Problems with you DVDR 3380 not finding your DVD

Please check the connections , check the leads from the DVD to the TV, use the line out from DVD to the line in the TV using the video and audio inputs. If this wont work then in most cases when the CD does not play it is possible that the optical head is a suspect. Sometimes it might pick up ordinary audio CD but will not play other formats. This indicates that the optical head is weak and so there is no detection or scanning of the CD . If the optical is working the tracks will be read immediately but with no scanning the laser head can be defective.

The main motor will not work in some cases as unless the tracks are read the drive motor will not work with signal from the processor.
Sometimes certain cleaner disks will not be tracked to run for cleaning as it will not be read and so will reject. Hence it is ideal to manually clean the laser head eye using a cleaning swap /cotton bud with gentle pressure on the lens eye.
If there is no result then watch if the CD spins or tries to spin. If so the board seems to work unless a test is taken on the main board but the possibility of a defective optical head can be the suspected fault.
If any of the above seems otherwise we must recheck with possibilities of a malfunction of the main processor board

You can't replace the lens, its carriage is welded on the reading head. You could replace the entire disk mechanism with one recovered from a junked one.

open the recorder, 4 screws at each corner, wipe the playing head and the voice reccognition head, to the right of the playing head head with a baby wipe, you will be amiazed what **** comes off it. DON'T scrub it just wipe lightly, spin the playing head so it's clean. If you have a lint free cloth ( a glasses cleaning cloth you get in the case is brilliant) Try the tape (before you put it in make sure everything is DRY!) and your problem should be solved. It worked for me! and that came from a TV engineer

Were your tapes recorded in extended play? Sometimes that will make it impossible for a different tape deck to play it back correctly. The tolerences on Hi-8 are very small so it is possible that a tiny alignment difference will make it impossible to play back a pre-recorded tape. Try fast forwording and rewinding the tape and try it again. Also try playing it from different parts of the tape. Go to the middle of the tape and try it there.

The VHS cleaning cassette possibly deposited fiber in the heads in the drum. You may need to open the cabin and examine the heads and the mechanism for foreign matterial.