Take it one step at a time,
A few things to remember up front, RCA jacks have many uses and are generally color coded.
As faras audio goes, remember, red/white RCA plugs won't give digital sound, only analog DPL.
You'll need either an orange jack (or a toslink connector) for digital sound.
As for video, the yellow jack is for composite video.
You seem familiar withthe "S" video jack so that's good.
The component video jacks are three RCA jacks, generally colored red, blure and green.
First, hook up the speakers to the receiver according to the receiver's directions.
Make sure everything works so far. try the tuner and some ohony surround modes the get noise from all speakers. The sub may or may not work atthiuis time, Check that when you hook up a DVD player.
Now, hook up your monitor. Odds are that onece you get the on screen menus to appear, you're in business.
Keep the receiver's manual handy. Therre's a lot of hidden menus you may need to access to "tell" it about source components. Methinks this is where your problems lie.
Now, hook up the DVD recorder. Concentrate on the PLAYER portion here.
RTFM for the receiver and the DVD unit and keep at it until you get them to work in concert. You should be able to get 5.1 channels (at least) when it's correctly hooked up.
Make sure the DVD player and the receiver work in concert.
Once that's done, do the same for your cable box. Check what audio outputs it offers and how to access them. Have it's manual handy also.
Once all playback functions areworking, then worry about the record function.