i'm aware of an (almost similar) thread i made in this site but this is kinda diferrent as well.
when i arrive in Alberta in 4 months time i'll be staying in a temporary accomodation for 6 weeks then i will be looking/moving to a more permanent base. so, it saves me from getting bored i want to buy an LCD flatscreen TV. my questions are:

1. is there a digital tv service similar to Freeview (UK) wherein you juts connect an aerial to your tv and buy a box with no subscription and get a number of digital channels?

2. is there a TV license in Canada?

#2 No.

#2 No.

Digital is not available over air, analogue only.

If you want digital you have to go with either Telus or Shaw personally I would recommend Shaw.

No, as there is no free to air TV, there is no license

There is free to air available.....with rabbit ears etc, or an external antennae on the roof, you can get anywhere from 3 to 10 channels depending on where you are and how good your antennae is. HD channels are available over the air.

However, I believe that only 10% of the population use them as their sole source of signals.

I stand corrected, perhaps I have never seen this as it is not available in my area.

That number might change with the global recession.

We have been happy users of rabbit ears since moving here two years ago. Alas, we are now told that due to some technical somethings the rabbit ears will shortly stop working and we'll need a dish. Don't count on anyone switching back to rabbit ears.

If you mean the transition to digital TV, you can still use rabbit ears, but you will require a set top box that converts digital back to analogue for your TV (unless you have a TV with a built in digital SD/HD tv tuner).

The only difference with digital TV is that it's more an all or nothing effect, so if you don't have a strong enough signal, you will see nothing compared with the "ghosting" or pixelation you could get with analogue in poor reception areas.

You can always get a modern set of "rabbit ears" with a digital signal booster in that case. Or an on the roof aerial.

Edit:
More info over on this forum:
http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/show...t=81023&page=7

On the contrary, digital is available OTA. Calgary even has some HD (CTV only so far), and apparently the picture quality is better than cable, satellite or IPTV.

Details available in the digitalhome forums:
http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/show...=81023&page=24

would digital be also available in the Alberta area specifically Edmonton? would "rabbit ears" mean a strong portable/indoor aerial like the ones here? the reason why i don't want to get cable or sat TV is i might not get a permanent place till atleast my 2nd month there that is why i want to watch atleast some number of channels on digital if there is is such.

There should definitely be Free to Air television in Edmonton. Yes Rabbit ears = indoor aerial.

There are Free to Air channels, even HD ones. The analogue switch off will be some time in 2012 IIRC.

You will need an ATSC box (similar to Freeview) if you want to receive HD channels on an old TV. Note that almost every new TV has built in ATSC tuners, so if you get a new TV you won't need the box.

You can also get a TV tuner card with ATSC tuner to receive HD channels for your PC/laptop. Terrestrial TV isn't as popular as cable over here, that's why they aren't advertising the analogue switch off at all. You won't find an ATSC Digital box at your local shops, like how Freeview is sold in the UK. The only way is to buy online, on eBay or from the US, they are also quite expensive at the moment.

Yes Calgary has one station (CTV) broadcasting HD Edmonton where the OP is going has none so far.

This wiil change when all stations are required to broadcast in digital as is the case now in the U.S. but for the moment here in Alberta I wouldn't consider one station 200 miles away the answer the OP was looking for.

if i'm in Edmonton i can still get the free-to-air channels from Calgary would i?

any infos on how many FTA channels can i get if i buy an ATSC box or a TV with built-in ATSC tuner? and what channels are they?

what make or brand of rabbit ears/indoor aerial you can recommend if i was to get FTA channels off my box or TV?