Hello,
I have just been given a freeview digital recordable box,
I know it needs a arial, but does anybody know if I can set it up to my
dish, I live in central PT, and can pick up all English tv, it would be great if
there was a way in which I can set it up.
thanks all,
jaz.

Basically,
FreeView - no.
FreeSat - yes.

If it is freeview you will need to connect to an ariel and you will receive Portuguese Digital TV if it is available in your area.

could you explain more to me about freesat in portugal and what i need?

Please see http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=687921 it's all in there.

By FreeSat you mean those FTW channels you get via satellite, right? Like BBC, CH4, CH5, Five US....

Yes. FreeSat is via a dish. A 1.4 meter dish is recommended by most installers
You get different free channels depending which satellite receiver box (Sky or FreeSat) you have, but all of the 'popular' channels (all the BBC's, all the ITV's, C4, C5 etc.) are on both.
Before anyone jumps on me (and hopefully it won't confuse you) through an aerial you can get free Portuguese digital (and Spanish digital if you are close to the border) on a TV that has built in FreeView (or on a FreeView box).
There are, however only 4 Portuguese digital channels at the moment so there's not really a lot of point.
You will not be able to pick up any UK channels with a FreeView box (or built in FreeView) through an aerial anywhere in Portugal.

So,
FreeSat + Satellite dish = UK channels
and
FreeView + Aerial = No UK channels

Hope this helps.

Most likely, no Portuguese / Spanish channels either because Freeview uses MPEG2.

Most TV's in local shops have a TDT decoder built in. It uses MPEG4 and should pick up Portuguese / Spanish channels in the areas covered by TDT transmitters.

If I'm allowed to vote, I'd say the above with a white Sky card, can't beat it