Denon DVD-3300 playing up

[Monty]

I bought a Denon DVD-3300 from the SNA classifieds a few years ago. Reasonable quality disc spinner, but must be about 15 years old by now.

 

It has served me well but is getting sketchy with DVD playback - skipping, stalling, pixelated breakup, etc. We get through a few dodgy pirated DVDs here, so it can be hard to diagnose, but the errors are becoming more frequent and manifesting on legit discs as well, so I think it's a hardware rather than software problem. CD playback is fine.

 

Any recommendations for an easy fix?

 

Could this be as simple as a dirty laser? And if so, what is the best way to do this? Buy a laser cleaner kit? Or take the lid off and clean manually (with what - borrow some camera cleaning gear)?

 

And if it's not that simple, what is involved in replacing the laser assembly? Would that be worth doing for this player or am I getting into to 'just buy a new one' territory?

 

Thanks.

[aechmea]

It could be dirty, but more likely to be a failing laser.

 

I had the same symptoms with my DVD3930.  Fortunately it was early on and still in the warranty period, so was repaired by the distributor.  Has been working well now for a further 8-ish years.

 

At the age that yours is, it may be a bit difficult to find the part.  A quick search on eBay only finds one; in the US at about $100.  The real cost comes from a knowledgeable person to do the fitting and aligning? and whatever?  Its not something that I would ever attempt; but that's just my general ineptitude with such things. It may in fact be quite easy for someone with the skills.  

 

Almost certainly easier/cost effective to buy a new'un if you are going to get a tech to repair it.  Even the part alone makes repair a bit iffy.

[Monty]

Thanks aechmea. I think I only spent $150 on the thing, so certainly not worth spending much on parts and labour.

 

Does anyone have suggestions for laser cleaning tools/procedures?