How do you conect TV to et top box and vd/vcr recorder

There's a significant chance that a diagram is in the recorder's owner's manual. Some manufacturer's post manuals on their web sites for the convenience of people that have lost their manuals. There might be diagrams on you cable or satellite provider's web site.

Usually by connecting the output jacks on the set top box (composite and stereo OR RF/coax) to the matching input jacks on the recorder. Then do the same between the recorder and the TV.

If your cable provider still has unscrambled analog channels or unencrypted digital channels you might be able to put a splitter on the cable (before it reached the converter) and watch one of a limited number of channels through an RF connection bypassing the cable converter.