You don't say what inputs & outputs you have on the equipment, or what you've already tried which has not worked.
Please forgive me if any of this is obvious, but you need a digital cable (either a co-axial wire type, or an optical type) connecting the two pieces of equipment, and then, on the DVD recorder, you select the appropriate input, which would not be '1', '2', or any channel or programme number, but probably something like 'DIG', or 'AV1' or 'AV2'. If this works, remember that if your TV has only one tuner you must keep the TV tuned to the channel you're wanting to record.
FWIW, the new Telewest HiDef-ready/Hard Disk Drive cable digibox has 3 digital tuners, enabling you to watch one channel while recording 2 others on to its hard disk. From those HDD recordings you should then be able to make digital copies on to your DVD recorder.