DVD/VHS combo player issues

[King Jan III Sobieski]

I know I already posted an almost identical thread about my laptop DVD drive a week or so ago, but, I have bad luck with technology... :help::furious3::help:

My DVD/VHS combo player won't read ANY sort of digital media (CD nor DVD formats; VHS player works fine). If trying to clean it (disc-cleaner thingy, compressed air, etc.) doesn't work, is it practical to try to replace the DVD reader, or just buy a whole new DVD player?

[Lemur]

Given how cheap DVD players have become, I'm 99.99999% sure that buying a new one will be cheaper. Heck, you can pick up a very nice Divx-compatible upscaling DVD player for around $40 these days. Do I need to point out that forty bucks won't cover an hour of technician time?