Maybe the recorder is in conflict with the tv depending on which leads you have and where they're going.
I have a freeview recorder and freeview tv. I have connected them like this:
outside aerial to booster (I have poor reception),
from booster to aerial splitter.(some boosters have 2 out ports if you don't want a splitter)
splitter to tv and recorder.
Scart lead OUT of recorder to tv scart IN.
That's it. When I switch tv on it uses it's own freeview. If I want to use the recorder I simply switch it on (tv already switched on) and it comes on automatically on an AV channel. To scan/tune the tv freeview, have the recorder switched off. To scan/tune the recorder freeview switch it on and the av channel comes on, scan/tune the recorder freeview.
From there your recorder should function the way you wish.