mid-80s.